Linkline and Careline Service - Privacy Notice
Who the council is and what the council does
Forest of Dean District Council is a data controller under the Data Protection Legislation as the council collects and processes personal information about you in order to provide services and meet their statutory and regulatory obligations.
This privacy notice covers how Forest of Dean District Council, as a data controller, will collect, use and share your personal data for the purposes of providing you with Forest Linkline and Cotswold Careline Service and the monitoring and operating of the service.
Any questions regarding our privacy practices should be sent to:
Data Protection Officer (DPO)
Forest of Dean District Council
Council Offices
Coleford GL16 8HG
Email: data.protection@fdean.gov.uk
Tel: 01993 861194
Why the council needs your information and how the council uses it
The Linkline and Careline Service provided by the council responds to needs of vulnerable individuals with appropriate community alarm solutions. This enables our residents to remain living independently in their own homes. It also provides communication and reassurance for family and friends of clients, whilst also operating in coordination with hospital discharges and other aspects of healthcare delivery.
We will use your personal information for the purposes of providing a community alarm, peripherals and key safe demonstration, installation and emergency support, alarm monitoring and wellbeing call service.
The council does not sell your personal information to anyone else.
What is the legal process for collecting and processing this data
Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018, the lawful bases we rely on for processing this information are:
- UK GDPR Article 6 (1) (a) Consent – the data subject has given consent to the processing of his or her personal data for one or more specific purposes.
- UK GDPR Article 6 (1) (b) Contract – the processing is necessary for the council to perform a task in relation to the contract we have with you for provision of services you have requested.
The lawful basis on which we collect and use special category data is that:
- Article 9(1)(a) of the Data Protection Act - Processing special category data due to Explicit consent
What type of information is collected from you
- Name
- Age and Date of Birth
- Address
- Telephone number
- Bank details
- Medical Health Information/reason for application
- Next of kin
- Name and telephone numbers of your emergency contacts.
Special categories of personal data
We will not purposely collect any special category data.
- Gender
The above list is not exhaustive. The council will only ask for personal information that is appropriate to enable us to deliver our services. In some cases you can refuse to provide your details if you deem a request to be inappropriate. However, you should note that, this may impact on our ability to provide some services to you.
We collect this information by:
- telephone, email, social media, writing or in person
Who your information may be shared with (internally and externally)
The council will share your personal data with our supplier who has been contracted to provide this service. In addition, should an emergency arise, your personal data may also be lawfully shared with the emergency services and health professionals as needed.
We will not normally share your information with organisations without your consent. However the council will use the information for the purpose of performing any of its statutory enforcement duties. It will make any disclosures required by law and may also share this information with other bodies responsible for detecting/preventing fraud or auditing/administering public funds.
Your information will not be disclosed to any other organisations, except where the council is required and allowed to by law, to safeguard public safety and in risk of harm or emergency situations.
The council will not share your information with third parties for marketing purposes.
How long the council keeps your information (retention period)
Your personal information is required to be kept for the length of the community alarm contract. Once an account has been closed and all payments/credits completed, the information will no longer be retained.
Once your data is no longer needed it will be securely and confidentially destroyed or disposed of the data in line with retention schedules.
How the council protects your information
Your data is stored securely on our systems and accessed only by authorised officers using their own username and password created in line with pre-defined user credentials. Personal data is also held in electronic files on the council’s network drives. These are only accessible through personal logon credentials and access privileges to specific drives. Access to our council sites require a personal electronic pass to access staff only areas. The council has strict procedures for the way this is done. Any and all information about you is treated as confidential and with respect. There are also clear rules and guidance about storing, recording and sharing information which staff receive training on.
If you use your credit or debit card to make payments, the council passes your card details securely to our payment processing partner as part of the payment process. The council does this in accordance with the Payment Card Industry Security Standard and does not store the details on its website. The information you give to the council when using our online payment system will only be used for the recording of your payment.
The council will not transfer your personal data outside the EU without your consent.
The council have implemented generally accepted standards of technology and operational security in order to protect personal data from loss, misuse or unauthorised alteration or destruction.
Please note however that where you are transmitting information to us over the internet this can never be guaranteed to be 100% secure.
The council will notify you promptly in the event of any breach of your personal data which might expose you to serious risk.
Your rights
You have the following rights under the Data Protection Legislations:
- To access your personal data
- To be provided with information about how your personal data is processed
- To have your personal data corrected
- To have your personal data erased in certain circumstances
- To object to or restrict how your personal data is processed
- To have your personal data transferred to yourself or to another business in certain circumstances
- To be told if the council have made a mistake whilst processing your data and the council will self-report breaches to the Commissioner.
How you can access, update or correct your information
The Data Protection law gives you the right to apply for a copy of information about yourself. This is called a ‘Subject Access Request'.
If you wish to see a copy of your records you should contact the Data Protection Officer. You are entitled to receive a copy of your records free of charge, within a month.
In certain circumstances access to your records may be limited, for example, if the records you have asked for contain information relating to another person.
The accuracy of your information is important to us to be able to provide relevant services more quickly. The council is working to make our record keeping more efficient. In the meantime, if you change your address or email address, or if any of your circumstances change or any of the other information the council holds is inaccurate or out of date, please email us or write to us at:
Linkline/Careline Community Alarm Service
Forest of Dean District Council
Council Offices
Coleford GL16 8HG
Email: forestlinkline@fdean.gov.uk and cotswoldcareline@fdean.gov.uk
Further information
If you would like to know more about how the council uses your information, or if for any reason you do not wish to have your information used in any of the ways described in this privacy notice, please contact the Data Protection Officer at data.protection@fdean.gov.uk
For more information about data protection please visit: www.fdean.gov.uk/about-the-council/council-data-and-information/data-protection/
If you are concerned about the way the council is handling your personal information you can contact the Information Commissioner (ICO): https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/
The council reserve the right to update this privacy notice from time to time by publishing a new version on our website.