Subject Access Requests Volume and Information

Where exact figures are unavailable, informed estimates are acceptable.


(1) SAR Volume

Please provide the total number of Subject Access Requests received:

Financial Year Number of SARs Received

(1a) 2022/23 (April 2022 - March 2023)

(1b) 2023/24 (April 2023 - March 2024)

(1c) 2024/25 (April 2024 - March 2025)

(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)?

(3) Average hours per SAR?

(4) 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

(5) Approximately how many FTE (full-time equivalent) staff are dedicated to SAR processing?

(5a) Estimated FTE for SAR processing =

(6) 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:

(6) Financial Year External Spend (£)

(6a) 2022/23

(6b) 2023/24

(6c) 2024/25

(6d) If no external services were used, please state "Nil".

(7) Compliance and Timeliness

Please provide the following compliance data:

(7a) Financial Year Completed Within 30 Days Required Extension Total SARs
(7b) 2022/23
(7c) 2023/24
(7d) 2024/25

(8) How many SARs are currently open or overdue?

Current backlog (open/overdue) =

(9) Complaints and Quality

Please provide the following quality indicators:

(9a) Financial Year ICO Complaints SARs Requiring Re-work

(9b) 2022/23

(9c) 2023/24

(9d) 2024/25

(9e) If none, please state "Nil".



(10) Has the ICO taken any enforcement action regarding SAR handling in the past three years?

☐ Yes ☐ No

(11) 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): _______________

(12) 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

(13) 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): _______________

(14) Name the top 3 departments to which SARs were aimed.

1
2
3

(15) Complexity Indicators
On average, how many separate systems are searched per SAR? (Select one)

☐ 1-2 ☐ 3-5 ☐ 6-10 ☐

(16) 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

(17) How many SARs required consultation with third parties (e.g., NHS, schools, police, external agencies)?
(17a) Financial Year Third Party Consultations
(17b) 2022/23
(17c) 2023/24
(17d) 2024/25

(1)
(1a) 2022/23 (April 2022 - March 2023) = 398
(1b) 2023/24 (April 2023 - March 2024) = 624
(1c) 2024/25 (April 2024 - March 2025) = 940

(2) This is not recorded

(3) This is not recorded

(4)  Mixed/varies significantly across departments

(5)
(5a) unable to quantify accurately – a variety staff are responsible across Lincolnshire County Council (LCC)

(6) External Costs
(6) Financial Year External Spend (£)
(6a) 2022/23 Nil
(6b) 2023/24 Nil
(6c) 2024/25 NIl
(6d) If no external services were used, please state "Nil".

(7)
(7b) 2022/23  = 91%
(7c) 2023/24  = 89%
(7d) 2024/25  = 88%

(8) 194

(9)
(9a) Financial Year ICO Complaints SARs Requiring Re-work
(9b) 2022/23           4
(9c) 2023/24            5
(9d) 2024/25           3
(9e) If none, please state "Nil".

(10) No

(11)
☐ Spreadsheet (excel)

☐ General case management system (Icasework)
☐ Specialist SAR/DSAR software (Adobe Pro DC (Acrobat))
☐ Social Care Case Management System (Mosaic)

☐ Document Management System (Canofile – Digital files, SharePoint, offsite file log/retrieval)  

☐ Email (outlook)

(12) No automation currently in place

(13)
☐ Information Governance Team
☐ Data Protection Officer / DPO
☐ Legal Services
☐ Resources (includes HR / People Services)
☐ Children's Services
☐ Adult and Community Care (includes Adult Social Care)
☐ Individual service departments (for records within their area)
☐ Place Directorate  

(14)
1 Children’s Services
2 Adult and Community Care
3 Resources

(15) 6-10

(16) Over 1,000

(17) none