Information Rights team - privacy notice

What personal information is being processed and what for

The Information Rights Team collects the following personal data:

• Name
• Email address
• Home or Work address
• Phone number
• Date of birth
• Bank account details
• Preferences or adjustments for communication

The Information Rights Team may also collect information classed as Special Category Data if such data is relevant to or associated with your communication, for example:

• Health data – diagnoses, disabilities, medical requirements.
• Political views
• Religious or philosophical beliefs
• Race or ethnic origin
• Trade Union membership
• Genetic data
• Biometric data if used for identification
• Sexual orientation or views

The Information Rights Team collects personal data for the performance of roles fulfilling requests for information, responding to individual’s rights requests, and investigating and responding to data protection complaints.

Why we are allowed to use your information

Personal data and/or Special Category data is collected where it is for our official function in the public task. When this is the case, it is our legal obligation to process your data, for example, under:

• Freedom of Information Act 2000
• Data Protection Act 2018
• UK General Data Protection Regulation
• Environmental Information Regulations 2004
• The Children’s Act 1989 Representations Procedure (England)
• Local Government Act 1974
• Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000

Where you provide us with information beyond the scope of these legal obligations, we will process this with your consent. If in this situation you give consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent.

Who we will share your information with

Where necessary, we may share your personal data with officers of Cheshire East Council who are involved in our response to your request for information or complaint.

Where appropriate to your case, personal data may be shared with elected representatives, justice of the peace’s, or other regulatory bodies such as the Local Government Ombudsman and Information Commissioner’s Office.

If you make a data protection complaint about a particular department or service, your complaint will normally be shared in full with that department. If your complaint involves outside partners who assist Cheshire East Council in delivering services, details of your complaint may be shared with them too.

Please refer to the services’ individual privacy notice, which you will find online at Privacy notices (cheshireeast.gov.uk), or ask us for further details.

Where we get your information from

Information held by the team will usually be data that has been supplied directly by you, when you make a data protection complaint or a request regarding your data protection rights. We may access personal data that you have provided directly to other services or departments in the Council.

If not directly supplied by you, we may be provided with the personal data needed by third parties, for example, other local authorities, doctors, GPs, hospitals, police, DWP , HMRC .

How long we will keep your personal information

We keep your information only for as long as is necessary to undertake our obligations. Information relating to complaints and requests for information is generally held for three years after closure but full details of the retention periods for different types of data are contained in the Council’s Information Asset Register.

How your information is stored

All information provided to our team is kept on secure electronic systems. These are all only accessible to appropriate Cheshire East Council Officers, and secured by passwords and, where appropriate, encryption.  

What happens if you don’t provide us with your information

If you do not provide the Information Rights Team with the personal data we require, we may not be able to assist you with your request or data protection complaint.

Will your information be used to make automated decisions

No

Your rights

You have rights regarding your personal data, including withdrawing your consent where we have asked for it. You can also ask for a copy of the information we hold about you and ask us to correct any matter of fact that is wrong. See our Data Protection page for detailed information about your rights or see our privacy notice.