What is an advisory visit?
The aim of an advisory visit is to give practical advice to organisations on how to improve data protection practice. It involves a one day visit from the ICO and a short follow up report.
What are the benefits of an advisory visit?
You will benefit from our knowledge and experience to identify what you are doing well and what you need to improve and receive practical recommendations and suggestions to put things right. There is no expense to your organisation and you get a short report at the end which summarises what you should do next.
How does the ICO conduct an advisory visit?
We will give you an information sheet before the visit to explain what you can expect. We will also ask you to fill out a questionnaire which we will review with you during our visit. We will discuss which members of staff it would be useful for us to speak to and agree a simple schedule for the day.
We will use the one day visit to understand what policies and procedures you have in place and how they can be improved. The visit will also be flexible enough to provide an opportunity for your staff to ask questions.
Within three days of the visit, we will send you a short report which will summarize what we have seen and discussed, and provide you with practical advice.
What areas does an advisory visit normally cover?
There are three main areas that we will look at:
- Security of personal data - we will review how you keep electronic and manual personal data secure.
- Records management – we will review how you process records containing personal data including their creation, maintenance, and eventual destruction.
- Requests for personal data – we will review how you handle individuals’ requests for copies of their personal data and how you manage routine and one off disclosures to other organisations.
What happens to the reports?
We will publish on our website that we have conducted an advisory visit with you, and we will ask your permission to include a short summary of the visit. We will keep this information on our website for one year. We do this to show how we are helping organisations to improve and to share the good practice we find.
Who can request an advisory visit?
Advisory visits are aimed at small to medium sized businesses, charities and not for profit organisations. We are happy to work with organisations in the public and private sectors and will prioritise those that will benefit most from a visit.
How long does an advisory visit take?
You will need to complete a short questionnaire before our site visit and we will spend a day on site with you. We will send you the short report within three days of the visit.
How can I request one?
If you would like the ICO to consider your organisation for an advisory visit, please register your interest.
Where can I go for more information?
We have produced a guide to ICO advisory visits for organisations considering an advisory visit, providing further information about what it involves.