Regulatory Services and Health Privacy Notice

What personal information is being processed and what for

We need the information for the following reasons;

To investigate complaints or concerns that you have raised with the council concerning environmental, public protection and animal health and welfare matters.
To investigate complaints or concerns made about you as an individual, your property or your business in relation to environmental, public protection and animal health and welfare matters.
To conduct investigations into environmental, public protection and animal heath and welfare matters; to assess compliance with the law and where necessary pursue formal enforcement action.
To issue licences, consents and permits within the remit of the Commercial Services, Environmental Protection and Animal Health and Welfare teams.
To maintain statutory registers within the responsibility of the Commercial Services, Environmental Protection and Animal Health and Welfare teams.
To manage and investigate cases and outbreaks of infectious diseases.
To provide pest control treatments on request.

To provide support to other agencies, investigate and enforce legislation in the event of a notifiable animal disease outbreak

Why we are allowed to use your information

Undertaking Environmental and Public Protection Tasks - The Commercial Services, Environmental Protection and Animal Health and Welfare teams will use your information to fulfil its public duties set out in accordance with public protection, environmental protection and animal health and welfare legislation.
Legal Obligations – the Commercial Services, Environmental Protection and Animal Health and Welfare teams may be required to share information with other Council departments and agencies for the purposes of their legal obligations.
Contractual Obligations – We will use your information for the process of providing pest control services for which you have paid the council the agreed fee.

We will also use your personal data for some or all of the following purposes;

To contact you by post, email, telephone or using social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp);
To send you communications which you have requested and that may be of interest to you. These may include information about campaigns, appeals, other new projects or initiatives.
To seek your views, opinions or comments.

Who we will share your information with

Your information may be shared with other Council departments for the purposes of fulfilling the public task and legal obligations of the Council

In addition, information may be shared with other organisations for the purpose of fulfilling a public task or a legal obligation of that organisation. The list below is not exhaustive but is an indication of some of the organisations we may share your information with.

Environment Agency
Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs
APHA
Health and Safety Executive
Food Standards Agency
Public Health England
Department of Communities and Local Government
HM Revenue and Customs
Drinking Water Inspectorate
United Utilities
Energy network providers
Other service providers acting on behalf of the Regulatory Services and Health
Members of the public subject to certain Data Protection or Freedom of Information conditions

Where we get your information from

We may obtain your information from a range of sources and the list below is not exhaustive:

Information provided when a complaint is made and as part of any investigation
Businesses who require a licence or need to register with the teams
Other Councils or organisations

How long we will keep your personal information

We only keep information for as long as it is needed. This will differ according to what information we hold and its purpose. It will be based on either a legal requirement (where a law says we have to keep information for a specific period of time) or accepted business practice.
Full details are available on the Council’s Information Asset Register.

How your information is stored

The Council stores this information in computers systems, which can only be accessed by password. The systems we use have security features that mean we can limit information that officers can access. This means that only officers needing to use your data for the purpose intended can access it.

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

We may not be able to fully investigate complaints you make regarding environmental, public protection or animal health and welfare matters if you do not provide information with which we can identify or contact you. Similarly we may not be able to fully investigate a complaint if you are unable to provide information on the identity of the individual or business you are complaining about.

Pest control services are a discretionary service for which you must pay the agreed fee. If you fail to provide your contact details or pay the agreed fee we will not be able to carry out that service.

You may be under a legal obligation to provide certain information in the course of an environmental, public protection or animal health and welfare investigation. In certain circumstances the law may provide you with a right to withhold this information if that information could be used against you in a criminal case. Your legal rights and obligations will be provided to you by the investigating officer at the time the request is made.

Will your information be used to make automated decisions

Your rights

You have a number of 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 anything that is wrong. For detailed information about your rights please see our privacy notice.

Page last reviewed: 17 September 2021