Archives Access Statement - Falkirk Community Trust

Appendix 1: Procedures for access to records restricted under the Data
Protection Act
The Data Protection Act restricts access to records containing personal information of living
identifiable individuals. As it is not always possible to verify if an individual is deceased,
records of this type are normally closed for 75 years if the data refers to adults, or 100 years
if the data refers to children.
Individuals who need evidence that their name appears in a restricted archive are
entitled to have an extract confirming that. They may see the relevant page or obtain
a photocopy of it provided that the names and personal details of all other individuals
on the page are covered up and the archives staff supervise the researcher closely
while looking at the document. The individuals must provide evidence of their identity
(preferably a photo-id such as a photo driving licence or a passport) and must sign
the Data Protection access request form Section A.
Individuals who want to study documents for historical or statistical purposes can see
Data Protected documents provided they are able to sign Section B of the Data
Protection access request form. Research for historical purposes means research
where the names and identities of the individuals are irrelevant and where the
researcher agrees not to reveal these names or other identifying information.
Evidence of research purposes is required before access can be permitted (such as
a letter from the research funding authority) along with evidence of the identity of the
researcher.
Police Officers or representatives of the Procurator Fiscal are entitled to see
restricted archives provided they come in person to the Archives to see the
document(s) and produce a Data Protection Exemption Form which is issued by
the relevant police force.