People exercising their right to see the records from time spent in care say the process is leaving them frustrated and, almost always, what they eventually receive fails to answer all the questions they have. The information Commissioner's office says Scotland's local authorities must make further improvements to address what applicants are finding a "systemic and demoralising challenges" when it comes to accessing their care records.

The research published by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) was based on responses from over 200 care experienced people or others who were asked to access care records on behalf of someone close to them.

Over two thirds (71%) said communication with their local authority was poor, while just under seven in 10 said the process took longer than expected with one person saying they are still waiting 16 years after making the request.

59% said, when they received their records, they didn't receive enough information and 87% said the materials given to them failed to answer all their questions.

Under data protection law, everyone has the right to ask an organisation for any personal information held on them.

Care experienced campaigner and Ambassador for the Rees Foundation, Jackie McCartney, said:

"I can remember the social worker arriving with my care records - she carried one old battered brown box. That was all I was worth. That box was my life story of residential care, with sixteen years of my life inside.

"She told me not to worry - 'there's not a lot in there' - but I wanted to talk to her. Because this total stranger knew more about my life than I did. She had read my story before I had, and decided what I could or could not see. These were my puzzle pieces of how and why I had become a child in care.

"I opened my box and looked inside. I can still feel the pain and disappointment. My records were not even in date order, with whole years of my life missing and no medical records. There were so many blank pages with nothing on, and so much information redacted.

"The whole process must have more compassion and care. I want organisations to see this is more than data, files and words on a page - this is real people's lives and stories.”

Scotland’s councils

Earlier this year, the ICO reprimand both Glasgow City Council and City of Edinburgh Council for repeatedly failing to respond within the legal timeframe.

It also fined Scottish charity Birthlink £18,000 after it destroyed thousands of records, including handwritten letters and photographs.

The ICO says it has been proactively engaging with all 32 local authorities in Scotland after receiving complaints of long delays when care records were requested. Many local authorities have seen increases in requests over the last few years in relation to Scotland’s Redress Scheme, where people who suffered abuse while in care can apply for redress using supporting documents such as care records. 

The ICO is providing new resources to support both care experienced people and organisations that hold records.

John Edwards, the UK Information Commissioner says asking for your records is a significant step for people who have been in care, and should receive an appropriate response:

“This is so much more than a request for personal information. These are people fighting to access their own biography – their own identity – that is in the custody of an organisation. It is a brave and emotional step, especially from people who have already been let down by the care system in Scotland. But these requests are too often met with cold bureaucracy, long delays and pages of unexplained redactions, which can have devastating consequences.

“This current picture is unacceptable - but there are many people who play a role in creating better records and better access. As the data protection regulator, we can bring clarity to how these roles work together to thread people’s stories. We can build a clear pathway by ensuring everyone has the tools they need - equipping organisations with the certainty and skills to handle requests with care and compassion, and empowering people with the confidence and support to advocate for their own rights.

“Real change must come from the top - so today I am calling on local authority leaders across Scotland to take action. We know frontline staff want to get this right but are struggling with lack of resource and guidance. Improving this process starts at the beginning – when a child enters the care system, their information should be recorded with their rights in mind, knowing that they may request it later. This will reduce the administrative burden and keep the person at the very heart of the process, so future generations do not face the same struggle.”

Mapping lives

John-george Nicholson, who grew up in care, said:

“We understand who we are through stories. The ones we tell ourselves and the ones others think and write about us. Growing up in care, the state became my storyteller, taking on the role most people’s families play. My files hold many of those stories, yet for years they seemed to forget who I was.

“I first accessed my records at 22 – 126 pages. Almost 25 years later, I asked again and received more than 800. They are tough and often traumatic to read (when I first received them in the post, they came without warning), but they are also a kind of treasure chest: fragments of memory, windows into a past I’d tried to forget. At first, they broke me. But over time, they became maps, continually changing as I age – helping me understand, make sense of the damage, navigate the past and future, and see that it wasn’t my fault. I was just a kid in a broken system.

“But the system is still broken, and record-keeping is a critical element of this – our storytelling. Too often the whole child is lost in forms and reports, their voice minimised or unheard. That has to change. Every child in care deserves records that see them, protect them, and help them heal and thrive.”

As part of its new Better Records Together’ campaign, the ICO has published new standards for organisations on how they handle requests and support applicants. The Information Commissioner says that, if improvements are not made, organisations may face regulatory action.

 

Read more: Adoptees: the family void in our medical history; Childhood adversity health impacts felt at 50 revealed; Lived experience at centre of care advisory group

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