Sent: 29 May 2025
Due: 26 June 2025
Received: 26 June 2025
Review Sent (Partial Response): 7 July 2025
Due: 5 August 2025
SICO Appeal Sent: 23 August 2025
SICO Appeal Validated: 2 September 2025
Council Response: 11 November 2025
SICO Ref: 202501438
Council Ref: FS-Case-718554953
Response by Highland Council after SICO Appeal 11 November 2025.
Please accept my apologies for not responding to your email below sooner.
I have provided further details below.
2023 claim.
This claim did not reach court as it was settled with a payout of £500
The legal letter received cited Article 82
2025 claims
One claim referenced Article 82 but the other only referenced Section 168 of the Data Protection Act 2018. However, this Section refers to Article 82.
Neither claim has been settled at this time.
I hope that the information provided above is sufficient, please let me know if you require anything else.
If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome of the Council’s review, you have the right to appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner under Section 47 of the Act, within six months of receiving the Council’s review response.
Further guidance on information request reviews and right to appeal can be found on the Scottish Information Commissioner website at www.foi.scot.
Yours sincerely,
Miles Watters
Information Governance Manager
The Highland Council
Review Sent 7 July 2025
Dear Miles,
Thank you for your response to FS-Case-718554953.
If you could review the following partial responses at your earliest opportunity I should be grateful.
Can you confirm if the 2 claims in 2025 are Article 79 or 82 claims & whether either are subject to current litigation?
Can you confirm if out of court compensation was paid by the Council on the 2023 claim & provide the amount paid out.
Thank your for your time & attention.
Kind regards
Received 26 June 2025
I refer to your request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 regarding claims under UK GDPR. I have answered each of your questions below.
1. Between 1 JAN 2021 to 29 MAY 2025, provide a breakdown by year of the number of any court claims raised against the Council under Article 79 GDPR or Article 82 GDPR.
In the time period specified we have received 1 claim in 2023, 1 claim in 2024 and 2 claims in 2025
2. Please also provide details of the number of claims under same Articles settled out of court either before or after a claim was raised in a court.
1 claim was settled out of court. This was the claim raised in 2023.
3. Please provide any details of any compensation paid out by the Council under Article 82 either resulting from court action or out of court settlement.
No compensation has been paid out to date as a result of the claims identified which have gone to court.
4. Please provide details of any external legal services the Council instructs in relation to GDPR and data protection compliance matters.
The Council engages Ledingham and Chalmers to provide services in relation to data protection matters where required.
While I hope that the above information is sufficient, under Section 20 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, you have the right to request that the Highland Council reviews any aspect of how it has dealt with your request. This requirement for review should be put in writing to the Freedom of Information Officer, Chief Executive’s Office, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness IV3 5NX, within 40 working days of receipt of this letter. The request should include details of the information requested and the aspects of the Highland Council’s response which you are not satisfied with.
If you are subsequently dissatisfied with the outcome of the Council's review, you have the right to appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner under Section 47 of the Act, within six months of receiving the Council's review response.
Further guidance on information request reviews and right to appeal can be found on the Scottish Information Commissioner website at www.foi.scot .
Yours sincerely,
Miles Watters
Information Governance Manager
The Highland Council
Send an FOI request to the Highland Council here.