Data Protection Act 1998:
Standards and Best Practice Handbook for Government Departments
Annex G
Subject Access Exemptions
(May be subject to “likely to prejudice” test or other conditions)
Part IV
Section 28: National security - provides an exemption to
protect national security.
Section 29: Crime and taxation - covers personal data
processed for the:
-
prevention or detection of crime;
-
apprehension or prosecution of offenders, or
-
assessment or collection of any tax or duty or of any imposition of a
similar nature.
Section 30: Health, education and social work - provides
powers for the Lord Chancellor to make orders providing exemptions in
relation to health, education and social work records. Orders relating to
all three categories of record have been made.
Section 31: Regulatory activity - covers personal data
processed for the purposes of discharging a wide rage of regulatory
functions.
Section 32: Journalism, literature and art - covers
personal data processed for journalistic, literary or artistic purposes.
Section 33: Research, history and statistics – covers
personal data processed only for research, statistical or historical
purposes, subject to certain conditions.
Section 34: Information available to the public by or
under enactment - covers personal data which are statutorily made available
to the public.
Section 35: Disclosures required by law or made in
connection with legal proceedings etc - provides an exemption from
non-disclosure where is required by or under any enactment, by any rule of
law or by an order of a court.
Section 36: Domestic purposes - provides an exemption for
personal data processed only for the purposes of that individual’s
personal, family or household affairs.
Section 37: Miscellaneous exemptions – Schedule 7 confers
further miscellaneous exemptions (see below).
Section 38: Powers to make further exemptions by order -
provides a power for the Lord Chancellor to make orders providing
exemptions where disclosure of information is statutorily prohibited or
restricted, subject to certain conditions.
Schedule 7
Paragraph 1: Confidential references given by the data
controller - covers confidential references given by data controllers in
relation to education, employment or the provision of services.
Paragraph 2: Armed forces - provides an exemption to
protect the combat effectiveness of the armed forces.
Paragraph 3: Judicial appointments and honours - covers
personal data processed for the purposes of making appointments of judges
and QCs, and the conferring of honours or dignities.
Paragraph 4: Crown employment and Crown or Ministerial
appointments - provides a power for the Lord Chancellor to make orders
providing exemptions in relation to Crown appointments. An order
designating a limited number of appointments has been made.
Paragraph 5: Management forecasts etc - covers personal
data processed for the purposes of management planning.
Paragraph 6: Corporate finance - provides an exemption for
personal data processed for corporate finance purposes.
Paragraph 7: Negotiations - covers personal data
consisting of records of the data controller’s intention in relation to
negotiations with the data subject.
Paragraph 8: Examination marks - modifies the 40 day
maximum period for dealing with subject access requests in relation to
examination marks.
Paragraph 9: Examination scripts - covers personal data
consisting of information recorded by candidates during an academic,
professional or other examination.
Paragraph 10: Legal professional privilege - covers
personal data in respect of which legal professional privilege could be
claimed.
Paragraph 11: Self-incrimination - provides an exemption
for circumstances in which by granting access a person would incriminate
himself in respect of an offence other than one under the 1998 Act.
Data Protection Handbook [PDF, 710KB]
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