Spotlight on… Personal Information

In the latest in our Spotlight on series we shine a light on personal information – what we hold, how we protect it and how you can ask for it.

We talk to Stephen Eodanable, Data Protection Officer and Gillian Henderson, Information and Research Manager to find out more…

So what kind of personal information do you hold?
We receive information such as reports from police, social work, health, education and Safeguarders. SCRA couldn’t function without this information. We have a statutory (legal) duty to collect this information and it is important to highlight that we only hold the information that we are lawfully allowed to keep.

To give you an idea of how much information SCRA holds, in 2019/20 we issued 336,893 envelopes/packages from our offices and 34,000 Children’s Hearings were held.

That’s a lot of information. Whose information do you hold?
We hold information on children and young people who are referred to the Reporter, their families, their parents or carers. We have records of Children’s Hearings proceedings and documents like Child Protection Orders. We also hold information about victims of youth crime. Of course, we also hold information about our own staff.

This all sounds like highly sensitive information?
Yes, the information we hold is at the highest level and we treat it with the utmost respect. By protecting children and other people’s information, we are protecting their human rights.

We take the protection of this information extremely seriously. The information is held safely in a secure case management system. Plus we limit the access to information, so only staff that need to access it, have that level of permission to do so. Data protection is always at the forefront of our minds. Every member of staff, regardless of their role in SCRA, gets annual mandatory data protection training. This years’ training programme is just about complete.

So if you hold my information, can I ask to see it?
Absolutely! You can make a Subject Access Request. It might sound complicated, but it’s not. All you need to do is ask. We have worked with care experienced young people and the Information Commissioner’s Office to make our information and process easier for people to access their information. You can find out more on our website.

If you are unsure, please get in touch. You can email us at Inforequest@scra.gov.uk We would be happy to hear from you.

Please note that SCRA normally holds its case files on children referred until the young person is 18 years old. For those older than 18 years, the local authority may still hold information including documents that originated from SCRA.