"ICO Reprimands Councils for Inadequate Handling of Subject Access Requests"

The ICO recently reprimanded two councils, Plymouth City Council and Norfolk County Council, for failing to respond to Subject Access Requests (SARs) that were made by members of the public for their personal information. These requests are part of individuals' information rights, and by failing to meet the legal time frame of one to three months, the councils undermined public confidence in their ability to be transparent and accountable. Both councils have been instructed to take steps to ensure that they are meeting their obligations and responding to SARs within the required time period. They must also increase staffing resources to cope with the backlog of requests and continue to implement effective measures to address outstanding requests. The ICO has asked each council for details of the actions taken, and these must be provided within six months of the reprimand being issued.