Last updated: June 2026
The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA) came into force on 19 June 2026. It introduces new rights and obligations relating to the handling of personal data, including a statutory right for individuals to make a formal complaint directly to a data controller and a requirement for that complaint to be acknowledged within 30 days of receipt.
This document sets out how Gem Roberts, trading as Gem Roberts — Systems Strategist, complies with the relevant provisions of the DUAA and how those provisions are reflected across our legal documentation. It is intended as a clear and accessible reference point for clients, website visitors, and any person whose data we may process.
This document should be read alongside our full suite of legal documents, which are available at gemroberts.co.uk/legal. Where this document refers to a specific section of another document, that section is the authoritative source for the relevant term or obligation.
The key obligation introduced by the DUAA that is directly relevant to how we operate is the right to make a formal complaint directly to us as a data controller, with a statutory requirement that we acknowledge that complaint within 30 days of receipt and respond fully without undue delay.
This is a formalisation and strengthening of complaint handling obligations that already existed under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. The DUAA gives this right statutory force and introduces the 30-day acknowledgement window as a specific legal requirement rather than a general best practice obligation.
Under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, you have a statutory right to make a formal complaint directly to Gem Roberts – Systems Strategist about how your personal data has been handled.
To exercise this right:
Section 1.10 — Right to Complain to Us: sets out your right to complain directly to Gem Roberts – Systems Strategist about how your personal data has been handled, the complaints contact address (legal@gemroberts.co.uk), and the 30-day acknowledgement obligation.
Section 1.11 — Right to Complain to the ICO: sets out your right to escalate to the Information Commissioner’s Office if you remain unhappy following our response, including the ICO’s contact details.
Section 1.19 — Complaints: sets out your right to make a formal complaint about any aspect of our services, the complaints contact address, and the 30-day acknowledgement obligation as a contractual commitment.
Section 5 — Right to Complain: sets out your right to complain directly to us if you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, the 30-day acknowledgement obligation, and the ICO escalation path with full contact details.
View: gemroberts.co.uk/legal/data-retention-and-deletion-policy
Section 1 — General Principles: includes a reference to the right to make a formal complaint to legal@gemroberts.co.uk if a concern has not been resolved through standard channels, with the 30-day acknowledgement commitment.
Section 1.5 — Resolution Process: sets out a three-step escalation path from initial contact with support@gemroberts.co.uk through to formal complaint to legal@gemroberts.co.uk, with the 30-day acknowledgement and response commitment at the formal complaint stage, followed by ICO escalation if unresolved.
If you have submitted a formal complaint to us and remain unhappy following our response, or if we have failed to respond within a reasonable time, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which is the UK’s independent authority for data protection.
Gem Roberts, trading as Gem Roberts – Systems Strategist, is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office under registration number ZB293438. Our registered address is Unit 163468, PO Box 7169, Poole, BH15 9EL.
This document will be reviewed and updated to reflect any further obligations introduced by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 as additional provisions come into force, and whenever our underlying legal documents are updated in a way that affects the information contained here. The date at the top of this page reflects the most recent update.
All updates to our legal documents are recorded in the Legal Changelog at gemroberts.co.uk/legal-changelog.
