Access to Personal Files Act 1987

2 Definition of accessible personal information.

(1) The following provisions apply for the interpretation of this Act.

(2) "Personal information" means information which relates to a living individual who can be identified from that information (or from that and other information in the possession of the authority keeping the record) including any expression of opinion about the individual but not any indication of the intentions of the authority with respect to that individual.

(3) Subject to subsection (4) below, information is " accessible personal information" for the purposes of this Act if it is held in a record kept by an authority specified in the Table in Schedule 1 to this Act or, as respects Scotland, Schedule 2 to this Act and is information of a description specified in that Table in relation to that authority; and any obligation to give access to information is an obligation to give access to the individual who is the subject of it or is, under that Schedule, to be treated as such.

(4) As respects any regulations under section 3, information is not accessible personal information if recorded before the commencement date of the regulations or the first commencement date of regulations imposing a corresponding obligation except to the extent that access to it is required to make intelligible information recorded on or after that date.