DPA FAQs
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A student’s parent calls and asks for information about their performance or for their contact details – what do we do?
Issue: details of a student’s performance, their contact details, even the fact that they study at SOAS is personal data. Disclosure to a third party in these circumstances is unlikely to be compliant with the Data Protection Act.
Suggested approach: do not confirm anything that is put to you. Politely offer to take their details and pass them onto the student. Then it is up to the student to contact them if they wish to.
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UKBA, HMRC, or a local council get in touch and ask for details about a student – are they entitled to this information?
Issue: UKBA and other authorities occasionally ask for information about students. Some of these requests will be legitimate, but it is possible that some won’t be. Also, how do staff know that they are who they say they are?
Suggested approach: there are conditions under which we are expected to share data with Government bodies such as UKBA. But there is a need to be cautious. First of all, staff need to be sure that the enquirer is who they claim to be – that may be obvious from the context (email address, letterhead, etc). Staff might also ask them for the number of their switchboard so that they can call them back (with most authorities it will be possible to double check the number by checking their website). Staff also need to be sure that they have the power to obtain the data. They should ask them why they need the data and what, if any, legislation empowers them to obtain it from us. If the request is legitimate, they should be able to explain this.
