Privacy and Personal Data

South Hams District Council are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy and will inform you of how we process your information.

Privacy Notice - General Services

South Hams District Council takes your privacy and personal data seriously.

This notice sets out what we will do with your personal information and who we may share it with.

How we use your information

The purposes for which we may use your data (including sensitive personal information) include:

  • For maintaining and recruiting to our workforce (HR records etc.)
  • For delivering specific services to you that we have a statutory duty to provide or that you have requested (collecting waste, considering planning applications, parking services, housing services etc.)
  • For occasional customer survey analysis on the service provided to enable us to identify improvements
  • For delivering specific services to you that you have requested and fulfilling our statutory duties as a Local Authority (collecting waste, considering planning applications, parking services, housing services, administering the collection of Council Tax)

The personal information you provide will not be used for any other purpose unless required by law, to prevent or detect crime or to protect public funds.

Length of time we keep your information

We keep your personal information for a finite period of years based on the Council's retention policy.

Please see the specific privacy notice for the service you receive for more information.

Sharing your information

So that the Council can provide you with an efficient services, we may occasionally need to share your information with partner organisations that support the delivery of the service you receive. This may include 

  • Other Councils
  • Emergency Services (Police, Fire etc.)
  • HM's Revenue and Customers (HMRC)
  • Department of Work and Pensions
  • Voluntary organisations
  • Organisations contracted by the Council to deliver our services

Where information is shared, the Council has written agreements and protocols in place to ensure that your data is secure and protected to the same levels that the Council requires.

Retention and Transferring of data outside the EU

We will at all times hold your information securely, in hard copy format, electronically or both. Your personal data will be kept secure by the Council and will be kept within the European Economic Union (EEU).

Where the Council uses a third party to store your personal data and it is stored outside the UK/EEU, the Council will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to keep your personal data secure.

Individual rights

You have a number of rights under the General Data Protection Regulations. These can be found on the ICO website.

If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please Email the data protection officer.

The Data Controller for your information

South Hams District Council
Follaton House,
Plymouth Road,
Totnes,
Devon
TQ9 5NE

Data Protection Officer

The Councils have a duty to appoint a Data Protection Officer. The Council's Data Protection Officer is Drew Powell.

If you have any queries about our privacy notices or would like to exercise your data rights or make a complaint, please contact the Data Protection Officer by:

South Hams District Council
Follaton House,
Plymouth Road,
Totnes,
Devon TQ9 5NE

If you are not happy with how we have handled your complaint, you have the right to contact the Information Commissioner's Office to raise your concerns about how we have processed your information or how we have responded to your request to exercise any of your rights in relation to your information:

  • Telephone them on 0303 123 1113
  • Visit their website at www.ico.org.uk/concerns
  • Write to them at:
    Information Commissioner's Office
    Wycliffe House
    Water Lane
    Wilmslow
    Cheshire
    SK9 5AF