Subject Access Requests made in 2020 – compliance, delays and DPA 2018 breaches

SJA Grove made this Freedom of Information request to Aberdeenshire Council This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.

The request was partially successful.

Dear Aberdeenshire Council,

Under FOISA 2002 please provide the following information recorded on your systems relating to Data Protection Act 2018 Subject Access Requests received by the council in the period 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020 i.e. all of the year 2020.
1. The total number of Subject Access Requests that were responded to in the statutory 30 day time limit.
2. The total number of Subject Access Requests that were responded to after the statutory 30 day time limit but within three (3) months, with the delay being either a lawful exemption (under the Data Protection Act 2018) being applied or the Data Protection Act 2018 being breached.
3. The total number of Subject Access Requests that had not been responded to after the three (3) months time limit, with the delay being either a lawful exemption being applied or the Data Protection Act 2018 being breached.

Yours faithfully,

SJA Grove

Acknowledge email,

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your information request.

Please note that the Council is currently responding to the Coronavirus
(COVID-19) outbreak which may impact on the resources we have available to
respond to information requests.

If you are making a request for information under FOI(S)A we will aim to
respond within the statutory timeframe of 20 working days.

If you are making a request for environmental information under EIRs we
will aim to respond within the statutory timeframe of 20 working days.
However, for requests of a complex nature it could take us up to 40
working days. If so we will write and tell you this.

If you are making a request for information under DPA/GDPR we will aim to
respond within the statutory timeframe of one month except in the case of
complex or numerous requests in which case this period may be extended by
up to a further two months. If so we will write and tell you this.

Information Requests Privacy Notice: [1]https://tinyurl.com/yac8kodc

Regards,
Aberdeenshire Information Enquiries

References

Visible links
1. https://tinyurl.com/yac8kodc

FOI Legal, Aberdeenshire Council

1 Attachment

Dear S.J.A. Grove

Subject Access Requests
Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (“The Act”)

I refer to your recent request in respect of the above and attach our
response herewith for consideration.

Please contact me as the officer responsible for responding to your
request if you have any further queries.

If, for any reason, you are not satisfied with this response, please refer
to the further information attached.

Yours faithfully

Freedom of Information Co-ordinator
Business Services: Legal & People

Further Information:
Aberdeenshire Council’s Review Procedure under the Freedom of Information
(Scotland) Act 2002 and the Environmental Information (Scotland)
Regulations 2004 can be accessed at the following link:
[1]http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/council-...

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e-mail in error, please accept our apologies and notify the sender,
deleting the e-mail afterwards. Any views or opinions presented are solely
those of the e-mail's author and do not necessarily represent those of
Aberdeenshire Council.

Dh’fhaodadh fiosrachadh sochaire, a tha a-mhàin airson an neach gu bheil
am post-dealain air a chur, a bhith an seo. Ma tha thu air am post-dealain
fhaighinn mar mhearachd, gabh ar leisgeul agus cuir fios chun an neach a
chuir am post-dealain agus dubh às am post-dealain an dèidh sin. ’S e
beachdan an neach a chuir am post-dealain a tha ann an gin sam bith a
thèid a chur an cèill agus chan eil e a’ ciallachadh gu bheil iad a’
riochdachadh beachdan Chomhairle Shiorrachd Obar Dheathain.

www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk

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References

Visible links
1. http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/council-...

Dear Aberdeenshire Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Aberdeenshire Council's handling of my FOI request 'Subject Access Requests made in 2020 – compliance, delays and DPA 2018 breaches'.

Aberdeenshire Council are thanked for the thorough responses to questions 1 & 2, regrettably there has to be dissatisfaction with respect to the final question as a nil response has not been provided.

Question 3 asks for the number of Data Protection Act 2018 Subject Access Requests that have not been responded to after a period of 3 months (i.e. beyond the statutory period that is allowed for “complex" requests) and these will be clear breaches of the Data Protection Act 2018 of valid Subject Access Requests.

Will Aberdeenshire Council respond with the number of valid Subject Access Requests that were received in the year 2020 that had not been responded to after the 90 day period at the time this FOISA 2002 request was submitted? To further clarify this request this number of Subject Access Requests that were not responded to should equal the number of communications Aberdeenshire Council has had with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) regarding Data Protection Act 2018 breaches in this area of Data Protection legislation.

An apology is given for the rather clumsy way in which Question 3 was worded.

Thank you for your response.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/s...

Yours faithfully,

SJA Grove

FOI Reviews, Aberdeenshire Council

Dear SJA Grove

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REVIEW REQUEST

 

I write to acknowledge receipt of your email dated 3 March, 2021,
requesting a review of the Council’s response to your request for
information relating to the number of subject access requests received and
responded to within 3 months from 1 January, 2020 to 31 December, 2020.

 

The Council’s Internal Review Procedure provides for a Review Panel of
senior officers to consider written submissions from both sides.  If there
is anything more you wish to put before the Review Panel in addition to
the comments in your review request, please let me have that as soon as
possible and by no later than Thursday 11 March, 2021.  You are entitled
to have the decision of the Review Panel sent to you within 20 working
days of my receipt of your email.  That means my reply with the decision
of the Review Panel has to be sent by 31 March, 2021.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clerk to Review Panel

 

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This e-mail may contain privileged information intended solely for the use
of the individual to whom it is addressed. If you have received this
e-mail in error, please accept our apologies and notify the sender,
deleting the e-mail afterwards. Any views or opinions presented are solely
those of the e-mail's author and do not necessarily represent those of
Aberdeenshire Council.

Dh’fhaodadh fiosrachadh sochaire, a tha a-mhàin airson an neach gu bheil
am post-dealain air a chur, a bhith an seo. Ma tha thu air am post-dealain
fhaighinn mar mhearachd, gabh ar leisgeul agus cuir fios chun an neach a
chuir am post-dealain agus dubh às am post-dealain an dèidh sin. ’S e
beachdan an neach a chuir am post-dealain a tha ann an gin sam bith a
thèid a chur an cèill agus chan eil e a’ ciallachadh gu bheil iad a’
riochdachadh beachdan Chomhairle Shiorrachd Obar Dheathain.

www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk

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FOI Reviews, Aberdeenshire Council

2 Attachments

Dear SJA Grove

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REVIEW REQUEST

 

I refer to my e-mail of 4 March, 2021, in connection with the above matter
and now write to advise you of the decision of the Freedom of Information
Review Panel relating to your request for information.

 

The Review Panel found in favour of the authority and I attach the
Decision Notice from the Panel and the Statement of Reasons.

 

I hope that this will make it clear how the Panel arrived at their
judgement.

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clerk to Review Panel

 

Enc

 

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This e-mail may contain privileged information intended solely for the use
of the individual to whom it is addressed. If you have received this
e-mail in error, please accept our apologies and notify the sender,
deleting the e-mail afterwards. Any views or opinions presented are solely
those of the e-mail's author and do not necessarily represent those of
Aberdeenshire Council.

Dh’fhaodadh fiosrachadh sochaire, a tha a-mhàin airson an neach gu bheil
am post-dealain air a chur, a bhith an seo. Ma tha thu air am post-dealain
fhaighinn mar mhearachd, gabh ar leisgeul agus cuir fios chun an neach a
chuir am post-dealain agus dubh às am post-dealain an dèidh sin. ’S e
beachdan an neach a chuir am post-dealain a tha ann an gin sam bith a
thèid a chur an cèill agus chan eil e a’ ciallachadh gu bheil iad a’
riochdachadh beachdan Chomhairle Shiorrachd Obar Dheathain.

www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk

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