Data Protection Act 1984 and 1998/ Freedom of Information Act 2000

The Data Protection Act gives a legal basis for the handling of information relating to living people. It allows individuals to enforce the control of information about them and it also gives them the right to access any personal information that has been compiled about them. The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives applicants a general right of access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities, on both paper and computer.