P-06-1218 Notify all 18 year olds who have been under social care the right to request their personal information

This petition was submitted by Victoria Pritchard, having collected a total of 260 signatures.

Text of Petition:                    

Everyone who has been in the care of social services should be told of their right to request their personal information by social services when they turn 18. Reviewing papers years and years after the event can have a significant detrimental effect on a person's well being and families.

Every person has human rights and should be informed about the right to view their file.

Additional Information:

Because I was so passionate about helping other children I chose to study youth & community work degree and during a discussion with my lecturer, as they knew I had been in care during previous conversations, they asked if I had asked for my data protection file which I had no idea what it was or what they were referring too. They told me what to do, I followed the procedure and was handed the file. The man looked at me with empathy as he had read it. I was a bit shocked and confused by the empathy he was showing me. I went home with this file quite interested at this point to have a read especially due to the man’s expression on his face knowing he had read the file also, low and behold I had no idea what was ahead of me, I was exposed to all the childhood trauma and neglect that I had experienced and it was such a shock to me that I had to be seen by a psychiatrist due to revisiting past trauma. I’m not blaming social services for the way my parents treated me that’s not their fault.

Status

This petition was considered completed by the Petitions Committee at its meeting on 10/10/2022.

The Committee considered the petition and agreed that given the fact that the Minister has written to all local authorities, and the heads of social services within those local authorities, reiterating the importance of transparency for those who are in care and their ability to access their private information from when they were in care, the committee agreed to thank the petitioner for highlighting this issue and closed the petition.

Full details of the consideration of this petition by the Committee and related documents can be seen on the Meetings tab above.

It was first considered by the Petitions Committee on 29/11/2021.

Senedd Constituency and Region

• Carmarthen East and Dinefwr
• Mid and West Wales

Further information

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