This guide covers the SAR exemptions for regulation, Parliament and the judiciary under the Data Protection Act 2018.
A subject access request touches a named regulator, the Bank of England, or a matter before the courts. Does the usual prejudice test apply, or is the protection absolute? This is exactly where the SAR exemptions for regulation, Parliament and the judiciary come in, and mixing up which of the two applies is the most common error we see with this group.
Four of the six protections, audit functions, the Bank of England, and two groups of named regulators, only apply to the extent disclosure would be likely to prejudice the proper discharge of the function, the same test used throughout Schedule 2. The other two, parliamentary privilege and judicial functions, along with Crown honours, are largely absolute, with no prejudice test at all, because Parliament and the judiciary sit outside the reach of these obligations as a matter of constitutional principle, not practical harm.
Why regulators get a named list, not a general rule
The SAR exemptions for regulation, Parliament and the judiciary don’t apply to regulators in general. The regulatory functions exemptions cover an unusually specific, named list of bodies, from the Financial Conduct Authority to the Pensions Regulator to the Charity Commission, so if your organisation is itself a regulator, that list is worth checking rather than assuming the exemption applies.
This guide walks through all six protections, which require a prejudice test and which are largely absolute, and the genuinely narrow scope of exemptions like parliamentary privilege and Crown honours, which are stretched further than Schedule 2 allows more often than any other in this group.
Once you’ve identified the right test, precise handling and a clear evidence trail matter just as much. The ProvePrivacy platform’s DSAR Redaction Tool, available to every client, helps apply and evidence exactly that kind of precise call. Download the full guide below to see which of the two tests applies to your situation.