Personal information charter

Our personal information charter contains the standards you can expect when we ask for, or hold, your personal information. It also covers what we ask of you, to help us keep information up to date.


You have a statutory right of access (certain exemptions apply) to personal data about yourself under the Data Protection Act 1998.

The right of access here is to personal data held on computer or on structured manual files and you are entitled to be informed whether any personal data concerning yourself is being held by the ‘data controller’ ie the Office, and if so:

  • to be given a description of the data in question
  • to be told for what purposes the data are processed
  • to be told of the recipients or classes of recipients to whom the data are or may be disclosed

You are also entitled to be given a copy of the information with any unintelligible terms explained and to be given any information available to the Office as to the source of the data.

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 has extended this right to access to personal data held on any type of file.

If you wish to apply for access to your personal data, known as a ‘subject access request’, you should contact the Information Officer, email enquiries@ukgovscotland.gov.uk

A request for access to personal data must be dealt with promptly and, in any event, within 40 days of receipt of the request. We may charge a fee, not exceeding £10.

If you consider that a request by you for access to your personal data was not dealt with in accordance with the Data Protection Act you may write the Information Commissioner:

Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Telephone: 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 545 745

Fax: 01625 524 510

Website: www.ico.org.uk

Additional documentation