Why we use your personal information
Do you know what personal information is?
Personal information can be anything that identifies and relates to a living person. This can include information that when put together with other information can then identify a person. For example, this could be your name and contact details.
Did you know that some of your personal information might be ‘special’?
Some information is ‘special’ and needs more protection due to its sensitivity. It’s often information that you would not want widely known and is very personal to you. This is likely to include anything that can reveal your:
- sexuality and sexual health
- religious or philosophical beliefs
- ethnicity
- physical or mental health
- trade union membership
- political opinion
- genetic/biometric data
- criminal history
Why do we need your personal information?
We may need to use some information about you to:
- deliver services and support to you;
- manage those services we provide to you;
- obtain your opinion about our services;
- ensure your customer record is up to date;
- train and manage the employment of our workers who deliver those services;
- help investigate any worries or complaints you have about your services;
- keep track of spending on services;
- prevent and detect fraud and corruption in the use of public funds;
- check the quality of services; and
- to help with research and planning of new services.
How the law allows us to use your personal information
There are a number of legal reasons why we need to collect and use your personal information.
Each service specific privacy notice explains which legal reason is being used. Generally we collect and use personal information in cases where:
- you, or your legal representative, have given consent
- you have entered into a contract with us
- it is necessary to perform our statutory duties
- it is necessary to protect someone in an emergency
- it is required by law
- it is necessary for employment purposes
- it is necessary to deliver health or social care services
- you have made your information publicly available
- it is necessary for legal cases
- it is to the benefit of society as a whole
- it is necessary to protect public health
- it is necessary for archiving, research, or statistical purposes
If we have consent to use your personal information, you have the right to remove it at any time. If you want to remove your consent, please contact the relevant Council Service.
You will always have the right to withdraw consent but please be aware that doing so may impact the services which you receive.
If you experience any difficulty in withdrawing consent please contact us via the enquiry form below:
We only use what we need!
Where we can, we’ll only collect and use personal information if we need it to deliver a service or meet a requirement.
If we don’t need personal information we’ll either keep you anonymous (if we already have it for something else), or, we won’t ask you for it. For example in a survey we may not need your contact details we’ll only collect your survey responses.
If we use your personal information for research and analysis, we’ll always keep you anonymous or use a different name - unless you’ve agreed that your personal information can be used for that research.
We do not sell your personal information to anyone else.
What sources may provide personal data about you?
There are two sources which may provide the Council with personal information in relation to you. This will be direct from yourself and/or a third-party. The following are some examples of third-parties whom we may receive information from:
- Police
- Probation
- Education and Training Providers
- Health Agencies
- Commissioned partners
- Other Local Authorities
- Department of Work and Pensions