Subject Access Request Information for 2022/23-2024/25
Case reference FOI2026/00274
Received 2 February 2026
Published 18 February 2026
Request
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am writing to request information regarding Subject Access Requests (SARs) received by your Council.
For ease of response, I have structured this request into clearly defined questions with simple response formats. Where exact figures are unavailable, informed estimates are acceptable.
Section 1: SAR Volume
Please provide the total number of Subject Access Requests received:
Financial Year | Number of SARs Received
2022/23 (April 2022 - March 2023) |
2023/24 (April 2023 - March 2024) |
2024/25 (April 2024 - March 2025) |
Section 2: Processing Time and Staff Costs
What is the estimated average number of staff hours spent processing each SAR (including searching, collation, review, and redaction)?
Average hours per SAR?
Which salary band best represents the staff primarily responsible for processing SARs?
(Select one)
☐ Under £30,000 per annum
☐ £30,000 - £40,000 per annum
☐ £40,000 - £50,000 per annum
☐ £50,000 - £65,000 per annum
☐ Over £65,000 per annum
☐ Mixed/varies significantly across departments
Approximately how many FTE (full-time equivalent) staff are dedicated to SAR processing?
Estimated FTE for SAR processing =
Section 3: External Costs
Please provide the total expenditure on external SAR support (e.g., solicitors, consultants, redaction services). Costs can be approximate however must be indicated as such:
Financial Year | External Spend (£)
2022/23 |
2023/24 |
2024/25 |
If no external services were used, please state "Nil".
Section 4: Compliance and Timeliness
Please provide the following compliance data:
Financial Year | Completed Within 30 Days | Required Extension | Total SARs
2022/23 |
2023/24 |
2024/25 |
How many SARs are currently open or overdue?
Current backlog (open/overdue) =
Section 5: Complaints and Quality
Please provide the following quality indicators:
Financial Year | ICO Complaints | SARs Requiring Re-work
2022/23 |
2023/24 |
2024/25 |
If none, please state "Nil".
Has the ICO taken any enforcement action regarding SAR handling in the past three years?
☐ Yes ☐ No
Section 6: Current Tools and Methods
What software or tools are currently used to manage and process SARs?
(Select all that apply)
☐ Spreadsheet (e.g., Excel, Google Sheets)
☐ General case management system
☐ Specialist SAR/DSAR software. Name of software _______________
☐ Social Care Case Management System (e.g., Liquid Logic, Mosaic)
☐ Document Management System (e.g., SharePoint, OpenText)
☐ Email/manual process only
☐ Other (please specify): _______________
Is any element of your SAR process currently automated?
(Select all that apply)
☐ Automated searching across systems
☐ Automated redaction
☐ Automated tracking and deadline alerts
☐ Automated response/correspondence generation
☐ No automation currently in place
Section 7: SAR Processing Responsibility
Which role(s) or department(s) are primarily responsible for processing SARs?
(Select all that apply)
☐ Information Governance Team
☐ Data Protection Officer / DPO
☐ Legal Services
☐ HR / People Services
☐ Children's Services
☐ Adult Social Care
☐ Individual service departments (for records within their area)
☐ External provider
☐ Other (please specify): _______________
Name the top 3 departments to which SARs were aimed.
Section 8: Complexity Indicators
On average, how many separate systems are searched per SAR?
(Select one)
☐ 1-2
☐ 3-5
☐ 6-10
☐ More than 10
On average, how many pages are reviewed per SAR?
(Select one)
☐ Under 50
☐ 50-200
☐ 201-500
☐ 501-1,000
☐ Over 1,000
☐ Unknown
How many SARs required consultation with third parties (e.g., NHS, schools, police, external agencies)?
Financial Year | Third Party Consultations
2022/23
2023/24
2024/25
Response
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am writing to request information regarding Subject Access Requests (SARs) received by your Council.
For ease of response, I have structured this request into clearly defined questions with simple response formats. Where exact figures are unavailable, informed estimates are acceptable.
Section 1: SAR Volume
Please provide the total number of Subject Access Requests received:
Financial Year | Number of SARs Received
2022/23 (April 2022 - March 2023) |
2023/24 (April 2023 - March 2024) |
2024/25 (April 2024 - March 2025) |
Answer: Please see the table below:
|
Financial Year |
Number of SARs Received |
|
2022/23 (April 2022 - March 2023) |
157 |
|
2023/24 (April 2023 - March 2024) |
170 |
|
2024/25 (April 2024 - March 2025) |
211 |
Section 2: Processing Time and Staff Costs
What is the estimated average number of staff hours spent processing each SAR (including searching, collation, review, and redaction)?
Average hours per SAR?
Answer: The Service Area have advised an average of 10 hours per SAR are spent processing, including searching, collating, reviewing and redacting.
Which salary band best represents the staff primarily responsible for processing SARs?
(Select one)
☐ Under £30,000 per annum
☐ £30,000 - £40,000 per annum
☐ £40,000 - £50,000 per annum
☐ £50,000 - £65,000 per annum
☐ Over £65,000 per annum
☐ Mixed/varies significantly across departments
Answer: £30,000 - £40,000 per annum
Approximately how many FTE (full-time equivalent) staff are dedicated to SAR processing?
Estimated FTE for SAR processing =
Answer: The Service Area have advised no staff are dedicated solely to SAR processing. SAR processing is undertaken by officers in the Information Governance Team, however, they undertake this processing alongside other information governance work. There are 5.3 FTE in the team.
Section 3: External Costs
Please provide the total expenditure on external SAR support (e.g., solicitors, consultants, redaction services). Costs can be approximate however must be indicated as such:
Financial Year | External Spend (£)
2022/23 |
2023/24 |
2024/25 |
If no external services were used, please state "Nil".
Answer: Please see the table below:
|
Financial Year |
External Spend (£) |
|
2022/23 |
Nil |
|
2023/24 |
Nil |
|
2024/25 |
Nil |
Section 4: Compliance and Timeliness
Please provide the following compliance data:
Financial Year | Completed Within 30 Days | Required Extension | Total SARs
2022/23 |
2023/24 |
2024/25 |
Answer: Please see the table below:
|
Financial Year |
Completed Within 30 Days |
Required Extension |
Total SARs |
|
2022/23 |
138 |
19 |
157 |
|
2023/24 |
155 |
15 |
170 |
|
2024/25 |
171 |
40 |
211 |
How many SARs are currently open or overdue?
Current backlog (open/overdue) =
Answer: The Service Area have advised 30 SAR’s are currently open.
Section 5: Complaints and Quality
Please provide the following quality indicators:
Financial Year | ICO Complaints | SARs Requiring Re-work
2022/23 |
2023/24 |
2024/25 |
If none, please state "Nil".
Answer: Please see the table below:
|
Financial Year |
ICO Complaints |
SARs Requiring Re-work |
|
2022/23 |
0 |
0 |
|
2023/24 |
1 |
0 |
|
2024/25 |
5 |
1 |
Has the ICO taken any enforcement action regarding SAR handling in the past three years?
☐ Yes ☐ No
Answer: No.
Section 6: Current Tools and Methods
What software or tools are currently used to manage and process SARs?
(Select all that apply)
☐ Spreadsheet (e.g., Excel, Google Sheets)
☐ General case management system
☐ Specialist SAR/DSAR software. Name of software _______________
☐ Social Care Case Management System (e.g., Liquid Logic, Mosaic)
☐ Document Management System (e.g., SharePoint, OpenText)
☐ Email/manual process only
☐ Other (please specify): _______________
Answer: Spreadsheet (e.g., Excel, Google Sheets)
Specialist SAR/DSAR software. Name of software: E-case
Is any element of your SAR process currently automated?
(Select all that apply)
☐ Automated searching across systems
☐ Automated redaction
☐ Automated tracking and deadline alerts
☐ Automated response/correspondence generation
☐ No automation currently in place
Answer: Automated tracking and deadline alerts
Automated response/correspondence generation
Section 7: SAR Processing Responsibility
Which role(s) or department(s) are primarily responsible for processing SARs?
(Select all that apply)
☐ Information Governance Team
☐ Data Protection Officer / DPO
☐ Legal Services
☐ HR / People Services
☐ Children's Services
☐ Adult Social Care
☐ Individual service departments (for records within their area)
☐ External provider
☐ Other (please specify): _______________
Answer: Information Governance Team
Name the top 3 departments to which SARs were aimed.
Answer: 1) Children Social Care
2) Council Tax
3) Adult Social Care
Section 8: Complexity Indicators
On average, how many separate systems are searched per SAR?
(Select one)
☐ 1-2
☐ 3-5
☐ 6-10
☐ More than 10
Answer: 3-5.
On average, how many pages are reviewed per SAR?
(Select one)
☐ Under 50
☐ 50-200
☐ 201-500
☐ 501-1,000
☐ Over 1,000
☐ Unknown
Answer: Unknown.
How many SARs required consultation with third parties (e.g., NHS, schools, police, external agencies)?
Financial Year | Third Party Consultations
2022/23
2023/24
2024/25
Answer: The Service Area have advised during these financial years, very few SAR’s required consultation with third parties. If you require exact figures for each year, please let us know, however, please note that this will require a manual check of the case files of each SAR received in these years, and that may exceed the Appropriate Time Limit (18 hours).
Documents
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