The council has a legal obligation to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998. It sets out the rules for processing personal information and applies to most paper and computer records.
The Act entitles you to access information held on you by an organisation. The type of data the council may hold on you is information to help make decisions about welfare or entitlements, such as awarding council tax or housing benefits. Organisations must be open about how information is used and must follow good information handling principles.
A list of the types of information held by each organisation, known as the 'register of notifications', is held on the Office of the Information Commissioner website. You will see from the list the broad types of information Ealing holds. You will need to type in the notification number: Z5696801.
What does the Act cover?
It covers computer and manual records that hold information about living individuals, including businesses which are sole traders or partnerships.
The Act also covers accessible records. These are manual files previously covered by other legislation - Access to Personal Files Act 1987, Access to Health Records Act 1990 and Credit Consumer Act 1974.
