The purpose of this privacy notice is to tell you about what information we collect about you from your responses to the carers survey, how we use that information, and who we may share it with.
Data Protection Law – legal obligation
Under data protection law the Council does not need your consent to process certain personal data relating to you because it has a legal obligation to do so. This is usually where there is a law or instruction from Government. The Council may process more data than is necessary for this obligation, but you should be informed what this is and why they are doing it.
Who we are
Sandwell Council is a “Data Controller” of the personal data you provide to us. Our contact details are:
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council,
Council House,
Freeth Street, Oldbury,
West Midlands, B69 3DB
The Data Protection Officer can be contacted at the above address and through email at dp_officer@sandwell.gov.uk or Tel: 0121 569 3232
As a public authority we do not have a representative in any other member states of the EU.
How information about you from the carers survey will be used
The Survey of Adult Carers is a national survey that takes place every other year, and is conducted by all Councils in England with Adult Social Services Responsibilities, in conjunction with NHS Digital. The survey seeks the opinions of carers aged 18 or over, caring for a person aged 18 or over, on a number of topics that are considered to be indicative of a balanced life alongside their unpaid caring role.
NHS Digital instructs Sandwell Council to collect the survey data on carers on their behalf. The council collects, validates and stores this data and then passes on the requested data to NHS Digital. NHS Digital does further processing, and analyses all data on a national scale, and publishes results. Your answers are confidential and we will remove any personal details before sharing the information with NHS Digital. All data processed by NHS Digital is anonymised.
Why we might need to process your survey information
We will link your responses to information held about you on our client system, this is to validate the demographic information we may already hold.
Only the anonymised survey responses will be sent to NHS Digital for purposes of statistical reporting.
Our legal basis for processing your data
For the local authority to process personal information we must have a lawful basis for doing so and we consider that the processing of this information is necessary as part of our legal obligations. The Health and Social Care Act 2012 Section 259 provides our lawful basis for collecting and processing what is classed as ‘special category’ or sensitive personal data.
The personal information we process includes:
- personal details (date of Birth, age, gender)
- responses to surveys
We also process sensitive classes of information that may include:
- racial and ethnic origin
- physical or mental health details
- religious or similar beliefs
- sexual orientation
Who is the survey information shared with?
Sandwell Council, performing its role in the collection of data for the Survey of Adult Carers (on behalf of the NHS Digital), will collate, validate and deliver the anonymised survey responses data to NHS Digital. Only aggregated, anonymised data received via the survey may on some occasions be shared with the Adult Social Care, Health and Wellbeing directorate. Sandwell Council will not share personal data with any other organisations or individuals.
There may be instances when we are legally obliged to share within the council or to a third party. If this occurs then we will only share the minimum data required in accordance to the data protection rules and regulations.
Your personal data is not transferred outside of England and there is no automated processing of personal data
Where did we obtain your personal data?
We obtained your data from responses in the Carers Survey.
How do we store your data and how long will we keep it for?
Personal level data is stored within a secured network within the council in line with the relevant information governance framework. It is only accessible to a limited number of employees within the Adult Social Care, Health and Wellbeing directorate.
Hard copies of surveys are kept securely in a locked cupboard and retained for 2 years.
If you have consented to us using your contact details for follow up research, or to tell you of future consultations or surveys, your contact details will be held for up to 2 years from the date of consent.
Your rights
You are entitled to know what personal data Sandwell Council is processing about you. If you want to obtain the data, or if you want to exercise any of your other rights about the processing of the data, you can contact the Data Protection Officer – contact details above.
You have the right to:
- have your personal data corrected if it is inaccurate or incomplete
- ask for your personal data used for this purpose to be erased. This right may be limited where it is still necessary for the compliance with the legal obligation.
You can also ask for the processing of your personal data to be restricted if:
- it is inaccurate
- it is unlawful but you do not want it to be deleted
- it is due to be deleted but you require it kept because of a legal claim
- you have objected to the processing of the data and you are waiting for a decision about the objection
For more information about your rights you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office, which is the supervisory authority for the United Kingdom.
Contact:
Email: casework@ico.org.uk
Tel: 0303 123 1113
Write to: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF