All other investigatory requests

Under Schedule 2: Part 1 (Paragraph 2) (hereafter known as a 212 Disclosure Request) of the Data Protection Act 2018 competent authorities (as set out in Schedule 7) such as the police, government departments and local authorities with the regulatory powers are able to request access to personal data without the consent of the data subject for the purposes of:

• prevention or detection of crime
   
• the apprehension or prosecution of offenders
   
• the assessment or collection of a tax or duty or an imposition of a similar nature

This does not give an automatic right of access to information. The Act states that public bodies can assess the merits of requests and decide whether or not to apply the exemption.

How to make a 212 disclosure request

212 requests must be made using:

• 212 Disclosure Request Form (141 KB)
   
• 212 Disclosure Request Form (89 KB)

Please note: that this form must be signed off by someone of inspector rank or above. If the form has not been fully and properly completed and authorised you will be asked to re-submit your application. 

If you require information on a subject and their family members, please ensure that you include the names and dobs of all family members whose information you wish to review in connection with your investigation and state clearly that you believe pertinent information may be contained within the family records.

We are prepared to accept an email from the authorising inspector, attaching the 212 disclosure request and stating clearly that they are authorising the form if there are circumstances where a handwritten signature on the form cannot be obtained.

You should complete either the Word or PDF form.

If you require any assistance in completing the form, please email your details and query to accessinformation@staffordshire.gov.uk and someone will get back to you. 

Where to send your request

Email: accessinformation@staffordshire.gov.uk

Postal address:

How we process your 212 disclosure request

Your request will be assessed to ensure that your request falls within the scope of Schedule 2: Part 1 (paragraph 2) of the Act and is proportionate to the reason the information is being requested.

There is no statutory time limit within which local authorities are expected to respond to requests made under Schedule 2: Part 1 (paragraph 2). We will endeavour to provide information as soon as possible.

Further information

Further information about making requests to a public body under Schedule 2: Part 1 (paragraph 2) of the Data Protection Act 2018 is available from the Information Commissioner’s Office website.