PN022 - Research and GIS Privacy Notice

Torfaen County Borough Council is committed to protecting your privacy when you use our services. This Privacy Notice is designed to give you information about the data we hold about you, how we use it, your rights in relation to it and the safeguards in place to protect it.

TCBC Service Area: PSSU
Work area: Research and Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
Contact Details: Andy.wilson@torfaen.gov.uk
Privacy Notice Name: Research and GIS

Data Controller: Torfaen County Borough Council, c/o Civic Centre, Pontypool, NP4 6YB

If you wish to raise a concern about the handling of your personal data, please contact the Data Protection Officer on 01495 762200 or email dpa@torfaen.gov.uk

This Privacy Notice covers the collection of data by the Research and GIS team from public surveys and other council service areas for its use in improving services e.g. resident’s survey

Who provides your data to the Research and GIS team?

The personal information we process is provided to us directly by you when you complete a survey for service improvement.

We receive personal information indirectly from other council service areas and organisations such as PSB (Public Service Board) partner organisations. This is done for the purposes of service improvement.

How does the Council collect this information?

  • Survey forms (both electronic and paper)
  • PSB partner organisations

What information does the Council collect about you?

The council collects;

  • Name
  • Address
  • Age
  • Gender
  • Ethnicity
  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • Any other information relevant to the survey that is being carried out

Why does the Council process your personal data?

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the lawful basis we rely on for processing this information is

(e) We need it to perform a public task.

Special categories of personal data

We may collect the following special category data dependant on the research or survey required;

  • personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin
  • personal data revealing religious or philosophical beliefs
  • data concerning health
  • data concerning a person’s sex life
  • data concerning a person’s sexual orientation

We collect this under Article 9 of the UK GDPR.

Where we collect criminal data this is processed within the Council under Article10 of the UK GDPR.

Who has access to your data?

Your data is shared internally only with the appropriate staff where it is necessary for the performance of their roles.

Your data may also be shared externally with organisations for service improvement. These may include, but not be limited to;

  • PSB partner organisations

Anonymised reports may be produced and made available for public viewing on our website.

Apart from where previously stated, we do not pass your details to third parties unless we are lawfully required do so.

Is the Data transferred out of the UK?

No

How does the Council keep your data secure?

The Council has internal policies in place to ensure the data it processes is not lost, accidentally destroyed, misused or disclosed. Access to this data is restricted in accordance with the Council’s internal policies and in compliance with the UK GDPR.

Data will be stored securely in:

  • Electronic folders on secure servers
  • Data from paper forms is uploaded to secure servers and the forms are shredded immediately afterwards

Where the Council engages third parties to process personal data on its behalf, they do so on the basis of written instructions. These third parties are also under a duty of confidentiality and are obliged to implement appropriate measures to ensure the security of data.

How long does the Council keep your data?

The Council will hold your personal data only for the period that is necessary and will follow organisational and Local Authority standards in this area. At the end of the retention period the Council will securely destroy or dispose of the data in line with retention schedules.

Are we making automated decisions/profiling with your data?

No

Your rights

You have a number of Rights you can exercise:

  • Access - to obtain a copy of your data on request
  • Rectification – to require the Council to change incorrect or incomplete data
  • Object, Restrict or Delete - under certain circumstances you can require the Council to delete or stop processing your data, for example where the data is no longer necessary for the purposes of processing
  • Data portability – to receive and/or transmit data provided to the Council to other organisations (this applies in limited circumstances)
  • Withdraw your consent at any time (where consent has been given)
  • To know the consequences of failing to provide data to the Council
  • To know the existence of any Automated Decision-making, including profiling, and the consequences of this for you.
  • To lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (Information Commissioners Office)

If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact Andy Wilson, Data Research and GIS Manager, PSSU, Civic Centre, Pontypool, NP4 6YB.

The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office (Wales), 2nd Floor, Churchill House, Churchill Way, Cardiff, CF10 2HH. Telephone 0330 414 6421 or e-mail Wales@ico.org.uk.

Last Modified: 17/07/2023 Back to top