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Beam Notes: Privacy Notice

This privacy notice provides information on how Cyngor Gwynedd Children's and Adult Social Services (CG) collects, processes and shares personal data.

In accordance with the retained UK version of the General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, this privacy notice outlines how CC manages data collected through the use of the Beam Notes recording and transcription service. This may include, but is not limited to: customer personal data and any personal information relating to keyholders, family, friends and carers, on-call officers or contractors.

The controller of your personal data is Cyngor Gwynedd (CG).

The reason (purpose) why it is necessary to process your personal data

For the provision of social care services. The services provided relate to conversations, discussions and any other meeting activities undertaken as part of the authority’s normal business operations.

The personal data we collect about you

The personal information recorded may relate to the following categories of data:

  • Name
  • Address
  • Telephone number
  • Email address
  • National Insurance number
  • NHS number
  • Date of birth
  • Gender
  • Ethnicity
  • Religion
  • Health conditions, including physical health, mental health or learning needs
  • Employment
  • Contact details of family members
  • Next of kin
  • Accommodation status
  • Nationality
  • Marital status
  • Sexual orientation
  • Financial information
  • Trade union membership
  • Previous criminal convictions

We may request additional information where necessary.

How is your personal data collected?

Beam Notes processes your personal data through recording, transcribing and summarising meetings using the following process:

  • The user (a trained member of staff, such as a social worker) starts the recording.
  • The meeting is recorded.
  • The user ends the recording and the audio file is saved.
  • Beam Notes creates a transcript of the audio file.
  • An Azure OpenAI model creates a summary of the transcript.
  • The user is notified that the meeting summary is ready and available to view in the secure web application.
  • The user reviews the output for accuracy and makes any necessary amendments.
  • The user copies the summary into the case management system.

Justification for collecting and recording personal information

Cyngor Gwynedd Children's and Adult Social Services will collect personal information in order to safeguard and provide support to residents. This forms part of our public task under Article 6(1)(e) of the UK GDPR, in accordance with the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014. Processing this personal information is necessary for the Department:

  • To respond to Health and Social Care needs.
  • Because it is carrying out a task in the public interest.

Consent is the lawful basis for processing. Under Article 6(1)(a), the data subject has given consent to CG to process their personal data for one or more specific purposes.

The Department will not use your information for automated decision-making or profiling.

Details of any special category data collected and processed

  • National Insurance number
  • NHS number
  • Gender
  • Ethnicity
  • Religion
  • Health conditions, including physical health, mental health or learning needs
  • Nationality
  • Marital status
  • Sexual orientation
  • Financial information
  • Trade union membership

For special category data (such as health information, ethnicity and sexual orientation), we rely on Article 9(2)(h) relating to health and social care.

How and where your data is stored

  • Internal hosting of the output file, uploaded to the relevant service management information system.
  • External hosting of the audio file/transcript until the retention period expires and the data is destroyed.
  • Data is processed within the UK and the EEA by Beam / Beam Notes.

How long do we keep this information?

Personal data within Beam Notes is retained in accordance with Cyngor Gwynedd policy (90 days).

Who is your information shared with?

We may share your information when delivering the Services with:

  • Any joint data controller relating to your personal data.
  • You or your authorised representative.
  • Your named contacts, such as next of kin, friends, relatives or carers.
  • Your named home care agency.
  • Any named contractors provided by a joint controller regarding your personal data.
  • Your healthcare practitioners or the emergency services.
  • Local authority representatives who may need to be contacted where concerns are raised regarding your welfare.
  • Relevant third parties where required by law.
  • Service providers (acting as data processors) located in England and Wales who provide IT and software services in support of the Services.
  • Regulators and other authorities located within the United Kingdom who require reporting on processing activities in specific circumstances.

We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to handle it in accordance with the law. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes and only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

International Transfers

We do not transfer your personal data outside of the United Kingdom.

Your rights under GDPR

In certain circumstances, you have rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data. These rights include:

  • Requesting access to your personal data.
  • Requesting correction of your personal data.
  • Requesting erasure of your personal data.
  • Objecting to the processing of your personal data.
  • Requesting restriction of processing of your personal data.
  • Requesting transfer of your personal data.
  • Withdrawing consent.

If you wish to exercise any of the rights listed above, please use the contact details below to get in touch with us. You will not usually be required to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with your request in such circumstances.

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to someone who is not entitled to receive it. We may also contact you to request further information regarding your request in order to speed up our response.

We aim to respond to all valid requests within one month. Occasionally, it may take longer than one month if your request is particularly complex or if you have made multiple requests. In such cases, we will notify you and keep you updated.

For further information about the personal data held and used by Cyngor Gwynedd, or if you wish to exercise your rights under the UK GDPR, please use the contact details below.

How to contact us

For more information, or if you would like a copy of the application form by email or post, please contact:

Customer Care Officer, Adult Services

Address: Customer Care Officer, Adult Services, Cyngor Gwynedd, Stryd y Jêl, Caernarfon, LL55 1SH