46. Requests for assessment

46.—

1. A request may be made to the Commissioner by or on behalf of any individual who is, or believes himself to be, directly affected by any processing of personal data for an assessment as to whether it is likely or unlikely that the processing has been, or is being, carried out in compliance with the provisions of this Act.

2. Subject to subsection (3), on receiving a request under subsection (1), the Commissioner shall make an assessment in such manner as appears to the Commissioner to be appropriate, unless the Commissioner has not been supplied with such information as the Commissioner may reasonably require in order to be—

(a) satisfied as to the identity of the individual making the request; and

(b) able to identify the processing in question.

3. The matters to which the Commissioner may have regard in determining in what manner it is appropriate to make an assessment include—

(a) the extent to which the request appears to the Commissioner to raise a matter of substance;

(b) any undue delay in making the request; and (c) whether or not the individual making the request is entitled to make an application under section 6 in respect of the personal data in question.

4. Where the Commissioner receives a request under subsection (1), the Commissioner shall notify the individual who made the request—

(a) whether the Commissioner has made an assessment as a result of the request; and

(b) of any conclusion formed or action taken as a result of the request, to the extent that the Commissioner considers it appropriate having regard to any exemption from section 6 applying to the personal data concerned.