The Data Protection (Subject Access Modification) (Social Work) Order 1987

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order provides for the partial exemption from the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1984 which confer rights on data subjects to gain access to data held about them (“the subject access provisions”) of certain data where the exercise of those rights would be likely to prejudice the carrying out of social work by causing serious harm to the health or emotional condition of the data subject or another person or lead to the identification of other individuals (except individuals employed or engaged for reward in social work). (The Order, except so far as it relates to information contained in certain court reports, does not apply to any data about a person’s physical or mental health to which the Data Protection (Subject Access Modification) (Health) Order 1987 (S.I.1987/1903) applies.)

Except in the case of court reports in certain proceedings where information in the report may be withheld by the court, for which there is complete exemption from the subject access provisions, the Order only disapplies so much of those provisions which requires the data subject to be supplied with a copy of the information constituting the data.

The Order principally applies to data held by local authorities, in relation to their social services and education welfare functions, and health authorities to whom such data are passed and by probation committees and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. The Order also applies to data held for similar purposes by the corresponding bodies in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Data held by government departments for certain purposes connected with social work and by officers such as guardians ad litem and (in Scotland) reporters appointed to safeguard the interests of children in certain court proceedings are also within the scope of the Order. Provision is made enabling other voluntary organisations or other bodies to be added to the list of bodies whose data are subject to the provisions of the Order where the data are held for purposes similar to the social services functions (or in Scotland social work functions) of local authorities.