You have the right to make a request for personal information free of charge about yourself, or another person if they have given their consent. This is called a subject access request.

You can ask for:

• confirmation that your personal data is being processed by us
• access to your personal data
• the reasons why we’re using your data
• information such as who we share your information with, our legal reason for using it, how long we keep your data for

How to make a subject access request

To make a subject access request you'll need to:

• provide us with enough information so that we can identify you, such as a case reference number, we may also ask for a form of ID such as a copy of either your:
  • birth certificate
  • driving licence
  • passport
• provide us with enough information or specify the information you are seeking by telling us which department(s) you have dealt with or member(s) of staff

You can also make a subject access request by:

• completing our contact us form
• Writing to us at
  Customer Services
  BCP Council
  Town Hall
  Bournemouth
  BH2 6DY

Information about other people

To request information about someone else, you must either:

• have written consent from them allowing us to disclose their information to you
• have Power of Attorney to legally act on their behalf
• be a parent or legal guardian (if you are requesting information about a child under the age of 13 - a child over 13 may need to give their consent for us to provide information about them)

You will need to send proof of this with your request.

How we'll respond

The law requires that we respond to subject access requests within one calendar month.

However, it may take longer if:

• we need to clarify your request with you
• the information you have asked for may be subject to exception
• there is a charge and we are awaiting payment

You are only allowed to see information that is about yourself. We may have to edit or withhold information that is held in your records but it is about other third parties, for example:

• family members
• carers
• friends
• other private individuals

We may also be required to edit or withhold information that has been provided about you by professional third parties, for example:

• your doctor and other health practitioners
• solicitors and legal advisors (not acting on your behalf)
• the police and other enforcement agencies

Your additional rights

We need certain personal information to be able to provide services.

Find out how we use information about you, and who we might share it with, in our privacy notice.

The General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018 regulates how your personal information is used by organisations, businesses or the government. Under this legislation you have the right to:

• access any personal data held about you
• have inaccurate information about you corrected
• to be forgotten (erasure)
• restrict processing
• object to processing
• stop automated decision making
• data portability

Read a guide to data protection on GOV.UK or find out from the Information Commissioner's Office about requesting your personal information.