The council acts as the data controller for a range of personal information that it uses to carry out its work. It is responsible for ensuring that its use remains within the provisions of the Data Protection legislation.
We keep personal information so that we can provide you with the services you require, collect the council tax, collect rent, calculate housing benefits, and provide other services you may need from us. It also allows us to maintain a record of the services you have requested. Your personal details are a vitally important part of making sure that we deliver effective and efficient services to you.
We require your consent to use your data only if we are going to process data about you for purposes other than those we originally collected the data for. All application forms and requests for information explain why we require the information requested and whether or not we need your consent.
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The Data Protection Act 1998 is a law that came into force on 1 March 2000. It was introduced to protect personal data, that is data about individuals, no matter how it is processed, what it is processed for or who processes it.
The act covers data held on computers and manually processed records.
The act specifies rules and conditions which all users (the act calls us “Controllers”) of personal information must obey when obtaining and using information about you. This includes East Riding of Yorkshire Council.
Under Data Protection legislation, members of the public can :
- ask the council whether or not we hold personal information about themselves
- ask what we use the information for
- be given the information that we hold about themselves, provided that it does not disclose information about a third party
- be given details about the purposes for which the council uses the information, and of other organisations or persons to whom we may disclose it
- ask for incorrect data to be corrected
- ask us not to use personal information about them for direct marketing
- ask us not to process information which is likely to cause damage or distress
- ask us not to make decisions about them based on the automatic processing of the data
- seek compensation for damage or distress if these are caused by a failure to comply with certain requirements of the Act.
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Anyone can request access to their personal information held on file. If information is requested about someone else, written consent from that person would be required.
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Everyone has a right of access to their personal information, including children. However, as young children may not understand this right or are not capable of exercising this right, in some cases their parents may do so on their behalf.
There is no particular age when a child becomes capable of exercising his or her own data protection rights. Rather, the council must assess the child’s maturity and level of understanding when determining whether a parent should be making a request on the child’s behalf. To do this, the council may have to contact you to obtain further information.
As a general guide, a child of 12 and above is likely to have sufficient maturity but as stated, this will depend on the individual circumstances.
The council needs to be very careful about the disclosure of children’s personal information. If the council is in any doubt as to whether the parent or guardian is entitled to make a request on their child or ward’s behalf, then the council may refuse to grant access.
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You may have a representative to act on your behalf when making a subject access request, such as, a solicitor, financial advisor, doctor, carer or family member.
In this case, the council must be satisfied that you have consented to this arrangement so we ask your representative (and, in some cases, you) to demonstrate this by providing proof of your identity and your signature.
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The council makes a £10 charge per request, payable in advance.Top of page
You need to provide sufficient information to allow us to verify your identity. This will often be a passport, driving licence with photograph, or birth certificate. You will either need to post us original ID (no photocopies - we will return your originals securely) or take it in person to any of our customer service centres, where staff will take a copy, sign to verify that it has been seen and return to you.
If possible, please complete the form below and send with your payment (and ID as above) to us (postal address is included in the form). Alternatively you can deliver this to any customer service centre. Completing this form is not essential, but it does help us to deal with your request more swiftly.
Data Protection Request form (pdf 61kb opens in new window)
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No - the Data Protection act only covers people who are still alive.
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No - the act allows some types of information to be withheld. For example, the council cannot release information about a third-party without their consent. If a document includes third-party information, it may not be possible to release it.
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For a single data request, yes. The expression “disproportionate effort” is not specifically defined in the Act, however considerations include the cost of provision of the information, the length of time it may take to provide the information or how
difficult or otherwise it may be for the council to provide the information.
To avoid such situations, it is advisable to limit your request to a single council area of business e.g. children's services, adult services, human resources etc. Larger requests can be submitted, but may be split and each charged £10. We would advise you at the point of receipt if this would be the case.
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- When you supply us with information, you will be told all the purposes for which it may be used and to whom it may have to be disclosed
- We will not disclose your information to any third party without your consent unless we are legally required to do so, or it is necessary in order to provide you with the services to which you are entitled, or which you have requested
- We have a duty to protect public funds and to prevent or detect crime. It may be necessary from time to time to share certain of your information with other local authorities, Government departments, and bodies with a similar duty, for this purpose
- We will ensure that any third party to whom we disclose your data uses it only for purposes that we have stipulated
- We will not hold any information about you unless it is relevant to the purposes for which it is being processed
- We will periodically review the information that we hold about you and delete information that is out of date and no longer needed
- We will not transfer or disclose your information, without your consent, to any country outside of the European Economic Area that is not considered to provide an adequate level of protection
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You will be given a copy to keep and check for accuracy. This will either be a computer printout or a photocopy of your manual records.
You must write to the council telling us what data is incorrect and asking for the data to be corrected. The council must tell you what it has done within 21 days of receiving your request. If the council does not agree that the information is incorrect you can ask it to record your disagreement on your records. You can also appeal to the Data Protection Commissioner or the courts if the council does not correct the information.Top of page
You can appeal to the council through its appeals procedure. Alternatively, you can appeal to the Data Protection Commissioner who will look into the matter on your behalf.
The Office of the Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
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If you do not want us to use your personal details for direct marketing, you should write to us at the address shown at the right hand side of this page asking us not to allow this.
If you think that the use of your personal data could cause you damage or distress you should write to us and explain how we are causing you possible distress or damage, so that we can take any necessary steps to stop this happening.
The Act requires us to respond no later than 21 days after we have received your request. If we do not do so, or refuse to do as you ask, you can appeal to the court.
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Yes, if you need help with the information provided, the application form or this leaflet, just let us know and we will provide someone to assist you. A translation service is also available. Requests for assistance can be made at any of the council's customer service centres.
You can also get further information about the Act, and about your rights, by contacting the Information Commissioner:
Data protection (external website)
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For the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998, the Data Controller in relation to any personal data you supply is East Riding of Yorkshire Council.
Any data you have supplied to the Council will be used by the department to enable the provision of service and where appropriate the processing of management information. All data is held securely and retained and reviewed in accordance with the service area policy. Data will only be shared where relevant or necessary using an accredited secure network.
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