Privacy notices

Privacy notices sometimes called transparency notices, include how we use or share your information, our disclaimer, and copyright information.

Data controller

When we use your personal data, Wakefield Council is what we call the data controller.

As the data controller, we must:

• only keep your data that we need to provide services and do what the
• law says we must
• keep your records safe and accurate
• only keep your data as long as we have to collect, store and use your data in a way that does not break any Data Protection laws

Things you can do to help us

• tell us when any of your details change; and
• tell us if any of the information we hold on you is wrong

What is personal data?

Personal data is information about a living person which means we can work out who they are such as name, address, telephone number, date of birth, bank details, etc. This can include written letters, emails, photographs, audio recordings, and video recordings.

Some data is called 'special category data' which is more sensitive, and we have to look after it more carefully. This includes details of ethnic origin, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, trade union membership, and health data.

Why do we collect and store personal data

For some of our services, we need to use your personal data so we can get in touch, or provide the service. We can use your personal data under many different laws. The main ones for the Council are the Local Government Acts and the Localism Act 2011, but there are many more. The Government put together a list of all of these in 2011 which can be found here:

• Statutory duties of local authorities

Some of these laws may have been updated since then, and new ones added. You can see more details for each service area below.

In many cases there is a law that says we must or we can process your data and we can do so without your consent or permission.

Where we do not directly provide the service, we may need to pass your personal data on to the organisations that do. These providers are under contract and have to keep your details safe and secure and use them only to provide the service.

Using our website

If you are a user with general public access, the Wakefield council website does not store or capture personal information but merely logs a number called your IP address which is automatically recognised by the system.

The system will record personal information if you:

• subscribe to or apply for services that require personal information
• report a fault and give your contact details for us to respond
• contact us and leave your details for us to respond

We employ cookie technology to help log visitors to our website. A cookie is a string of information that is sent by a website and stored on your hard drive or temporarily in your computer's memory.

The information collected is used for the administration of the server and to improve the service provided by the website.

No personal information is collected this way unless you consent to this when first visiting wakefield.gov.uk.

• More information about cookies

This statement only covers the council websites maintained by us and does not cover other websites linked to our site.

Using your personal data

We will use your data to:

• provide council services and anything we must do by law
• carry out our regulatory, licensing, and enforcement roles which we have to do by law
• make payments, grants and benefits, and spot fraud
• listen to your ideas about council services
• tell you about council services

Please contact the Council service or team holding your information first.

Use of your NHS number

MyAccount

MyAccount is your online customer account. If you register, your information will be used to deliver the service you have requested and for planning purposes to improve how these services are delivered to you in the future. We will contact you to update you on your service requests.

Sharing information within the council

We share your data between services within the council so that we can keep our information on you as up-to-date as possible and so that we can improve our services to you. For example, if you tell the housing team you have moved, they will pass this information on to other parts of the council such as the council tax team. Staff can only see your data if they need it to do their job.

Your information rights

In general, you have the right to request that Wakefield Council:

• provide a copy of your personal information
• correct any errors in your personal information and restrict processing until complete
• object to the processing, depending on the service and legal basis
• erase personal information, depending on the service and legal basis
• withdraw consent and have your data deleted, if consent is used as the legal basis for the service
• to be informed of automated decision-making, including profiling for the service

The service-specific privacy notice will detail what information rights you have.

Where possible we will seek to comply with your request but we may be required to hold, retain or process information to comply with a legal obligation or as a public task.

We try to ensure that any information we hold about you is correct. There may be situations where you find the information we hold is no longer accurate and you have the right to have this corrected.

Please contact the Council service or team holding your information first.

Data Responsibilities

Who we are: (the Data Controller) Wakefield Metropolitan District Council

Who to contact about the collection of this information: Senior Information Governance Officer

dataprotection@wakefield.gov.uk

01924 306 112

NHS Data Security and Protection Toolkit (NHS DSPT)

All organisations, that have access to NHS patient data and systems, which includes social care providers, must use the NHS DSPT to provide assurances that there are high standards of data protection and information governance within their organisation and that personal information is handled correctly.

It is an essential requirement for the Council, as it allows us to share data relating to vulnerable adults and supports public health functions and children’s services to deliver effective care and support. The 2023/24 NHS DSPT has achieved “Standards Exceeded”, which is the highest rating. A copy of the certificate can be found here.

Changes to this privacy notice

We will continually review and update this transparency notice to reflect changes in our services and feedback from service users, as well as to comply with changes in the law.