Data Protection Act requests

The Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998 gives you the right to know what information HEFCE holds about you.

Making your Data Protection Act request

Requests for personal information, that is information about a living individual, are dealt with under the Data Protection Act 1998. An individual who makes a subject access request to the Council (a data subject) is entitled:

to be told whether the Council holds any personal data relating to them, and
to be supplied with a copy of the information that forms any such personal data.

If you want to ask whether we hold any personal information about you, please note the following:

You will need to supply proof of your identity. This should include both of the following:
1. A photocopy of the identification pages of your current passport or of a current photo driving licence.
2. The original of a current utilities (such as electricity) bill, or credit card or bank statement, which includes your name and current address. This can be returned to you if required.
It would also help us to narrow our search if you could tell us which team or directorate you believe might hold personal data on you. If you are not sure, please tell us the context in which you have had dealings with us, and when.
We will charge a fee of £10 for this service.
We may withhold access to your information where we have the right to do so under the Data Protection Act. When that happens, we will tell you which exemption applies and, in most cases, why the information cannot be released.

Requests for subject access should be made in writing. A request form is available for such purposes. A request may be received from the agent of an individual, in which case the agent must provide satisfactory evidence that he or she has the authority of the individual.

When we receive your DPA request

We aim to reply promptly to your request, and are obliged by statute to provide a response within 40 days. We will send you an invoice for the £10 fee. You will then have 3 months to pay the fee before we will continue to process your request.

You can make your request in writing to:
DPA request
HEFCE
Northavon House
Coldharbour Lane
BRISTOL
BS16 1QD

Information relating to another individual

Steps will be taken to anonymise, or if necessary remove, references to other individuals who have not given consent for their personal information to be released. If consent is provided (there is no obligation on the Council to arrange this) then the information will be released within 40 days of receiving consent. These steps will be explained in the response.