The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has added a new element on subject access requests (SAR) to its FoI Toolkit.
It said the move is aimed helping public authorities to self-assess their performance when they refuse a SAR – a request from an individual for the personal data an organisation holds on him or her – because they exceed the appropriate cost limit.
It enables users to complete the topic in stages or in full, and provides a report showing the overall rating, action plan and web links to relevant guidance.
The toolkit is part of the ICO’s ongoing work to support public authorities in taking a pragmatic approach to freedom of information and data protection during the Covid-19 pandemic.
It has also published a series of tips for dealing with SARs, based on engagement work with London boroughs in which it sought to understand compliance rates.
Pragmatic approach
The ICO said: “As we set out in our regulatory approach, we continue to have a pragmatic approach, recognising the importance of transparency, and also the potential impact on public authorities’ timelines in supplying information.
“We will continue to take a pragmatic approach to resolving complaints and would encourage any authorities facing challenges to stay in contact with us.”
Image from iStock, Aboudz
