Data Protection and Freedom of Information
Data Protection Overview
The Data Protection Act 1998 came into force on 1 March 2000 and
is the overall framework within which users of personal data
operate. The Act requires that anybody who processes personal
information (i.e. obtains, holds, amends, discloses or destroys
data) must adhere to the eight data protection principles.
The Act also gives individuals the right to access personal
information held about them. More information is available
from the Data Protection page.
Freedom of Information Overview
The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 came into force
on 1 January 2005. The Act differs to the Data Protection Act
in that it applies to 'non-personal information' (i.e. information
which does not relate to people). The Council is required to
maintain a publication scheme setting out the types of information
the Council routinely publishes, as well as reviewing its records
management practices.
The main element of the Act is the entitlement for anybody to
request access to information held by the Council, subject to a
limited number of exemptions. More information is available
from the Freedom of Information page.
