§ Mr. Chris Smithasked the Secretary of State for Wales what arrangements are made by local education authorities in Wales for allowing parents access to their children's school records; what guidance he has issued to them on this matter; whether he proposes to take any steps to encourage them to allow greater access to information held on automated and non-automated records; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John Stradling ThomasWe are not aware of any general restriction on access by parents to their children's school records. The enactment of the Data Protection Bill will create a general entitlement to access by individuals to automated personal records held on them. Parents will have a common law right of access to such records on behalf of their children when the children are not of an age to exercise that right for themselves.
§ Mr. Chris Smithasked the Secretary of State for Wales what arrangements are made by health authorities in Wales to allow patients to have access to their own medical records; what guidance he has issued on this matter; whether he proposes to take any steps to encourage them to allow greater access to such information held on automated and non-automated records; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsThe decision to release a personal medical record to a patient is a matter of professional judgment for the health professionals concerned. It is good practice for them to be as open and informative towards their patients as possible although there may be occasions when disclosure of a medical record is not in the patient's 221W best interests. Our Department has issued advice on access to health records in the context of legal proceedings in Welsh Health Circular 82/20.
The Data Protection Bill will create a general entitlement to access by individuals to automated personal records held on them. Because unrestricted access to personal health records may not always be in a patient's best interests, the right of access to such records will be subject to modification by order of the Secretary of State. We intend to undertake wide consultations on the possible content of an order. Discussions are currently being held with representatives of the health professions on the implications of the Data Protection Bill for health data in general including subject access.