Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) Policy

Data protection legislation no longer applies to the records of a deceased person, it only applies to living individuals. There is however a common law duty of confidentiality and in considering requests for information relating to someone who is deceased, consideration will be given to whether the information had been provided in the expectation that it would remain confidential.

Any request for the personal information held by the Council where the subject is deceased should be made by their 'personal representative', defined as the person who is entitled to administer the estate of the deceased person under the law relating to wills and probate. Evidence of this will be required in the form of either a grant of probate or a letter of administration.

No information will be shared unless this evidence is provided. Such requests will not be classified as a DSAR but as an information request. The requester would however be able entitled to a response to a DSAR for information about themselves contained in the deceased person's files, unless to do so could cause serious harm.