Housing and Property Privacy Notice

 

This statement confirms how and what information the Housing and Property Service keeps about an individual.

Why do we collect the information?

We use your information to:

  • assess your housing needs
  • identify which other services could meet your needs
  • to provide support and advice
  • investigate complaints
  • look at the quality of services

Providing the most basic information is a sensitive matter. You have a legal right to expect any information you are providing to be treated with confidence and kept secure. The Council has measures in place that protect the privacy of individuals during this process.

Justification for Collecting and Recording Personal Information 

The Housing Service will collect and process personal information for the following purpose:

  • Compliance with a legal duty (relevant laws include the Housing Act 2004, the Construction and Regeneration Grants Act 1996 and the Housing (Wales) Act 2014)
  • Carrying out a task in the public interest
  • Consent

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

Data we are allowed to collect

  • Date of Birth, name, address, family details,
  • Phone Details
  • E-mail address
  • National Insurance No. (in some cases)
  • Employer's details
  • Financial situation e.g. income, expenditure, bank details
  • Lifestyle and social circumstances
  • Record of previous complaints
  • Medical details
  • Personal circumstances e.g. accommodation status
  • Photo ID, description of appearance and behaviour
  • Details of physical and mental health
  • Race and ethnicity
  • Religious beliefs
  • Crimes, cases against you, outcomes and convictions

The records are kept on paper or on computer. They are dealt with confidentially and kept secure at all times. 

Some types of information are sensitive e.g. health, race, ethnicity, religious beliefs. The legal basis under article 9(2)(g) of the general Data Protection regulation is used to process this information.

With whom will we share the information?

In some circumstances the Council must share your information with external partners and the third sector if relevant. These include, but not limited to, the following:

  • Other Council Departments
  • Housing Associations and Providers
  • NEST
  • Other councils
  • Third Sector providers
  • Government Departments such as the HMRC and the DWP
  • The Police
  • Health Services
  • Welsh Government
  • Banks and Building Societies
  • Wales Audit Office
  • European Commission
  •  Age Cymru
  •  Landlords
  • Rent Smart Wales
  • North Wales Fire Service
  • Test Service

Information is shared in cases of genuine need, where we can improve the services that are provided to the individual.  The information will not be shared unless there is a legal requirement to do so. We will not transfer your information to another country.

 

For how long will we keep your information?

The Department will only retain your information for as long as is necessary. We have a list of retention periods for the Department's work.  Your information will be disposed of securely once the retention period ends.

For more information, please contact the: Information Officer.

Will you be able to see the information the Department is keeping about you?

You have the right to ask for all the personal information the Department is keeping about you. In some circumstances, we will not be able to allow you to see the information, or parts of is, because:

  • it includes confidential information about other people; or
  • that a professional believed that it would cause serious harm to the physical or mental well-being of the individual or anyone else; or

If we cannot allow you access to your information we will explain the reason for refusal. 

How do I make a request to see the information the Department is keeping about me?

  • Download the application form to request access to personal information
  • Send us a letter or an e-mail
  • Ask in person

Usually, we will ask you to provide proof of identity.

As soon as we receive proof of your identity, we will then process your application within a month, or we have the right to extend this period to two months if the request is lengthy or complex.

 

The Council will not transfer your personal information to another country. 

The information you supply will be kept for 12 months. For further information about your rights and the Data Protection Officer’s contact:

SwyddogDiogeluData@gwynedd.llyw.cymru

Data Protection Officer
Research and Information Services
Corporate Support Department
Gwynedd Council
Stryd y Jel
Caernarfon
Gwynedd
LL55 1SH

 

How to contact us?

For more information, or if you wish to obtain a copy of the application form on e-mail or in the post, please contact us on the following:

Adults, Health and Well-being Information Officer

  • Phone: 01286 679 223
  • E-mail: gcgc@gwynedd.llyw.cymru 
  • Address: Adults, Health and Well-being Information Officer, Gwynedd Council, Shirehall Street, Caernarfon, LL55 1SH

How to get more information about your rights?

For more information please visit the Privacy Statements and Cookies page

The personal information collected will be used to confirm that you receive Housing Benefit or Universal Credit, find what support will fit your needs, help to improve the support you and others receive, that this support is value for money, and help us toplan for the future

Your personal information can be shared and used by; The Welsh Government, NHS Wales Informatics Services, Swansea University Secure Anonymised Information Linkage Databank, Wales Audit Office, European Commission, Supporting People Teams within other Local Authorities across North Wales, Housing Benefit, Support Providers and the Department of Work and Pensions.

The processing of your personal data is necessary for the purposes of administering the Gwynedd Supporting People Programme grant (funded by the Welsh Government), which we do as part of our function as a public authority. Gwynedd Council will retain your information for 6 years from the end of your support, in line with Financial Regulations.

For further information about how Gwynedd Council processes personal data, your rights and details of how to make a complaint, please see our privacy notice on our website or request a copy from the Council.

If you feel the Council have mishandled your personal data at any time, you can make a complaint to the Information Commissioners Office by visiting their website or calling their support line on 0303 123 1113.

The Council is a partner in the above schemes, which enable older people to live independently but also provide care and support 24 hours a day.

The following explains how we handle your personal information if you apply to join the schemes.  


Purpose and legal basis for processing
When you apply to become a tenant, we use your personal information to assess your needs.

Once you become a tenant, we use your information to ensure that the service we provide is appropriate for your care needs.

The legal basis we use for this is the public task basis under Article 6(1)(e) of the GDPR.

For health and other sensitive information, we rely on Article 9(2)(h) because the information is being used for health and social care purposes.


With whom your information is shared
We will share your information with Grwp Cynefin and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, partners in the scheme, in order to co-ordinate your care needs.

Your information is not shared with anyone else.

We do not use external data processors.


How long we keep it
Your information will be stored on paper and on a computer system for a period of 6 years after death.


Your rights

Please got to the Rights section 

Your personal information is collected in order to provide you with a service.
The lawful basis we rely on to process your personal data is article 6(1)(c) of the UK GDPR, which allows us to process personal data when this is necessary to comply with a legal obligation.

If the information you provide us contains special category data, such as health, religious or ethnic information the lawful basis we rely on to process it is article 9(2)(g) of the UK GDPR, which also relates to our public task and the safeguarding of your fundamental rights by virtue of Schedule 1 part 2(6) of the DPA2018 which relates to statutory and government purposes.
The relevant legislation in this case is the Housing (Wales) Act 2014

If we need to process criminal conviction information the lawful basis we rely on to process it is Schedule 1, Part 2(6) of the DPA 2018
We will share your information with:

  • Housing Providers
  • Tenancy Support Service
  • Housing Support Providers
  • Third Sector Providers
  • Probation Service
  • DWP
  • Social Services
  • Health Service

As a public authority, Gwynedd Council is also required by law to protect the public funds it administers. We may share information provided to us with other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds, in order to prevent and detect fraud.


Any information shared will be on a need-to-know basis only, with the appropriate individuals and the minimum information for the purpose.


We will not use your data for profiling or to make automatic decisions.


We will only keep your information as long as is necessary to carry out our function. Information will be kept up to a maximum of 5 years, unless there is ongoing involvement with the service, and will be disposed of securely.

 

For more information about your rights please contact: DataProtectionOfficer@gwynedd.llyw.cymru 

 

Gwynedd Council complies with the Data Protection Act and the UK GDPR and is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) as a Data Controller.

This privacy notice explains how personal information is going to be used, what for, who it will be shared with and why.

Why we collect personal data about you

We collect and hold personal information about you because the Law, Part 2 of the Housing Act 2004, says we must. 

We use this information to:

  • Determine whether the property being applied for is suitable to be licensed under the Act.
  • Determine whether the proposed licence holder is a Fit & Proper Person to operate a licensable HMO, as defined by the Act
  • Maintain a public register of licensed HMOs as required by the Act and its related statutory instruments.

What personal information about you do we collect

  • Contact details
  • your date of birth

Who we share data with?

We will provide a copy of the information prescribed by law in the form of a public register upon request.

How long will we keep your information?

We will only keep your information for as long as we need to, so we can give you the service you need, unless we must keep it for legal reasons. The time can be different depending on the service you have asked for. We will retain the information you have provided for as long as the HMO licensing law is in effect.

 

Your rights

You have the right to:

1.       Ask for all information that we hold about you (also known as a Subject Access Request)

2.       Ask us to change information we hold about you if it is wrong

3.       Ask us to delete the information we hold about you

4.       Ask us to limit the way we use your information

5.       Data portability (have your data transferred to another Authority)

6.       Question decisions made about you by a computer

7.       Complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office ( information below)

Complaints

You have the right to submit a complaint if you are unhappy with the way your request is handled or disagree with a decision made by the council regarding your data. In these circumstances, you can contact the Data Protection Team (DPO) and request a review of the decision.

If you are not satisfied with any outcome from the DPO you may wish to apply to the Information Commissioner's Office at:

The Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF.

Why we need your information

The Council will use your information to facilitate in the provision of housing services across the county of Gwynedd; including the application of the common housing register.

Justification for using your Information

We are using your information because we are undertaking a task in the public interest under Article 6(1)(e) of UK GDPR.

Some information is classified as Special Category information and the legal basis for using this information UK GDPR Art 9(2)(g) requires a basis in UK law, which is provided by Section 10(3) of the Data Protection Act 2018.

This in turn refers to the need to meet a relevant condition in Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the DPA 2018. The relevant condition is Schedule 1, Part 2, Paragraph 6 – Data Protection Act 2018

Some information could be Personal Data about criminal convictions, offences or related to security measures, the legal basis for using this information is justified under Schedule 1, Part 2, Paragraph 6 of Data Protection Act 2018.

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

Sharing your information

We will share the information with the following organisations:

· North Wales Housing

· Grŵp Cynefin

· Adra

The Council will not transfer your personal information to another country.

How long we keep your information and your rights

The information you supply will be kept for 3 years. For further information about your rights and the Data Protection Officer’s contact details visit Privacy notices and cookies (llyw.cymru)

The Council will use your information to undertake a Gypsy and Traveller accommodation assessment (GTAA). We are using your information because we have a legal duty under Part 3 of the Housing Wales Act 2014 as a Local Authority to undertake a Gypsy and Traveller accommodation assessment (GTAA).

We will share information such as your contact details (Name and Phone number) with the following organisation who will conduct the assessment on behalf of the council:

  • Arc4