Introduction
The guidance on this website is intended to assist people in accessing their personal records. However, the Independent Panel is aware that trying to access information and records can be a complicated and emotional process. Records can be held in many different places, and the process of getting access may be different depending on what the records are and who holds them. Records can vary in the amounts of detail they contain and may be difficult to understand.
Where you start in your effort to access your records depends on your experience. Everyone’s experience was / is different, but the information below may be of assistance in understanding what records exist, who controls them and how they can be accessed. If you find your experience is not reflected here or could be better reflected, please contact us at secretariat@independentpanel.org.uk
Support and Assistance
The guidance on this website is designed to be used by impacted people themselves, but help is available for people who would like support and assistance. Such support and assistance is available from the Victims and Survivors Service (‘VSS’) through their community partners, Adopt NI and WAVE.
Free legal advice and assistance on access to records may also be available through a solicitor and the Legal Services Agency Northern Ireland. Guidance on accessing legal advice and assistance is available on our Accessing Records and Your Rights page.
Guidance for Birth Mothers
If you spent time in a Mother and Baby Institution or in a Workhouse before or after you gave birth, there may be records in relation to your time there. Guidance in relation to the records of Mother and Baby Institutions and Workhouses, including what records have survived and who controls them is available on our Institutional Records page. You may be able to access such records containing your personal data by making a Subject Access Request under the UK GDPR. Advice on how to make Subject Access Requests is available on our Accessing Records and Your Rights page.
You may also be able to access personal information about yourself in the adoption records relating to your child if he or she was adopted. Guidance on how to make an application for access to adoption records as a family member of an adopted person is available on our Adoption Records page.
Guidance for Women Placed in a Magdalene Laundry
If you spent time in a Magdalene Laundry, there may be records in relation to your time there. Guidance in relation to the records of Magdalene Laundries, including what records have survived and who controls them, is available on our Institutional Records page. You may be able to access such records containing your personal data by making a Subject Access Request under the UK GDPR. Guidance on how to make Subject Access Requests is available on our Accessing Records and Your Rights page.
Guidance for Children, Now Adults, Impacted by Family Separation
Children, Now Adults, Impacted by Family Separation
If you were born while your mother was in a Mother and Baby Institution or in a Workhouse and then adopted, there may be records in relation to your birth, time in the institution, and adoption.
The first step in accessing these records is often to apply for your original birth certificate. Guidance on how to apply for your original birth certificate is available on our Adoption Records page.
Guidance in relation to the records of Mother and Baby Institutions and Workhouses, including what records have survived and who controls them, is available on our Institutional Records page. You may be able to access such records containing your personal data by making a Subject Access Request under the UK GDPR. Guidance on how to make Subject Access Requests is available on our Accessing Records and Your Rights page.
You may also be able to access your adoption file. Depending on how your adoption was organised, your adoption file may be held by a Health and Social Care Trust or a voluntary adoption agency. Guidance on how to make an application for access to adoption records held by Health and Social Care Trusts and voluntary adoption agencies is available on our Adoption Records page .
Other Children, Now Adults, Impacted by Family Separation
If you were born while your mother was in a Mother and Baby Institution or in a Workhouse and then boarded out, fostered, placed or taken into care, and / or sent abroad (including to Australia), there may be records relating to your birth and placement.
Guidance in relation to the records of Mother and Baby Institutions and Workhouses, including what records have survived and who controls them, is available. You may be able to access such records containing your personal data by making a Subject Access Request under the UK GDPR. Guidance on how to make Subject Access Requests is available on our Accessing Records and Your Rights page.
Boarding out, fostering and care records are held by Health and Social Care Trusts. Guidance in relation to the records of Health and Social Care Trusts is available on our Adoption Records page. You may be able to access such records containing your personal data by making a Subject Access Request under the UK GDPR. Guidance on how to make Subject Access Requests is available on our Accessing Records and Your Rights page.
Disclaimer
Every effort has been made to ensure that the Access to Records Guidance on this website is accurate, but it does not and is not intended to constitute legal advice. The Truth Recovery Independent Panel will not accept liability for any loss or damage arising from any action or decision taken based on its content. Information on access to legal advice and assistance is available on our Accessing Records and Your Rights page.