Subject: FW: Data Subject access request - A. Hogg - NRS-DP-2025-881 - Raymond Baker - Response - 18 January 2026
From: <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Cc: <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2026 12:01:59 +0000

Your reference: A. Hogg
NRS reference: NRS-DP-2025-881
SG reference: SAR25/26 - 303/Redress

Dear Sirs,

Subject Access Request

Thank you for the subject access request of 06 October 2025 you made on behalf of your client.

Scottish Government (SG) Records

Closed Records

National Records of Scotland (NRS) holds records on behalf of SG. These records include exempt/closed government files relating to approved and List D schools, children's homes, and prison and borstal services. SG remains the data controller for these records and makes all decisions on access.

We carried out searches of the NRS archival catalogue for records relating to the Seafield and Oakbank Children's Homes where your client was placed, in the timeframe specified. The search results and details of the records we identified are in the attached spreadsheet. We identified only one record for Oakbank and none for Seafield Children's Homes for the provided time period.

SG is responsible for the exempt/closed record for Oakbank School, which is highlighted in orange.

We also sent your request to the SG Information Assurance and Data Protection Branch (SG IADP) mailbox at [email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>. This branch coordinates searches of the exempt/closed records for which SG are responsible. They will be in contact with you, unless they have already responded to a request you made for this information.

Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) Records

NRS also holds historical court records on behalf of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service<https://scotcourts.gov.uk/about-the-scottish-court-service/contact-us/data-protection> (SCTS). These include exempt/closed records created around the time a child was placed in care which may sometimes contain relevant information. Sheriff court records include Juvenile Court Registers (up until 1971), Social Work Court Records (1971 onwards) and 'B' Registers of summary applications. Other court records may also contain evidence of time spent in care, such as adult court records and parental divorce records.

Please note, some Sheriff Court record types have only survived for certain courts and in certain areas. For more information regarding court records, please see our Time in Care Records<https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/records-and-archives/time-spent-in-care-records/> research guide.

Unfortunately, we there are no relevant Sheriff Court records held by us for this request.

Firstly, the placements occurred too recently for NRS to have received records. NRS holds historical records of Aberdeen Sheriff Court but these records are too early to assist the applicant. The Juvenile Court records cease in 1971 and Social Work Court records cease 1984. Summary Court records would not be relevant because the applicant was taken into care under the age of 16, and the records held by NRS cease in 1973.

Secondly, Sheriff Court records may be irrelevant to both care settings. The applicant refers to placements in Seafield Children's Home and Oakbank Children's Home. Available information indicates there was a Seafield Cottage also known as Seafield Children's Home in Viewfield Road, Aberdeen, and Sheriff Court records would not be relevant to a placement in this care setting because it was a Children's Home under local authority control. We were unable to locate an establishment matching Oakbank Children's Home but wonder if the applicant could have been placed at Oakbank School in Aberdeen. Oakbank was an Approved School then a List 'D' School for part of its history, and Sheriff Court records could be relevant to placements at an Approved or List 'D' school. However, Oakbank became a Residential School for vulnerable children prior to its closure in 2008, and Sheriff Court records would not be relevant to a placement at a residential school.

Other resources

Care home, residential school records

NRS is the archive of the Scottish Government (SG). The information produced by SG is about the direction of the care service across the whole country, but not individual care records. We may, for example, hold records about the Government's position on the provision of care, about the legislation governing care and directives about the regulation of residential care across Scotland, but NRS does not hold case files on residents of care homes, foster homes, or residential schools.

The case files of residents and the records of the schools and homes, should they have survived, tend to be held by the Council that had responsibility for providing care locally. The local authority archivists are often best placed to know the extent of the records held by the authority.

We recommend you contact the following organisations, and hopefully they might be able to help you further with your search:

  *   Oakbank School: Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives<https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/services/libraries-and-archives/aberdeen-city-and-aberdeenshire-archives>
  *   Seafield House/Residential School: Glasgow Corporation and Strathclyde Regional Council<https://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/libraries/city-archives> and latterly North Ayrshire Council<https://ayrshirearchives.org.uk/> or Quarriers<https://www.quarriers.org.uk/about-us/privacy-policy/records-requests/>

Social work records

NRS does not hold social service records. Social work records should be held by the appropriate local authority, and you should contact them to ask for their help in finding and accessing the relevant case files, if there are any. You could do this through the local Social Services Department, but you might also want to speak to the local authority archivists who are often best placed to know the extent of the records held by the authority.

The National Archives directory of archives lists contact details for local authority archives in the UK: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/find-an-archive.

Medical/Health Records

While NRS does maintain the National Health Service Central Register (NHSCR), we do not hold health/medical records.

For access to health/medical records we usually recommend to make a subject access request directly to a place of treatment, e.g. hospital, GP practice or relevant NHS Health Board<https://www.nn.nhs.scot/niccs/about-us/service-map/>. You will find information on how to access medical records on their individual websites.

Supplementary information

When you make a subject access request, we are required by data protection law to provide you with other information about how we process your personal data. Our main privacy notice provides further information about how we may process personal information: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/privacy.

Your right to request a review

If you are not satisfied with the way NRS has responded to your request or handled your information by the response from NRS to your Data Subject Request, you should first ask us to conduct an internal review.

Thereafter, if you still believe that NRS has not dealt with your complaint properly or if you believe your personal information is being processed in a way that does not comply with legislation you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office. The ICO helpline number is 0303 123 1113, or you may access further information on their website https://ico.org.uk/concerns/.

I hope you find this information of assistance.

Kind regards,
Maggie

Malgorzata (Maggie) Palgan | Senior Information Governance Officer

National Records of Scotland | HM General Register House | 2 Princes Street | Edinburgh EH1 3YY
[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]> | www.nrscotland.gov.uk<http://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/>

Preserving the past | Recording the present | Informing the future
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