Personal information charter

Data we hold about you and other people, your rights and how to contact us.

Our obligations under data protection laws

Under the Data Protection Act 2018, you have the right to request copies of your, or someone else’s, personal data from organisations, including government departments.

The act gives you rights over that data, including making sure it is correct, how it should be handled and when it should be deleted.

You should note that the:

  • LAA is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MOJ)

  • MOJ is the data controller for the personal information we collect

You can find more details of our obligations under the data protection laws in our LAA Information Charter (PDF, 161 KB, 7 pages).

Also here:

MOJ Information Charter

Siarter Gwybodaeth

We are also working on ways to improve the process for anyone wanting to contact the MOJ about personal data.

Your rights and how to exercise them

For your personal data, you have the right to:

  • request copies of personal information we hold about you

  • be informed about what we do with your personal information

  • rectification – correcting errors

  • erasure

  • restrict processing

  • data portability

  • object

  • not be subjected to automated decision-making, including profiling

We’ve set out below your rights and how to contact the MOJ for each of these rights.

The process for contacting us about the first item is different to all the other rights – i.e. the right to request copies of your personal information. This is because different types of information will be held in different parts of the department.

Right to request copies of personal information

This is known as the ‘right of subject access’, and a request for a copy of your personal information is called a ‘subject access request’, or SAR.

If we do hold information about you we will:

  • give you a description of it
  • tell you why we have it
  • tell you who it could be given to
  • let you have a copy of the information in a readable form

Any subject access request must include 2 things:

  1. A description of where your personal data may be held. You should ensure that you provide details of where in the department your personal data may be held to help us to trace your records. For example, a description of the legal aid that you received (crime or civil including the nature of the proceedings), the name and/or firm of your legal representative(s) or the name of the court which you attended. This should include any relevant case reference numbers and dates, if appropriate. You need to be as specific as possible.

  2. Valid identification.

Acceptable forms of ID include:

  • a photocopy of your passport or driving licence
  • an electricity bill – the original bill, not a copy
  • a gas bill – the original bill, not a copy
  • a council tax bill – the original bill, not a copy
  • any other bill in your full name – the original bill, not a copy

Any bill you send must be less than 6 months old.

Making a SAR is free.

How to request personal information

You can make a subject access request for yourself, or another person, online. Use the online subject access request form

Send your request by email:

data.access@justice.gov.uk

or post:

Disclosure Team
Post point 10.25
102 Petty France
London
SW1H 9AJ

Staff requests for personal information

LAA staff must refer to the intranet for details of how to make a subject access request.

Privacy notice for employees, workers and contractors

Definitions of your other rights

Right to rectification

If some information we hold about you is wrong or has changed, you have the right to have it corrected or updated.

Right to erasure

If the personal data we hold about you is no longer needed, you have the right to have it deleted. This is also known as the ‘right to be forgotten’.

Right to restrict processing

In certain circumstances, you have the right to restrict how your personal data is used. This may be due to the accuracy of the data, or if the data has been unlawfully processed, or MOJ no longer needs it but you would like us to keep it in.

Right to data portability

We must send your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format. This right only applies when you have consented to the processing of the data.

Right to object

You have a right to object to the processing of your personal data, specifically if the data is:

  • for direct marketing purposes

  • a task carried out in the public interest

  • the exercise of official authority or legitimate interest

Automated decision-making is a decision made about you by a machine, without humans being involved. Profiling involves the use of personal data to group characteristics to try and predict future behaviour.

The MOJ can only carry out solely automated decision-making if the decision is:

  • necessary for entering into or performance of a contract between you and MOJ

  • authorised by law

  • based on your explicit consent

How to exercise your other rights

To exercise any of your information access rights, that are not a request for a copy of your personal information from MOJ, send your request by email:

privacy@justice.gov.uk

or post:

Data Privacy Team
Ministry of Justice
3rd Floor, Post Point 3.20
10 South Colonnade
Canary Wharf
London
E14 4PU

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