Data Protection Act : Exemptions

Sometimes data is exempt from the Act. This means that some of the parts of the Act do not apply to the data. It is useful to distinguish between two different types of exemptions :

Complete Exemptions

Some types of personal data can be stored without the Data Controller having to register with the Information Commissioner. These types of data are said to have complete exemption from the Act. Some examples of this are :

Partial Exemptions

Some types of personal data have partial exemption from the Act. Some but not all of the terms of the Act apply to this data. This table contains some examples of when a partial exemption might apply.

Disclosure Exemptions Stored information can sometimes be disclosed to people even though these people are not listed in the disclosures section of the Data Controllers Register. Some example disclosure exemptions are :

  • Disclosure to prevent crime or taxation fraud.
  • When a court orders that the data should be disclosed.
Access Exemptions The data subject has no right of access to information stored about him if one of the following access exemptions applies :

  • Data relating to the health of the data subject.
  • Data about a pupil at a school.
  • Data processed for crime or taxation purposes.
Storage Time Exemptions A data controller can keep data for any length of time if it is being used for statistical, historical or research purposes.

GCSE ICT Companion 04 - (C) P Meakin 2004