Under the Data Protection Act, the Council has
a legal duty to protect any information collected from you.
Information can be held in manual files or on computer and it is
used to deliver Council services. Only the minimum appropriate
personal data is requested and held, and it is only kept as long as
required for the purpose. We will not pass personal information to
other companies or individuals unless we are required to so by law.
The Council has approved a Data Protection Policy, which defines
this duty in more detail.
We are required by The Data Protection Act 1998
to notify the Information Commissioner of what we are doing with
personal data. The Council has registered the data we process with
the Information Commissioner.
The Data Protection register shows what an
organisation or individual is registered to do. It will not state
whether or not an organisation holds personal information on a
particular person.
If you would like a copy of the register please
contact the Information Commissioner.
You can obtain paper copies of individual
register entries from the Office of the Information Commissioner
free of charge. A small fee is payable for certified copies.
Any information you give to us will be held
securely and in accordance with the rules on data
protection. We will treat personal details as
private and confidential and safeguard them. We
will not disclose them to anyone unconnected with the Council
unless you have consented to their release, or in certain
circumstances where:
This Council is required by law to protect the public funds it
administers.
It may share information provided
to it with other bodies responsible for auditing or administering
public funds, in order to prevent and detect fraud.
The Audit Commission appoints the auditor to audit the
accounts of this Council. It is also responsible
for carrying out data matching exercises.
Data matching involves comparing computer records held by one
body against other computer records held by the same or another
body. This is usually personal information.
Computerised data matching allows potentially fraudulent claims and
payments to be identified. Where a match is
found it indicates that there is an inconsistency which requires
further investigation. No assumption can be made
as to whether there is fraud, error or other explanation until an
investigation is carried out.
The Audit Commission currently requires us to participate in a
data matching exercise to assist in the prevention and detection of
fraud.
We are required to provide particular
sets of data to the Audit Commission for matching for each
exercise, and these are set out in the Audit Commission's
handbooks, which can be found at
www.audit-commission.gov.uk/nfi.
The use of data by the Audit Commission in a data matching
exercise is carried out with statutory authority under its powers
in Part 2A of the Audit Commission Act 1998. It
does not require the consent of the individuals concerned under the
Data Protection Act 1998.
Data matching by the Audit Commission is subject to a Code of
Practice. This may be found at (
www.audit-commission.gov.uk/nfi/codeofdmp.asp)
PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA
What is Personal Data
Under the Data Protection Act 1998, Personal Data is defined
as data that relates to a living individual who can be
identified:
(a) from those data, or
(b) from those data and other information which is in the
possession of, or likely to come into the possession of, the data
controller,
and includes any expression of opinion about the individual,
and any indication of the intentions of the data controller or any
other person in respect of the individual. (Section 1(1)).
Personal data will therefore cover basic details such as name,
address, telephone number, and Date of Birth.
Sensitive Personal Data
Certain data are classified under the Act as 'sensitive
personal data', for example:
- Racial or ethnic origin
- Religious or other beliefs of a similar nature
- Physical or mental health or condition
- Sexual life
- Offences (including alleged offences)
Consent is required for both types of personal data, but it
must be explicitly given in the case of sensitive data. Where we
are asking you for sensitive personal data we will always tell you
why and how the information will be used.
Why Does the Council Need to Collect and Store Personal
Data?
Simply put, in order to provide you with a service we need to
collect personal data for correspondence purposes and/or detailed
service provision. In any event we are committed to ensuring that
the information we collect and use is 'Fit for Purpose', and does
not constitute an invasion of your privacy. We may pass your
personal data on to our service providers who are contracted to
HARROGATE BOROUGH COUNCIL in the course of dealing with your
request. Our providers are obliged to keep your details securely,
and use them only to fulfil your service request. Once your service
need has been satisfied or the case has been closed, they will
dispose of the details in line with Council policy and procedures.
If we wish to pass your sensitive personal data onto a third party
we will only do so once we have obtained your consent, unless we
are legally required to do so.
How the Council Uses
Your Information
The Council will process, that means collect, store and use
the information you provide in a manner that is compatible with the
Data Protection Act. We will endeavour to keep your information
accurate and up to date and not keep it for longer than is
necessary. In some instances the law sets the length of time
information has to be kept, but in most cases the Council will use
its discretion to ensure that we do not keep records outside of our
normal business requirements i.e. providing a service to you.
Our aim is not to be intrusive, and we undertake not to ask
irrelevant or unnecessary questions. Moreover, the information you
provide will be subject to rigorous measures and procedures to
minimise the risk of unauthorised access or disclosure.
Using Your Personal Data
We will use the information you provide for the following
purposes:
- Regulatory, Licensing and Enforcement functions, which the
Council is obliged to undertake.
- All financial transactions to and from the Council, including
payments, grants and benefits. Where monies are due or outstanding
the Council reserves the right to use all the available information
(excluding Council Tax information) at its disposal to protect
public funds.
- Where you have agreed for the purpose of consulting, informing
and gauging your opinion about our products and services
- To ensure the Council meets its statutory obligations,
including those related to diversity and equality of
opportunity.
- To protect the public funds it administers to this end we may
use the information you have provided for the prevention and
detection of fraud. We may also share this
information with other bodies responsible for auditing or
administering public funds for these purposes
Joined Up Services Sharing Basic Details across Council
Services
The Council is serious about delivering appropriate, timely
and effective services it is important to us that we co-ordinate
what we do for you properly. To achieve this we aim to improve our
centralised customer database, so that it acts as an intelligence
hub for our services. This means, for example, that the system will
report any change of address to other services within the Council,
so you won't have to repeat it every time you phone up the
Council.
Over time we aim to ensure that we have one master record
containing your basic details, together with information about the
nature of your transactions. The database is not designed to
provide intimate details of the services you have received - but
rather to ensure that we are not asking you to repeat basic
information for each service you require. It will also help us to
tailor our services to meet your needs, and ensure that your
requests are being dealt with, rather than simply lost in 'the
system'.
You will always have the right to opt out of
this that is, not provide the information.
However, remember that we are only collecting it for the purpose of
improving the services on offer to you. We will not use your
information for third party marketing purposes, or pass it on to
third parties, other than those who either process information on
our behalf or because of a legal requirement.
If you would like to know more or have any concerns about how
your information is being processed please contact
foi@harrogate.gov.uk
Links to Data Protection
Policies