Data protection: Protecting your personal details

How we use your information

We can collect and use personal data to provide services to residents.  We are committed to making sure that we protect the personal and confidential information we hold. We will ensure that the personal data we collect is dealt with legally, securely, efficiently and effectively, so we can provide the best possible services to our residents and other service users.

We need to collect and use certain types of personal data about the people we deal with so we can run our various services and achieve our priorities for the borough.    

We may collect and use personal data about:

• residents
• voters
• current, past and prospective employees
• council tenants
• private landlords and their tenants
• customers
• suppliers
• elected Councillors
• other people that we deal with where we have a lawful need to obtain information

Personal data we receive, whether on paper,  a computer or any other media, has to meet the appropriate legal safeguards as set out in the Data Protection Act 1998. This Act requires that we put safeguards in place to ensure that personal data is dealt with lawfully, whichever way we collect, record and use it.

So we can meet the requirements of both the Data Protection Act and any other legal conditions about how we perform our official functions, we will:

• observe the need to act fairly when we collect personal data by saying why and how we will use it when we  collect it
• meet the obligation to say what purpose the personal data is used for
• take steps to make sure we keep  personal data accurately
• apply appropriate checks to work out how long we can hold personal data and to dispose of it securely afterwards
• take appropriate technical and organisational security measures to protect personal data
• only collect and process what personal data we need
• ensure personal data is not shared with third parties or transferred abroad without proper protection

Personal information which you supply to us may be also be used:

• for investigating and preventing fraud (See how we prevent and detect fraud)
• for our enforcement purposes
• for audit and debt collection
• for statistical analysis (wherever possible we will use anonymised data)
• for purposes where there are clear and legitimate benefits for our residents

We may also share your information with, and obtain information about you, from other fraud prevention agencies and organisations such as the police for the prevention and detection of crime purposes.

We will comply with your rights to have access to your own information as set out under the Data Protection Act.

Read the Information Commissioner’s Office guide to data protection