advertisement
Data Protection at Allerdale Borough Council
Allerdale Borough Council is fully committed to compliance with
the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998 which came into
force on 1 March 2000.
In order to operate effectively and comply with government
legislation, Allerdale Borough Council needs to collect and use
certain types of information about the people with whom it deals.
The Council recognises that all personal information must be dealt
with correctly. Under the Data Protection Act there is a duty to
handle personal data properly and confidentially at all times,
regardless of the format it is in. Allerdale Borough Council
regards the lawful and correct treatment of personal information as
vital to successful operations. The Council will ensure that it
treats personal information lawfully and correctly.
To this end the Council fully endorses and adheres to the
Principles set out in the Data Protection Act 1998. These
principles ensure that personal data shall be:
- Processed fairly and lawfully
- Processed for specific purposes
- Adequate, relevant and not excessive
- Accurate and kept up to date
- Not kept for longer than is necessary
- Processed in accordance with the rights of data
subjects under this Act
- Kept secure
- Not transferred to a country or territory
outside the European Economic Area unless that country or territory
ensures an adequate level of data protection
Therefore, Allerdale Borough Council will, through strict
application of the Data Protection Act principles, appropriate
management and controls:
- Ensure the appropriate collection and use of
information
- Meet its legal obligations to specify the
purposes for which information is used
- Collect and process personal information only to
the extent that it is needed to fulfil operational needs or to
comply with any legal requirements
- Ensure the quality of information used
- Apply checks to determine the length of time
information is held
- Ensure that the rights of people about whom the
information is held are able to be fully exercised under the
act.
- Take appropriate technical and organisational
security measures to safeguard personal information
Ensure that personal information is not transferred abroad
without suitable safeguards.
Who do we share information with?
Depending on the original purpose for which is was obtained and
the use to which it is to be put, information may be shared with a
variety of services, examples include Housing sharing with
Health or Housing Benefits sharing with the DSS. It may also
be shared, where necessary, with other organisations that provide
services on our behalf, e.g. contractors working for the
Council.
In all of these examples the information provided is only the
minimum necessary, to enable them to provide services to you.
Personal information about you may also be provided to
Government departments, where we are required to do so by law, or
to other local councils. An example would be when you have
moved from one Councils area to another, and the new Council
requires confirmation of the services you were receiving.
Information about you may also be provided for statistical
research. This will not include your name and address unless
you have given us permission to provide the information.
Subject Access Requests
Under the Data Protection Act any
individual can request copies of the personal information that is
held on them by Allerdale Borough Council. This is called a Subject
Access Request. The Council also has an obligation to update any
information which is inaccurate or out of date. To request the
information held on you, please write to the Information and
Records Officer at the address below. We also require proof of
identity, and of your address.
There is a charge of £10 to
complete your request, which must be paid before we start compiling
the information on you.
We shall contact you with the
information within 40 days, providing you with descriptions of any
codes used within the information and outlining who we share the
information with.
The information supplied by you will be kept on a secure
database for up to three years to allow for any appeal
procedures. It will be shared with those departments
within the Council necessary to supply you with the requested
information. It will not be shared with any organisation outside
of Allerdale Borough Council. Information may be used for
statistical purposes, for instance to monitor our service. Where
possible the information used in this way will be
anonymised.