Councillors privacy notice

Councillors/Members are elected by residents to represent them. Each councillor is a registered data controller. 

The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham (the ‘council’) is committed to ensuring that your personal information is protected, used lawfully and respectfully and in a transparent manner.

This privacy notice sets out how elected councillors in Barking and Dagenham will process enquiries and/or correspondence and use your personal data. 

How we use your personal information

In order to deal with your enquiry, the councillor you have contacted has to process certain information from you. The processing of your information includes the collection, use, sharing (if appropriate), retention and destruction of your information.

To deal with your members’ enquiry, we will need to process your personal data. The information we collect includes your name, address, contact number and email address. 

Additional personal data may be necessary in order to progress your enquiry and/or deal with your correspondence. 

A delay in you providing the information requested may result in a delay in responding/providing appropriate services.   

Your data will be used to:

  • deal with your enquiry
  • develop solutions in situations where there are a number of similar concerns

Special categories of personal information

Depending on the nature of your enquiry, it may be necessary to process ‘sensitive’ information. This may amongst other things include: 

  • ethnicity
  • religious belief
  • political opinions
  • physical and mental health information
  • sexual orientation
  • trade union membership
  • genetic or biometric data
  • criminal records

Lawful basis for processing your personal information

A councillor has to have a lawful reason to process your information, which could be any one of the following: 

Article 6.1 (e) Public Task 

Article 9(2)(g)

 Special categories processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.

Article 6.1 (a) Consent

Article 9(2)(g) Special Categories

 The Data Subject has given consent to the processing of his or her personal data for one or more specific purposes.

Article 6.1 (c) Vital interests

Article 9 (2)(c) Special Categories

Processing is necessary in order to protect the vital interests of the data subject of another natural person.

Article 6.1 (f) Legitimate Interests

 Processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the controller or by a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which re-quire protection of personal data, in particular where the data subject is a child.

Councillors rely mostly on Public Task as a lawful basis for the processing of personal information, e.g. constituency work. However, there may be a circumstance where the councillor may need to contact you for permission to share information that they think is particularly sensitive.  

The DPA 2018 - Schedule 1, Part 2, S.23 (1) provides for the councillor to process your special categories information (as above).

Protecting your personal information

Each councillor endeavours to ensure that the services they provide complies with all data protection legislation, for example, the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018).  

The councillor has appropriate security and controls in place to prevent data loss, for example, hacking attempts. 

Sharing your personal information

In order to progress your enquiry and depending on its nature, it will be necessary for the councillor to share your information with appropriate council staff and/or agencies such as the police and health services. Only the information necessary to progress your enquiry will be shared. 

Councillors will never sell constituents’ data on to third parties.

If there is any information that you do not wish the councillor to share with third  parties, please make this known before the councillor progresses your enquiry. However, please be aware that it may not be possible to progress a matter for you on an anonymous basis. 

Sharing with third parties

Detection and prevention of crime

The councillor may be required by law to share personal information with other organisations, such as the HMRC or law enforcement agencies 

Emergency services

If the councillor is concerned about you, or the safety of another individual, they may contact emergency services to assist you or provide emergency response management support.

Retaining your personal information

Councillors will only keep your information for as long as is necessary, for the minimum amount of time, for the purpose it was collected, and in line with statutory requirements. 

Your personal information will be kept for no longer than six months from when your enquiry is resolved.    

International transfer of personal information

Councillors do not process your information outside the European Economic Area (EEA)

Automated decision making / profiling

Councillors do not undertake automated profiling or decision making

Cookies

To learn more about cookies, please see our general privacy notice.

Your individual rights

To learn more about your individual rights, or how to raise a concern, please see our general privacy notice.