Privacy notice

Everything we do with information about people, such as how we collect it and who we share it with, has to comply with Data Protection legislation. A key part of this is being open about how we use information and what rights you have in respect of information we hold about you.

This notice sets out the broad information for the County Council as a whole. Some services have their own notices that provide more detail and these can all be found from the main Privacy page on our website.

The information we hold

We collect information about people who live in Cambridgeshire as well as people outside the county who use services that we provide. What information we collect varies according to the services people receive.

Most of the information we hold starts as a result of:

An individual directly contacting us wanting to use one of our services.
Another organisation, such as an NHS body, making a referral to us, generally on the individual’s behalf and with their knowledge.

We also hold some information about individuals that other organisations are required to provide to us as the County Council in Cambridgeshire. Primarily this involves early years settings and schools in the county providing us with core information about the children attending their establishments. Schools and early years settings should provide you with their own privacy notices that will explain what information they collect and who they share it with.

Why do we have it and what do we use it for

We provide a wide range of services set out in law. We are under legal obligations to provide many of these services and to deliver these we need to collect and use personal information of those using or affected by these services

Much of what we do is a result of legislation set nationally that requires us to provide various public services in Cambridgeshire alongside Peterborough City Council and other public organisations. In such cases, if you access a council service then the law that requires us to provide that service will be our legal basis for collecting and using your personal data, as we can’t provide you with the service without it.

In a small number of cases we will process personal data solely on the basis of consent, such as where you might opt in to receive email updates or marketing details about certain council services. This will be clearly explained when you sign-up to that service.

The main public services we provide are as follows:

Adults and Older People

Prevention, early intervention and support for vulnerable adults
Assessment of the needs of older people and providing services that meet assessed eligible needs, support choice and control and maximise independence.
Safeguarding and protecting vulnerable adults from abuse.
Blue badge applications

Children and Young People

Providing a good quality place in learning for all children and young people, working with all schools and early year settings to ensure that children and young people get the best quality education.
Identifying and supporting children and families who are vulnerable and need support at the earliest opportunity. Safeguarding all children and young people at risk of significant harm.
Provision of high quality fostering and adoption services to meet the placement demands of Cambridgeshire children.
Provision of a range of family support services to those families in greatest need.

Public Health

Improving the health of the local population and reducing health inequalities with a focus on prevention.
Oversight of plans to protect the health of the local population from public health hazards, such as infectious diseases.
Providing specialist public health advice to the Council, other local authorities and local NHS Commissioners.

Health improvement services commissioned by the Public Health Directorate include:

Health visiting and school nursing services
Sexual health services, including testing for and treatment of infections, contraception.
Interventions to promote physical activity and healthy diet and help people manage their weight.
Smoking cessation and tobacco control.
NHS Health Checks
Public mental health

Place and Economy

Highway maintenance and improvement,
The delivery of all major transport infrastructure schemes,
Management of major contracts regarding highways, waste and street lighting,
Tackling rogue and other illegal trading and providing business advice,
Delivery of non-commercial superfast broadband services,
Waste disposal,
Libraries and cultural services,
Registration and coroner services,
Planning and Section 106 negotiation with developers,
Economic development,
Floods and water management,
Adult learning and skills,
Development of transport policy,
Commissioning of community transport, operation of the Guided Busway and the park and ride sites, and management of home to school, special needs and adults transport

We also collect and use information to support the local democratic process (administration of council meetings etc) and as part of research to support the delivery and development of our statutory functions as set out above. Additionally, we collect and use information in line with our requirements as an employer (recruitment, personnel information, payroll and pensions etc).

Whenever we use information, we always limit this to only the details that are needed and we ensure that it is used safely and securely. We require anyone we share information with, or who uses it on our behalf, to do so too. All staff and councillors receive training on data protection and information security.

We share information with a range of different types of people and organisations depending on the service being provided or the statutory requirement that we have to comply with. The types of recipients include:

Service users (and families where relevant)
Local government organisations (particularly Peterborough City Council and the other city/district councils in the county)
Central government departments
Our contractors: organisations that we commission to provide goods and services
Law enforcement agencies, such as Cambs Constabulary
Cambs Fire and Rescue Services
Health and social care organisations and professionals (NHS bodies such as GPs, NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Foundation Trust, Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust)
Education establishments such as schools, colleges and early years settings
Examining bodies
Regulatory bodies, investigators and ombudsman (for example Ofsted, CQC, Local Government Ombudsman)
Courts, tribunals and prisons
Legal representatives
Fraud prevention agencies
Debt collection agencies
Current, past and prospective employers
Trade unions
Press and the media
Councillors and political parties
Housing associations and landlords
Survey and research organisations

All information sharing is done with reference to the principles set out in the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Information Sharing Framework.

We participate in the Cabinet Office's National Fraud Initiative, a data matching exercise to assist in the prevention and detection of fraud. We are required to provide particular sets of data to the Minister for the Cabinet Office for matching for each exercise. Details about the initiative can be found on our National Fraud Initiative privacy notice page.

How long we keep hold of information for

We only keep information for as long as it is needed. This will be based on either a legal requirement (where a law says we have to keep information for a specific period of time) or accepted business practice. This is set out in our retention schedule.

Your rights

You have various rights around the data we hold about you.

Right of access (to receive a copy of your personal data)
Right to rectification (to request data is corrected if inaccurate)
Right to erasure (to request that data is deleted)
Right to restrict processing (to request we don’t use your data in a certain way)
Right to data portability (in some cases, you can ask to receive a copy of your data in a commonly-used electronic format so that it can be given to someone else)
Right to object (generally to make a complaint about any aspect of our use of your data)
Right to have explained if there will be any automated decision-making, including profiling, based on your data and for the logic behind this to be explained to you.

Any such request can be submitted to the Data Protection Officer. Whether we can agree to your request will depend on the specific circumstances and if we cannot then we will explain the reasons why.

If we are processing your information based on you giving us consent to do so, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. Doing so may mean we are unable to provide the service you are hoping to receive and the implications of you giving or withdrawing your consent will be explained at the time.

If you are unhappy with any aspect of how your information has been collected and/or used, you can make a complaint to the Data Protection Officer.

You can also report your concerns to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Data Protection Officer Contact Details

If anything in this notice is not clear, or if you have further queries, please get in contact with the Data Protection Officer.

Email: Data.protection@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

Tel. No: 01223 699 137

Post: Information and Records Team, OCT1224, Cambridgeshire County Council, New Shire Hall, Emery Crescent, Enterprise Campus, Alconbury Weald, Huntingdon PE28 4YE