Legal guidance

This section provides general information on the relevant law relating to the use of administrative data. You should read it in full to familiarise yourself with some of the important Acts and legislation. It in no way attempts to be definitive in its guidance and the information is not intended to be legal advice.

Please consult your legal department or data holding organisation if you are unsure about the legality, ethics, security or disclosure risk of the research you are conducting. The ADLS cannot be held responsible for any actions taken as a result of reading this section. 

You may also wish to contact us for further information and advice relating to the law and administrative data.

You can now:

• » Read about the European Law: EU Directive 95/46
• » Read about the Data Protection Act 1998
• » Read about the Human Rights Act 1998
• » Read about the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007
• » Read about the Common Law tort: Duty of confidentiality
• » Read about the Freedom of Information Act 2000
• » Read about the Health and Social Care Act 2001
• » Read about Section 251, NHS Act 2006
• » Go to the Data Security guidance to use administrative data section
• » Return to main guidance section