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id="page_wrap" class="container" role="main">  <div class="row" id="breadcrumb-holder" tabindex="-1"> <div class="col starts-at-full clr"> <div id="breadcrumb"> <span class="first"><a href="/web/20240404224134/https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/">Home</a> > </span> <span><span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240404224134/https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/">Information management</a></span> > <span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240404224134/https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/legislation/">Legislation and regulations</a></span> > <span class="breadcrumb_last" aria-current="page">Data protection legislation</span></span> </div> </div> </div>  <div class="row"> <div class="col starts-at-full ends-at-two-thirds box clr content-area"> <div class="heading-holding-banner"> <h1><span><span> Data protection legislation </span></span></h1> </div> <div class="breather no-left-right-padding"> <p>Data protection law changed from May 2018 with the passing of the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240404224134/https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2018/12/contents/enacted?cn=ZmxleGlibGVfcmVjcw%3D%3D&refsrc=email" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Data Protection Act 2018</a> and taking effect of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Information and resources can be found on the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240404224134/https://ico.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Information Commissioner’s website</a>. There is special provision in the new laws for the archiving of personal data in the public interest. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240404224134/https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/legislation/archives-data-protection-law-uk/">Further advice and guidance</a> is available for the archives sector.</p> <h2>Guide to archiving personal data</h2> <p>The National Archives, in conjunction with government archiving policy leads and the Archives and Records Association, has prepared a guide to assist those working with the provision and exemptions for archiving found in the new data protection law.</p> <p>The guide has now been published in its final version following a period of public comment.</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240404224134/https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/information-management/guide-to-archiving-personal-data.pdf">Guide to archiving personal data (PDF, 1.09MB)</a></li> </ul> <p>The guide to archiving personal data is also <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240404224134/https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/information-management/guide-to-archiving-personal-data-welsh-version.pdf">available in Welsh (PDF, 1.16MB)</a>.</p> <h2>Data protection toolkit for archive services</h2> <p>The National Archives has produced a Data Protection legislation toolkit to assist archivists dealing with data protection requests and issues arising from their collections.</p> <p>You can <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240404224134/https://elearning.nationalarchives.gov.uk/login/signup.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sign up to access the Toolkit</a> using enrolment key ‘Data Protection Toolkit’, and then login through <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240404224134/https://elearning.nationalarchives.gov.uk/">TNA’s e-learning site</a>.</p> </div> </div>  <div class="col starts-at-full ends-at-one-third clr box"> <div class="heading-holding-banner"> <h2> <span> <span> <a name="inThisSection" href="/web/20240404224134/https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/legislation/">Also in Legislation and regulations</a></span> </span> </h2> </div> <div class="breather separator clr no-left-right-padding"> <ul class="sibling"> <li class="page_item page-item-803 page_item_has_children"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240404224134/https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/legislation/public-records-act/">Public Records Act</a></li> <li class="page_item page-item-813"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240404224134/https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/legislation/section-46/">Freedom of Information Act</a></li> <li class="page_item page-item-817"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240404224134/https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/legislation/environmental-information-regulations/">Environmental Information regulations</a></li> <li class="page_item page-item-819"><a 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