The Data Protection Act 1998 came into force in 2000 and allows
you access to information the Council holds about you.
The Act also protects personal information (known as personal
data) by setting the rules and conditions which apply to all
users of personal data, such as the Council.
The Act calls users of personal data 'data controllers'. Data
controllers, such as the Council, must work within the
requirements of the Act when obtaining and using information about
you. The Information Commissioner regulates the Act and maintains a
public register of data controllers.
Detailed
information about the Act (new window) can be
found on the Information Commissioner's website.
Our data protection policy
Suffolk Coastal regards the lawful and correct treatment of
personal data as vital to maintaining the confidence of the many
individuals we deal with. We will treat personal data lawfully and
correctly and will comply with the data protection principles as
set out in the Data Protection Act and our
Data Protection Policy (new window PDF
55KB).
What personal information do we hold?
Suffolk Coastal holds a vast range of information, some of which
is personal. A few examples include the data used for the
assessment and collection of Council Tax and Business Rates, data
used for benefits, grants and loans administration and data used
for electoral registration.
The Information Commissioner maintains a public register of data
controllers. Each register entry gives details of the data
controller and a general description of what the personal data held
is used for. The following links are to Council's register entries
for all the personal data we hold:
What are your rights?
Your rights under the Act are:
- To ask what personal information the Council holds about
you.
- To be given a copy of the information (a £10 charge is
payable).
- To be given details about the purposes for which the Council
use the information and of other organisations or persons to whom
it is disclosed.
- To ask for incorrect data to be corrected.
- To ask the Council not to use personal information about you
for direct marketing; which is likely to cause damage or
distress.
- To be compensated for damage or distress should these be caused
by our failure to comply with certain requirements of the
Act.
Do we need your consent to use information about
you?
Normally, personal data we hold about you has been collected for
a specific purpose. However, occasionally consent may be required
when using data for a different purpose from that for which it was
gathered. Consent is not required where we are obliged under law to
assist in the prevention and detection of crime or where the
information is required to perform a statutory function such as
collection of Council Tax. All application forms and requests for
your personal information explain why we require the information
requested and whether or not we need your consent.
If you have an enquiry or concern regarding the processing of
personal data by Suffolk Coastal District Council, please
contact:
Audit Manager & Data Protection Officer
Suffolk Coastal District Council
Melton Hill
Woodbridge
Suffolk IP12 1AU
Telephone: 01394 383789
Email:
dp@suffolkcoastal.gov.uk
National Fraud Initiative and data matching
Suffolk Coastal is required by law to protect the public funds
it administers. We may share information provided to us with other
bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds, in
order to prevent and detect fraud.
The Audit Commission currently requires us to participate in a
data matching exercise to assist in the prevention and detection of
fraud. The Audit Commission is responsible for running the
National Fraud Initiative (new window) and
carrying out data matching exercises.
Data matching involves comparing computer records held by one
body against other computer records held by the same or another
body. This is usually personal information. Computerised data
matching allows fraudulent claims and payments to be identified.
Where a match is found it indicates that there is an inconsistency
which requires further investigation. No assumption can be made as
to whether there is fraud, error or other explanation until an
investigation is carried out.
We are required to provide particular sets of data to the
Audit Commission for matching for each exercise.
For this initiative, we are providing details of our electoral
register, staff, debtors and creditors, insurance claimants,
Housing Benefit claimants, Council Tax payers, concessionary travel
users, market/street trader licence holders, personal licences for
the supply of alcohol holders, private hire and taxi drivers.
The use of data by the Audit Commission in a data matching
exercise is carried out with statutory authority under its powers
in Part 2A of the Audit Commission Act 1998. It does not require
the consent of the individuals concerned under the Data Protection
Act 1998.
Data matching by the Audit Commission is subject to a
code of practice (new window) which can also
be found on its website.
Requesting access to information we hold
If you wish to make a request to receive information held about
you by the Council, you will need to print out and complete a
subject access request form (new window PDF
22KB).
We may ask for proof of identity. A fee of £10 is payable
and should be sent with your completed subject access request form
to:
Audit Manager & Data Protection Officer
Suffolk Coastal District Council
Melton Hill
Woodbridge
Suffolk IP12 1AU
Cheques should be made payable to Suffolk Coastal District
Council.
If you have any data protection questions you can email the
Audit Manager & Data Protection Officer at
dp@suffolkcoastal.gov.uk.
There are circumstances where a data controller may not be able
to provide you with all of the information they hold about you. For
example, where information will be disclosed relating to a third
person, a data controller may need to obtain permission to provide
you with the information. There are other circumstances that may
result in information being exempt from disclosure -
more about exempt information (new window)
can be found on the Information Commissioner's website.
What happens next?
The Act allows local authorities 40 calendar days in which to
collate and prepare the information requested. You will be given a
copy of the information we hold to keep and check for accuracy.
This will either be a printout from a database or a photocopy of
your manual records.
If the data is incorrect you must write to us and tell us what
data is incorrect and ask for the data to be corrected. We must
confirm it has been corrected within 21 days of receiving your
request. If we do not agree that the information is incorrect you
can ask us to record your disagreement on the record.
Making a complaint
If you wish to complain about the way in which your request has
been processed then you must first complain to the Council
using our complaints procedure. If you have
followed our complaints procedure and are still not satisfied, then
you have a right of appeal to the
Information Commissioner (new window).
The Information Commissioner has a helpline you can
call for help and advice to solve data protection
problems on 0303 123
1113.