This privacy notice explains how an elected member of the council will use your personal information if you approach them for support or advice.
Any personal data processed for party political or campaigning purposes is not covered by this privacy notice.
Councillors will handle any personal information that you give to them confidentially and in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
For information about the way the Council uses your personal information, please see the council's main privacy notice.
Who is responsible for your information?
Each elected councillor is a data controller and accountable for the processing of personal information in connection with requests they have received from their constituents.
Purposes of processing
Casework
Councillors may need to collect personal data so that they can process a constituent’s request for assistance or to respond to their enquiries. Councillors will only collect the personal data from constituents that is necessary to provide them with relevant information, services, or support.
Ward news and events
Your councillor may wish to send you information about ward news and events from time to time, but they will not use your contact details to do this unless you have specifically said that you would like to be sent this information. If you wish to receive or stop receiving this information, please contact your councillor.
Categories of personal data
Your councillor will collect personal information when it is supplied to them in their role as your elected representative. This will involve information regarding matters which you or someone else has asked them to pursue in the interests of individuals and groups who live in the ward, such as:
- details of specific cases
- information provided by signatories on petitions
- responses to questionnaires
- contact details
In some cases, special category data may also be collected – such as racial or ethnic origin, sexuality and sexual life, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, political opinions, genetic and biometric data, physical or mental health and criminal convictions and offences. This type of information is subject to extra protection and will only be collected when it is necessary for the purpose.
Lawful basis
The legal basis the Councillor will rely on for processing the personal information in relation to responding to requests from constituents could be:
- consent – where you have given your consent for your personal information to be used for a specific purpose
- legitimate interests – where it is necessary in pursuit of the legitimate interests as an elected representative or those of a third party, unless there is a good reason to protect the individual’s personal data which overrides those legitimate interests
- public task – where the processing is necessary for the performance of a public task as an elected representative or for their official functions as an elected representative and the task or function has a clear basis in law
- vital interests - in certain situations, the councillor may also lawfully process a constituent’s data in order to protect the life of a data subject or of another person
Data Sharing
A councillor may need to pass your personal details and the circumstances of your query/complaint to third parties so that they can look into the matters you have raised. This could include:
- Chesterfield Borough Council
- Derbyshire County Council
- the NHS
- central government departments and executive agencies, for example the Department for Work and Pensions
- landlords
- other third parties related to the case you have raised
Only the minimum possible personal information will be shared with other agencies, as necessary to assist you.
If you give your councillor personal information about someone other than yourself, including a friend or relative, they may need to check the facts with that other person. If you ask your councillor to act on behalf of a friend or relative, they may need to contact that person to confirm that they are happy for the councillor to act on their behalf.
You can request that information about you should not be disclosed to other parties, but this may prevent your councillor from fully investigating and responding to your case.
How long your data is kept
Councillors will process personal data until the issue is resolved. Records will be stored for a minimum of 4 years in line with common practice.
Your rights
GDPR grants you a set of rights over the information that your councillor holds about you.
- Rights of access and portability – you have the right to request a copy of the information that is held. In some situations, you also have the right to request that a copy of your data be passed to another organisation
- Right of rectification and erasure – you have a right to request the correction of data that is held about you if suspect that it is inaccurate or incomplete, in certain circumstances, you also have the right to request that your personal data be erased from records
- Right to restriction or object to processing – where certain conditions apply you have the right to ask to restrict processing of your data, or the right to object to processing (such as direct marketing)
- Right to object to automated processing, including profiling – you have the right to ask for a decision made on wholly automated basis which legally affects you to be reviewed by a human being
These rights don’t apply in all situations. Please also refer to the council's privacy notice for more information on data protection and your rights.
Further information
Please get in touch if you would like more information about how councillors process your personal data:
- contact your councillor
- contact the council’s data protection officer