SAR Support Services in Manchester

Greater Manchester's ten boroughs contain one of the UK's largest concentrations of students, healthcare staff and media workers. That mix produces a distinctive set of Subject Access Requests: students challenging marks, clinicians and patients requesting records, and production staff whose data sits inside editorial material.

We take on the whole process for organisations across the city region — from scoping the request through review, redaction and a finished disclosure pack — without anyone needing to be on site.

Students, exam scripts and exam marks

Universities and colleges receive a high volume of SARs from students, often timed around assessment boards and appeals. Two specific rules apply that are easy to get wrong.

First, exam scripts — the answers a candidate wrote — are exempt from the right of access. Examiners' comments on those scripts, however, are the student's personal data and are generally disclosable. Withholding comments on the basis of the script exemption is one of the most common mistakes in student SARs.

Second, where a student asks for their marks before results are published, the deadline is extended: to the earlier of five months from the request or 40 days after the results are announced.

Media organisations and the journalism exemption

Salford's MediaCityUK is home to national broadcasters and a large independent production sector. When a SAR touches editorial material — research notes, unbroadcast interviews, footage — the special purposes exemption for journalism, academic, artistic and literary work may apply.

It is narrower than many organisations assume. It only applies where the data is processed with a view to publication, the controller reasonably believes publication is in the public interest, and complying would be incompatible with those purposes. HR records for production staff are not editorial material and get no special treatment.

NHS trusts across the city region

Health records requests from patients and staff run alongside requests about HR matters, incidents and complaints. Clinical opinions about a patient are their personal data and normally disclosable, and the serious harm test can only be applied by or with an appropriate health professional. Our medical records redaction guide covers this in detail.

Sectors we support in Greater Manchester

How we handle your SAR remotely

1. Tell us about the request — the systems involved, the date range and your deadline. We confirm a fixed fee within 24 hours.
2. Upload the documents to an encrypted, access-controlled workspace. Nothing is emailed.
3. Our specialists review every item and redact third-party and exempt information, logging the legal basis for each decision.
4. You receive a finished disclosure pack, covering letter and redaction schedule, ready to send.

Every case is quoted individually on the size and complexity of your dataset, and the fixed fee is agreed before any work begins.

Frequently asked questions

Can a student see their exam script through a SAR?

No — exam scripts are exempt from the right of access. But examiners' comments on the script, and the marks awarded, are the student's personal data and should generally be disclosed.

Does the journalism exemption cover everything a media company holds?

No. It only covers data processed for publication where publication is believed to be in the public interest and complying would be incompatible with that purpose. Staff HR files, payroll and ordinary business records are handled like any other employer's.

Do you work with Greater Manchester councils as well as private employers?

Yes. We support public bodies, universities, NHS organisations and private employers across the city region, all remotely.