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A council, NHS body or other public authority data breach does not automatically create a right to compensation. Under UK GDPR Article 82, you must show an infringement, material or non-material damage (including distress), and a responsible controller or processor. Only a court can award or enforce compensation; the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) can investigate and take regulatory action but cannot order your damages.
You can still take practical steps immediately: make a subject access request (SAR) for the authority’s records, request erasure where Article 17 permits it, complain to the ICO about compliance, and preserve evidence if you may claim damages.
What compensation can you claim after a council or NHS data breach?
The legal test is cumulative. UK GDPR Article 82 says: “Any person who has suffered material or non-material damage as a result of an infringement of this Regulation shall have the right to receive compensation from the controller or processor for the damage suffered.” You therefore need evidence of each part of the claim:
- An infringement: the public authority or its processor breached a UK GDPR requirement, such as security, lawfulness, transparency or data-subject rights.
- Damage: this can be material loss, such as a demonstrable financial loss, or non-material damage. Section 168 of the Data Protection Act 2018 confirms that non-material damage includes distress.
- Responsibility and causation: the organisation sued must be the controller or processor responsible for the infringement, and the damage must have resulted from it.
A breach notification, by itself, proves that an incident occurred; it does not automatically prove compensable damage or the amount of any award. The facts of the disclosure, the information involved, who received it, how long it was exposed and the effects on you all matter.
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What counts as damage?
Material damage may include a documented financial loss attributable to the breach. Keep invoices, bank or account records, replacement costs and correspondence showing the connection. Non-material damage includes distress under section 168. A contemporaneous record of anxiety, embarrassment, loss of sleep, fear of misuse or other effects can help show what happened and when, but the court decides whether the evidence establishes damage and what sum, if any, is appropriate.
There is no fixed tariff
The cited legislation and ICO guidance do not set a standard compensation tariff, average award or automatic payment for a public-sector breach. Awards are fact-specific and enforced by a court. Treat any settlement offer as a negotiation based on your evidence, not as an amount guaranteed by the fact of notification.
Who decides the outcome: the authority, ICO or a court?
| Route | Purpose | Decision-maker | Key timing | Evidence emphasis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subject access request (Article 15) | Obtain your personal data and supplementary information | The public authority, subject to exemptions | Normally one month from receipt | Identity and a clear request; the authority must make a reasonable and proportionate search |
| Erasure request (Article 17) | Ask for deletion where a listed ground applies | The public authority | Without undue delay where the right applies | The applicable Article 17 ground and why no restriction defeats it |
| ICO complaint | Challenge compliance and seek regulatory investigation | Information Commissioner’s Office | Use the authority’s response and the ICO’s current complaint process | Your requests, responses, dates and evidence of non-compliance |
| Damages claim | Recover compensation for proven material or non-material damage | A court | Litigation limitation rules apply; obtain separate legal advice on the deadline | Infringement, responsible party, causation and damage |
The ICO states that “if a person suffers damage or distress because you have breached their data protection rights … they are entitled to claim compensation from you. Only the courts can enforce their right to compensation.” An ICO investigation can support understanding of compliance, but an ICO decision is not a damages judgment and the regulator cannot set your compensation.
How to make a subject access request after the breach
The ICO describes access as the right to obtain a copy of your personal information and supplementary information. You may make a SAR verbally or in writing. You do not have to use the words “subject access request” or cite Article 15, although labelling the request clearly can avoid delay.
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Include these points
- Identify yourself: provide enough information for the authority to verify your identity and locate your records. Follow any secure identity-check process it gives you.
- Name the organisation and incident: refer to the breach notification, relevant service or department, and dates or reference numbers.
- Ask whether your personal data is being processed: request confirmation of processing.
- Request a copy: ask for the personal data held about you, including records connected with the incident.
- Request supplementary information: ask for the purposes of processing, categories of personal data, recipients or categories of recipients, retention information, and information about your right to complain.
- Specify useful searches: identify systems, case numbers, email addresses, dates or teams if you know them. This helps the authority perform a reasonable and proportionate search.
- Ask for secure delivery: state how you can safely receive the response.
Deadlines and clarification
The normal response period is one month from receipt. ICO guidance updated in 2025–2026 says that where a public authority is treating a mixed request as a UK GDPR SAR, it should clarify that position within 20 working days. Keep proof of when the authority received your request: an email sent confirmation, portal receipt or recorded delivery record.
What may be withheld or redacted?
The authority may withhold or redact another person’s information and may rely on statutory exemptions. A response can therefore contain partial disclosure rather than every document in full. Ask the authority to identify the information withheld, the exemption relied on and how to challenge the decision. The authority still has to make a reasonable and proportionate search; it is not required to search indefinitely or provide information outside the scope of your request.
If the response is late or incomplete
Write to the authority’s data-protection contact, quote your original request and receipt date, list the missing items and ask for a review. Preserve both requests and responses. You can then complain to the ICO about the handling of the SAR. A complaint does not itself award compensation.
Can you make the authority delete your data?
Article 17 provides a right to erasure without undue delay when a listed ground applies. Relevant grounds include that the data is no longer necessary for the purpose for which it was collected or that it was unlawfully processed. Your request should identify the data, the processing concerned and the Article 17 ground you rely on.
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When erasure may be refused or limited
Erasure is not absolute. The right is limited where processing is required by domestic law or is necessary for a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority. A council, NHS body or other authority may therefore need to retain records to meet legal, safeguarding, clinical, financial, accountability or other public-task duties. Ask for a specific explanation of the legal requirement or public-interest basis rather than assuming that a breach makes every record deletable.
Data that has been made public
If the authority made your personal data public and must erase it, Article 17 requires it to take reasonable steps to inform other controllers processing the data that you requested erasure of links to, or copies or replications of, that data. This duty concerns reasonable steps; it does not guarantee that every copy held by every organisation will disappear.
How to submit the request
- Send the request to the authority’s data-protection or privacy contact, or use its published channel.
- Describe the data and processing precisely, including the breach reference and relevant dates.
- State the Article 17 ground and explain why the data is no longer necessary or was unlawfully processed, if applicable.
- Ask the authority to confirm what it erased, what it retained and the legal reason for any refusal.
- Keep the request, proof of receipt and response. If the authority refuses, consider its internal review route and an ICO complaint.
What the authority should do after a serious breach
These duties govern the authority’s response; they do not set a compensation amount for individuals.
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Informing affected people
Under section 68 of the Data Protection Act 2018, where a breach is likely to result in a high risk to people’s rights and freedoms, the controller must inform affected people without undue delay unless an exception applies. A notification should help you understand what happened and what protective steps to take, but receiving one does not by itself establish every element of an Article 82 claim.
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Notifying the regulator
Section 108 requires a serious breach to be notified to the regulator without undue delay. If notification is not made within 72 hours, reasons for the delay must accompany it. The 72-hour reference point concerns the controller’s regulatory notification duty, not a deadline for you to claim compensation.
Evidence to preserve before asking for money
Organise a dated file before memories and digital records disappear. Keep:
- The breach notification, attachments and any incident reference.
- Emails, letters, portal messages, call notes and screenshots, with dates and times.
- Your SAR, erasure request, ICO complaint and every response.
- Evidence of financial loss, including receipts, account records and correspondence linking the loss to the incident.
- A contemporaneous diary of distress, symptoms, practical disruption and steps taken to mitigate harm.
- Evidence showing who controlled the data and, if relevant, which processor handled it.
Ask the authority to preserve relevant logs, audit trails, emails and case records. Do not alter screenshots; retain the original files and note how and when you obtained them. When assessing a settlement, compare the offer with evidence of infringement, responsibility, causation and damage rather than with an assumed tariff.
Should you complain to the ICO or bring a court claim?
Use an SAR when you need information
An SAR is the fastest way to learn what personal data the authority holds, how it was used and who received it. It can supply evidence for a later complaint or claim, but it is not a compensation process.
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Request erasure when deletion is legally available
Erasure is appropriate where an Article 17 ground applies and no legal-obligation or public-task restriction prevents deletion. It is not a substitute for asking the authority to correct inaccurate data or explain lawful retention.
Complain to the ICO about compliance
Complain when the authority ignores or mishandles your rights, gives an inadequate explanation, or appears to have failed its data-protection duties. Include the timeline and copies of your requests. The ICO may investigate and take regulatory action, but cannot order damages.
Consider court proceedings for compensation
A court claim is the route for enforcing Article 82 compensation. You must prove the infringement, the responsible controller or processor, causation and material or non-material damage. Limitation rules apply to litigation and depend on the circumstances, so obtain separate legal advice on the deadline before waiting for a regulatory investigation.
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You can usually make an SAR, an erasure request or an ICO complaint yourself. Clear dates, a precise description of the data and organised evidence are more useful than legal jargon. A solicitor or other qualified adviser may be worthwhile where the breach caused substantial financial loss, the authority disputes responsibility or causation, several organisations handled the data, the information concerns law-enforcement processing, or a limitation deadline may be close.
Ask any adviser to explain likely costs, the evidence needed, possible outcomes and whether the proposed claim covers distress, financial loss or both. Do not assume that an ICO complaint pauses a court limitation period.
Important exception: law-enforcement processing
Public authorities may process some information under Part 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018 for law-enforcement purposes. Different rights, exemptions and restrictions can apply in that context. If the breach concerns policing, criminal investigations or another law-enforcement function, identify the legal regime before relying on the ordinary UK GDPR SAR or erasure analysis and obtain advice where necessary.
Practical order of action
- Save the breach notice and record the date you learned of the incident.
- Secure accounts and documents affected by the disclosure, following the authority’s protective advice.
- Send a focused SAR asking for confirmation, a copy of your data and supplementary information.
- Send a separate Article 17 erasure request only if a listed ground appears to apply.
- Keep a dated evidence file and ask the authority to preserve relevant records.
- Escalate an incomplete or late response to the authority, then the ICO if appropriate.
- Take legal advice about a damages claim and limitation rules before issuing proceedings.
ICO guidance cited here was updated on 8 December 2025 and reflects amendments through 2026. Check the current guidance and the authority’s latest privacy notice before acting, particularly where Part 3 processing or statutory exemptions may apply.
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