1. Introduction
This policy supports the Little Smeaton Parish Council to protect the personal data we hold and assists us in compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 (GDPR) and other associated
legislation.
2. Council information
Little Smeaton Parish Council is a Data Controller as defined by Article 4(7) of the General Data Protection Regulation. We may need to store residents and other people’s personal data to allow us to carry out the responsibilities of the Parish Council. We may also need to share this data with other Data Controllers such as Selby District Council or North Yorkshire County Council. We have a duty of care for any personal data we use.
As a public authority we have certain powers and duties. Most personal data processing is in compliance with our legal obligations to discharge the Parish Council’s statutory functions and powers. We may also need to process personal data to enter into a contract or for the performance management of a contract.
Sometimes we will need to acquire specific consent to use personal data. In these circumstances the consent form
(Data Protection Policy Consent Form - Appendix A) should be used.
3. The Parish Council will, at all times comply with data protection legislation.
This means that the personal data we hold must be:
• Used lawfully, fairly and in a transparent way
• Collected only for valid purposes that we have clearly explained to you
• Relevant to the purposes for which it is needed
• Accurate and up to date
• Kept only for as a long as is necessary
• Kept and destroyed securely.
4. What is Personal data?
“Personal data” is any information about a living individual which allows them to be identified from that data (for example a name, photograph, video, email address, or street address).
Identification can be by the personal data alone or in conjunction with any other personal data. The processing of personal data is governed by legislation relating to personal data which applies in the United Kingdom including the General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR) and other local legislation relating to personal data and rights such as the Human Rights Act.
5. What personal data is collected?
Little Smeaton Parish Council may collect all or some of the following personal data:
• Names, titles, and aliases
• Photographs
• Contact details such as telephone numbers, addresses, and email addresses
• Demographic information such as gender, age, marital status, nationality
• Education/work histories, academic/professional qualifications, hobbies, family composition, and dependants
• Financial identifiers such as bank account numbers, payment card numbers, payment/transaction identifiers, policy numbers, and claim numbers;
• Racial or ethnic origin, mental and physical health, details of injuries, medication/treatment received, political beliefs, trade union affiliation, genetic data, biometric data, and data concerning sexual orientation.
6. Personal data may be used for some or all of the following purposes:
• To deliver public services including to understand the needs of residents, to provide the services that they request and to inform them of other relevant services
• To confirm a person’s identity to provide some services
• To contact residents and others by post, email, telephone or using social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter,WhatsApp)
• To help us to build up a picture of how we are performing
• To prevent and detect fraud and corruption in the use of public funds and where necessary for law enforcement functions
• To enable us to meet all legal and statutory obligations and powers including any delegated functions
• To carry out comprehensive safeguarding procedures (including due diligence and complaints handling) in accordance with best safeguarding practice from time to time with the aim of ensuring that all children and adults-at-risk are provided with safe environments and generally to protect individuals from harm or injury
• To promote the interests of the council
• To maintain our own accounts and records
• To seek views, opinions or comments from residents or others
• To notify residents and others of changes to our facilities, services, events and staff, councillors and role holders
• To send residents communications which have been requested and that may be of interest. These may include information about campaigns, appeals, other new projects or initiatives
• To process relevant financial transactions including grants and payments for goods and services supplied to the council
• To allow the statistical analysis of data so we can plan the provision of services
7. Individual rights.
All residents and others on whom we hold personal data have the following rights:
• The right to access their personal data we hold
• The right to correct and update their personal data we hold
• The right to have their personal data erased
• The right to object to the processing of their personal data or to restrict it to certain purposes only
• The right to data portability
• The right to withdraw consent to the processing at any time
• The right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office
8. How long should personal data be kept?
Little Smeaton Parish Council has a Data Retention and Disposal Policy which should be used to judge how, and how long documents and personal data should be kept, to best protect the rights and privacy of those residents and others on whom we hold personal data.
Policy reviewed and updated September 2021.
