ICO video explains care-record access rights and signals enforcement focus
Key Takeaways
- 01The ICO has published a video explaining how care-experienced people can request access to their personal care records through subject access requests.
- 02The initiative is intended to help people understand and use their data-protection rights when seeking records about their time in care.
- 03The ICO may prioritise enforcement action against organisations with persistent SAR delays or inadequate request-handling measures.
- 04Local authorities and other bodies holding care records should review their capacity and procedures for responding to access requests.
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has launched a video to help care-experienced people understand how to obtain their personal care records through a subject access request (SAR). The announcement was published on 21 August 2026.
A SAR is a request under UK data-protection law for an organisation to provide a person with their personal data. For people who have been in care, records held by local authorities and other care bodies can be important for understanding their history, identity and past decisions about their lives.
The ICO’s video is intended to make the process more accessible and explain the rights available when requesting those records. It also puts organisations holding care records on notice that the regulator may prioritise enforcement where they repeatedly delay responses or do not have adequate arrangements for handling requests.
Organisations responsible for care records should review whether their SAR processes can identify, retrieve and disclose records within the applicable legal timeframe, while properly protecting information about other people. Persistent backlogs or weak procedures may create greater regulatory risk under the ICO’s stated enforcement approach.