UK GDPR privacy notices Democratic Services Privacy Notice

Introduction

East Suffolk Council’s (the council) Democratic Services team has provided this privacy notice to help you understand how we collect, use and protect your information whilst we provide you with information about councillors, council meetings, the decision making process and related queries, town and parish council clerks’ contact details and civic events.

The document below will describe how we may collect and process your personal information.

The purpose of this document is to clearly acknowledge the council’s responsibilities in relation to the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Definitions

Personal data means any information related to an identified or identifiable natural (living) person (‘data subject’) i.e. a person that can be directly or indirectly identified by reference to a name, ID reference number, email address, location data, or physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or societal identifier.

Special personal data, previously known as ‘sensitive personal data’, relates to race, ethnic origin, politics, religion, trade union membership, genetic data, biometric data, health, sex life or sexual orientation. Records of criminal personal data must also be treated in a similar way.

Data Controller determines the purposes and means of processing personal data.

Data Processor is responsible for any operation which is performed on personal data on behalf of the controller, e.g. collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaption or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction.

Third Party is someone/somebody who is not the Data Controller, the Data Processor or the Data Subject.

Who we are

Democratic Services supports councillors in undertaking their role. We also support the decision making processes of the council and ensure that high standards and good governance are maintained, in accordance with the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

The council is the ‘data controller’ for the information which is collated and processed. This means we are responsible for deciding how we can use your information. If you want more information regarding the services delivered, please go to our website.

The council regards lawful and correct treatment of personal information as critical to their successful operations, maintaining confidence between the council and those with whom they carry out business. The council will ensure that they treat personal information correctly in accordance with the law. Our services are statutory and are governed by the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

The Data Protection Officer for ESC is Siobhan Martin, Head of Internal Audit, and can be contacted at dataprotection@eastsuffolk.gov.uk.

How the law protects you

UK GDPR says that we are allowed to use personal information only if we have a proper reason to do so. More information on how the law protects you can be found on the East Suffolk website.

Our responsibilities

UK GDPR provides us with main responsibilities for processing personal data. All personal information provided by you is held securely and in confidence by us in our computerised and other records. When we process your personal information, we do so in compliance with UK GDPR. For further information on our responsibilities, please see our website.

Your rights

The UK GDPR and DPA 2018 provide you with the following rights:

  • The right to be informed: You have the right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal data, and this is outlined in this privacy notice.
  • The right of access: You have the right to request access to the personal data we may hold about you. This is undertaken using a Subject Access Request.
  • The right to rectification: You have the right to request that inaccurate personal data we hold is rectified.
  • The right to erasure: In certain circumstances, you have ‘the right to be forgotten’ and have your personal data erased.
  • The right to restrict processing: In certain circumstances, you have the right to request the restriction or suppression of your personal data.
  • The right to data portability: In certain circumstances, you have the right to request to obtain your own personal data for your own use or to give to other organisations.
  • The right to object: In certain circumstances, you have the right to object to your personal data being collated, stored and processed.
  • Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling: You have the right to request that we do not make our decisions based on solely an automated process, and you can object to an automated decision and ask that a person reviews it in certain circumstances.
  • The right to withdraw consent: In our discretionary service provisions, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.
  • The right to complain: You have the right to complain through our complaints procedure, and then to the Information Commissioner. Any requests in relation to your rights with regard to the personal data we hold should be made verbally or in writing to the Data Protection Officer. For further information on your rights, please see the ICO website.

Your responsibilities

You are responsible for making sure you give us accurate and up to date information, and to let us know if any personal information we hold is incorrect.

When do we collect information about you?

We collect information about you from different places, including:

  • From yourself
  • Other teams and services within the council
  • District councillors

What information do we maintain?

The information about you which we will maintain will include:

  • Name and address
  • Email address
  • Councillors’ declarations of interests
  • Councillors’ directory
  • Recording of ceremonial events and civic occasions
  • Members’ code of conduct
  • Members’ accountability statements
  • Town and parish clerks’ contact list

How do we use your information?

We will be using your information to:

  • Deal with your query, petition or complaint
  • Ensure you are a resident of East Suffolk if you are submitting a Public Question for a Full Council meeting
  • Contact you to provide a service e.g. Independent Remuneration Panel members

We invite interested residents and service users to subscribe to committees via our website. Our Committee Management Information System (CMIS) allows residents to receive automatic notifications when meeting papers are published. Residents can unsubscribe or change their preferences at any time by logging onto our webpages.

We will not use your personal data for other purposes other than for what it was collated unless we have obtained your consent or for other lawful purposes (e.g. detection and prevention of fraud). We do not use automated decision making.

How long do we keep your information?

We keep information for statutory purposes. We will hold your personal information for seven years in accordance with the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

Data sharing

We will share your personal information with:

  • Other teams within the council, should they be able to assist in dealing with your query or complaint
  • Potentially within meeting minutes which are published on line

Transferring your information overseas

Currently, we do not transfer any personal information outside of the European Economic Area (EEA).

National Fraud Initiative (NFI)

We may share information provided to us with other bodies responsible for auditing, or administering public funds, or where undertaking a public function, in order to prevent and detect fraud. For further information, see the East Suffolk website.