The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has set up a digital service for people to request information on themselves through subject access requests (SARs).
It is open to solicitors and members of the public and applies to information held by the Legal Aid Agency and other parts of the MoJ, including the prison and probation services and the Office of the Public Guardian.
SARs are a key element of the freedom of information regime in the UK, embedded in Article 15 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation.
The MoJ said the launch follows a pilot for the service run towards the end of 2021 with a group that included legal aid practitioners.
Results included that requests being made through the digital form were accepted as valid 81% of the time, and two-thirds of solicitors said they were satisfied or very satisfied.
Changes have been made in the content based on feedback from the pilot project.
The service does not apply to requests for information from the courts.
