This is the Privacy Notice for Cornwall Council’s Housing Options Service.
What does this privacy notice do?
This page explains what we do with your information and why. This page confirms what data rights you hold too. This page also explains how long we store your data and how we keep it secure.
We will also let you know about when we may need to use your data for other reasons.
Your data is controlled by
Cornwall Council,
County Hall,
Truro
TR1 3AY
Our Data Protection Registration Number is: Z174529
How does housing options work?
Housing Options needs to use your data to process your Housing Options Application. We use this data to help prevent homelessness where we are able.
We also link in other agencies to help with your housing situation where we are able.
Who do you share information with?
To be able to make Housing Options work, we may need to share information with our partners. A list of partners is below:
- Cornwall Council Revenue and Benefits Team
- Cornwall Councils Commissioning Teams
- Together for Families teams
- Adult social care teams
- The Department for Work and Pensions
- Jobcentre Plus
- HM Revenue and Customs
- Other Local Authorities
- Credit Reference Agencies
- Devon and Cornwall Police
- Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service
- Housing / Accommodation providers
We may share information with these partners to ensure that we can follow our duties as a Council. This includes ensuring the health and safety of residents and also the wider community. Information may also be shared to prevent and reduce criminal activity.
Information from ‘Advice Aid’
Advice Aid service collects personal data to help resolve housing issues and risk of homelessness.
Advice Aid can be accessed from Advice Aid. The service is provided on behalf of the Council by Twilio, trading as Send Grid.
How Send Grid process your data and your data rights are located below:
Information from ‘GOV.UK Notify’
So that we can process your data, sometimes we need to use GOV.UK Notify
Data is only shared using this if we have your consent. Data is shared in keeping with UK Laws.
View the Notifications service privacy to find out how GOV.UK Notify uses your data.
Information from ‘Better Off Calculator’
As part of the Housing Options Service we may use information from Policy in Practice’s ‘Better Off Calculator’.
You do not have to share this information with us if you do not want to.
We will use information you share with the council from Policy in Practice's Better Off Calculator to help identify what benefits or support schemes you may be eligible for.
This information may be shared with other Cornwall Council departments including those dealing with housing and social care support. Each calculation shared with us will be assessed on a case-by-case basis to decide if to share with other departments for this purpose.
Where you do not share information with the Council, your data remains with Policy in Practice. They remain controllers of your data. Policy in Practice's Privacy Policy explains how they will keep and store your data.
Should you want to remove data from the Better Off Calculator where you have not shared with us, you will need to contact Policy in Practice directly.
Policy in Practice
Head of Admin Services,
Policy in Practice,
PUBLIC Hall,
1 Horse Guards Avenue,
Westminster,
London,
SW1A 2HU.
Telephone: +44 (0)330 088 9242
Email: admin@policyinpractice.co.uk
Where is my data stored? How long do you keep it?
Housing Options data is stored in a secure and safe way. We will make sure that only the people who need to see and use this data have access to it. They will use it for only what they need to under UK law.
Your Data will be processed in the UK and in the EEA. This is due to how the council’s systems are set up.
We will keep your data for 5 Years, after your case has been closed. The data will then be securely removed from our systems.
Cornwall Council has safeguards for user access. Data access will be based on need. It will also be assessed in keeping with UK laws.
What data rights do i have?
Housing Options uses ‘Public Task’ as the main reason for processing your data.
Your data rights are different because of this, and we need to make you aware of what this means for your rights for this project.
You have the right to:-
- be informed of how we process your data.
- request a copy of what we hold about you. This is known as a Subject Access Request (SAR).
- have your data amended if there is something wrong with it.
- restrict how we process your data.
- object to us using data for marketing or research purposes.
- object to us using it in relation to a legal task or in the exercise of an official authority.
We need to also make you aware that some of these rights are not absolute.
There may be other reasons such as law enforcement or safeguarding where your data will need to be shared to ensure we meet our obligations as a Council under UK law. Cornwall Councils Privacy Policy
How do I access copies of my data and use my data rights?
To access the data we hold about you for Housing Options or to use your data rights, you can contact our Data Protection Officer. Please use ‘Housing Options’ to help us to identify the project your request is about.
The address to write to is: -
Data Protection Officer,
Cornwall Council,
County Hall,
Truro
TR1 3AY
We also accept enquiries by Telephone or Email:
Telephone: 01872 326424
Email: dpo@cornwall.gov.uk
What do I need to do if something is not right?
Sometimes things may not go right, and you may want to take further action. In this case to make a complaint please contact us directly using the details above.
Should this not be resolved to your satisfaction. You can raise your concerns with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO). The ICO regulate data usage in the UK, and they can be contacted by:
- Telephone: 0303 123 1113 (9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. Closed Bank Holidays)
- Live Chat
- Complaint Page
Confirmation of Understanding with our applicants to Housing Options services
- I/We confirm the details given to Housing Options are correct and are enough for Cornwall Council to process an application
- I/We confirm that we will contact Housing Options to update details when they become known
- I/We authorise medical representatives and other third parties to disclose medical information about members of my household. This is unless there is need for consent from family members aged 13 or above
- I/We confirm that in signing up to Housing Options data may be shared with a number of third parties in order for Cornwall Council to perform their statutory and legal duties
- I/We confirm that by signing this statement that we are also giving implicit permission for our data to be shared with other departments/third parties as detailed in Who Do You Share Information With?
- I/We confirm that we have read and understood how Housing Options will use our data
- I/We also authorise my current or any former landlord(s) to provide information regarding my tenancy/rent account and my mortgage/loan lender information about my mortgage if this applies to me
- I/ We understand that under s214 Housing Act 1996 it is a criminal offence to knowingly or recklessly make a false statement, or knowingly withhold information with the intent to induce a local authority to believe they are entitled to accommodation and assistance
- I/ We understand that a person guilty of this offence may receive a fine up to level 5 on the standard scale