The Data Protection Act 1998: How the Welsh Government processes correspondence to ministers

For administrative purposes the Cabinet Division of the Welsh Government keeps a record of the details of all correspondence to ministers on a database.

Examples of the information held are:

• Name and address of sender
• Subject of the letter
• Date of receipt
• Status of the Welsh Government’s response

The personal details we record are used by us for the purpose of dealing with your correspondence.

Where your correspondence requires a response we may need in some cases to consult with people and organisations outside of the Welsh Government. As part of this process we may pass information to them, including information you have given us and your personal data. We will, however, only disclose your personal details where it is necessary to do so to enable us to deal with issues you have asked us to help you with.

All of the information that results from dealing with your request, from the beginning to satisfactory completion, will be kept by the Welsh government for a period of up to 11 years, after which the information is reviewed, and unless there are exceptional circumstances, destroyed. If your request is for a Ministerial meeting or is an invitation then some details may become part of the public record.

If you have any queries about the way your correspondence is being dealt with please contact the person named in the accompanying letter/e-mail.

All of the information held by the Welsh Government, including your correspondence, will be processed and managed by us in accordance with our obligations and duties under the:

• Data Protection Act 1998
• Freedom of Information Act 2000
• The Environmental Information Regulations 2004, and  
• all other laws relating to access to information

With this in mind, your information, including your personal information, may be the subject of a request by another member of the public. When responding to such requests we may be required to release information, including your personal information. Our response to such requests will be in accordance with the guidelines provided by the Welsh Government’s Code of Practice on Access to Information. The code is published on the internet at:

Welsh Government’s Code of Practice on Access to Information

Your rights under the Data Protection Act 1998

This list is not intended to be exhaustive:

• You have the right to ask the Welsh Government to provide you with access to and a copy of personal data held about you.
• You have the right, in specified circumstances, to ask the Welsh Government to stop processing personal data about you.
• You have the right to ask the Information Commissioner to carry out an assessment of the way in which the Welsh Government has processed personal data about you.

Individuals who wish to exercise any of these rights should contact the Welsh Assembly Government’s Data Protection Officer (029 2082 6770).