What is Personal Data or Information?

Personal data is information about a living person who can be identified by that information, or by other information which is in the possession of the Council. Information includes any expression of opinion about the individual, and any indication of the intentions of the Council, or another person about the individual. It does not matter whether the information is on paper, video tape, computer, cassette, micro-fiche etc, the Data Protection Act will apply. In this note, the terms "data" and "information" are used interchangeably.

The Act defines data as information which is either processed by means of equipment automatically in response to instructions given, for example, a computer; or is recorded so it can be processed using such equipment; or is recorded as part of a relevant filing system or with the intention it should form part of a relevant filing system (for example manual files, card index); or forms part of an accessible record. It is easiest to think of Data as any personal information held by the Authority.