'How social workers can help care experienced people access their records'

By Catherine Evans O'Brien, head of communities, ICO

Access to personal information is a fundamental right. For the tens of thousands of people with care experience, the records held about them are far more than paperwork. They are the threads that can help weave together a life story and shape a person’s understanding of who they are. Reports written by social workers, photographs, keepsakes and mementos are critical in promoting feelings of identity, belonging and self-worth.

Yet, as the UK’s data protection regulator, we have seen how difficult it can be for people to access these records through Subject Access Requests (SARs). Too often, they face systemic challenges: long delays, heavily redacted files or difficulty accessing the support they need.

Listening to care experienced people

Recognising our role in improving this picture, we set out to understand the barriers.

Over the past two years, we have spoken to care experienced people and the organisations holding their information - to understand the issues they have faced accessing their records and the change they need.

In 2023, we took proactive steps to engage with all 32 local authorities in Scotland to improve their compliance and, in 2024, we launched a UK-wide survey calling on people to share their motivations around accessing their records along with the challenges they have experienced.

The responses were powerful. People wanted to rebuild their identity, understand their life story, learn why they entered care or were moved around, and gain insight into their health and family medical history. Many sought to reconnect with parents or relatives.

'Overwhelming challenges' in accessing records

Feedback described a raft of overwhelming challenges – many said they felt like they were facing a brick wall or were made to feel they were asking for too much.

Others experienced long and unexpected delays – one of up to sixteen years. One person told us it felt like being punished again for something that wasn't their fault. Another said they gave up entirely because the process felt designed to keep them out.

The message was clear - too often records were inaccessible, incomplete or written in ways that left young people feeling excluded from their own narrative.

We also spoke to frontline staff, including social workers, to understand their concerns. They told us they were trying their best to get it right but that a lack of resources and the absence of clear guidance on how to navigate requests within the statutory timeframe was impacting on the overall care experience.

The Better Records Together campaign

Now we have launched Better Records Together, a campaign developed with care experienced people, advocacy groups and organisations across the UK. Its suite of resources includes:

• New standards for organisations - providing clarity on obligations and breaking down the process into manageable steps. They emphasise responding to requests with empathy and compassion while embedding good practice from the moment a child enters care.
• Clear resources for care experienced people - including a guide to help individuals navigate the process, explain your rights and access support.

How social workers can help

We know from our engagement that when it comes to care records, social workers are at the sharp end. As the bridge between policy and lived experience, they are the ones who are tasked with writing, compiling and maintaining these important documents. Now, we need the support of the social work community to:

• Help implement our ICO standards - creating records that children and young people can understand, engage with and feel ownership of.
• Empower children and young people in care - helping them to understand what is written about them, how to access it and how to raise concerns.
• Support care leavers - ensuring those who have left care can access and make sense of their care story, often years after leaving the system.

Senior leaders 'must prioritise care records acccess'

It is vitally important to recognise that no single person or organisation can fix the problems in isolation. Improving care records requires collective effort from social workers, local authorities, government, regulators and advocacy groups.

Organisations should cascade our standards to frontline staff, equipping them to create records that care experienced people can understand and own. Teams must respond to requests with confidence, supporting care leavers to access their story. Senior leaders in local authorities should prioritise resources to implement these standards effectively and take accountability to ensure rights are upheld.

In an open letter, the commissioner, John Edwards, is urging them to ensure staff can manage the volume and complexity of these requests.

And care experienced people can use our new resources to understand their rights and expectations when accessing records.

As the data protection regulator, it is our hope that this new suite of resources can be a catalyst for change - because when frontline services are better supported, they can better serve people with care experience.

The ICO's future plans

The ICO’s work in this space is evolving. In 2026 we’ll be engaging with 19 organisations across the UK to monitor performance and drive improvements – a move which will build on the work we’ve already done with Scottish local authorities.

Next year, we will also be convening practitioners, leaders and care experienced people at events to drive systemic change. With commitment from all sectors, we hope to build a clear pathway to better care records and improved rights of access.

Through Better Records Together, we want every child and young person in care to have ownership of their story. Records should reflect not just the system’s perspective, but their own voice.

If you’d like to know more about Better Records Together or share your experiences as a social work practitioner, we would love to hear from you: BetterRecordsTogether@ico.org.uk.