PN029 - Social Care Children and Family and Adult Services 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: Social Care and Housing
Work area: Adult Services
Contact details: Gill Pratlett 01495 762200
Work area:  Children and Family Services
Contact details: Jason O’Brien 01495 762200
Privacy Notice Name: PN029 - Social Care Children and Family and Adult Services

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

Your information

Torfaen Social Care hold information in relation to you and your family in order to process requests for care and support needs. Some of that information you have told us and some information we have been told by others who know you, for example Health, Education, Police. The Council puts measures in place to protect the privacy of individuals throughout this process

Who is responsible for your information?

All personal information is held and processed by Torfaen County Borough Council in accordance with Data Protection legislation.

What information do we collect about you?

We collect personal information such as:

  • name
  • address
  • date of birth
  • gender
  • disability status
  • Telephone number
  • Email address

We also collect data that is categorised as special information such as:

  • Race
  • Ethnic origin
  • Religion
  • Health
  • Sexual orientation
  • Financial
  • Lifestyle information
  • Social care and health records
  • Contract and employment records
  • DBS record
  • Criminal record
  • Biometric data i.e. photo ID

We also record any contact with you, your family or anyone that knows about you. We record all information with your consent given by you or someone with parental responsibility. If we or others are concerned about you or your family we are allowed to collect information without your consent. This is because there are safeguarding concerns.

Why do we need your information?

This information is required by the Council in order to deliver the services you are requesting and to carry out its statutory functions.

How will my information be used?

  • To assess and plan for you and your family’s needs
  • To ensure you and your family are kept safe
  • To share with others working with you and your family
  • Some of the information held about you will be shared with Welsh Government
  • To improve and plan our services

Are we making automated decisions/profiling with your data?

Social Care is not using your data to automate decision making. However, we may undertake some data profiling to enable production of statistical information or data that informs service development.

Is your information secure?

We store this information on either the Corporate Network or within a secure IT database known as Welsh Community Care Information System (WCCIS) which is planned to be rolled out across Wales. All information is stored in accordance with Torfaen’s Security Policy and Procedures and for third Parties is detailed in our contract documentation and is monitored through our contract compliance process.

We keep this information safe as only staff that need to know about you should view this information. Anyone that helps Children and Families with any information has to agree to keep this information confidential.

How long will you keep the data?

We are only allowed to hold the information on our database for set periods of time.

Those times are listed below:

  • Adoption - 100 years
  • Looked After Children - 75 years
  • Safeguarding Children - 35 years
  • Safeguarding Adults - 15 years
  • Care and Support (part 4) - 10 years
  • Foster Cares - 75 years
  • Statutory Supervision - 25 years
  • Death - 10 years
  • Convicted of Offences Against Children - 125 years
  • Adults with/without Disabilities - 8 years
  • Older Persons - 8 years
  • Occupational Therapy - 8 years
  • Community Meals - 6 years
  • Mental Health - 10 years
  • Grants - 8 years
  • Residential Home files - 25 years
  • Families First - 10 years

What are my rights relating to the use of my data?

  • You can ask to see the information we hold, by completing a Subject Access Request (SAR)
  • Ask us to change information we hold if it is wrong
  • Sometimes you can ask us to remove or stop using your information
  • Ask how long we keep your information
  • Ask to withdraw your consent
  • Complain to the Information Commissioners Office

If you would like to exercise any of the above rights, please contact Social Care at SCHBusinessSupportHub@torfaen.gov.uk

Who will we share your information with?

To enable the Council to process your request and comply with our legal obligations, we will share your information with partner organisations, including:

  • Department for Work and Pensions and other Government departments
  • Registered Social Landlords
  • Police
  • Social Care Providers
  • Welsh Government
  • Auditors
  • External regulators
  • Welsh Ambulance Service Trust
  • Education
  • Health

Is the Data transferred out of the UK?

In some cases these recipients may be outside the UK. This means your personal data may be transferred outside the EEA to a jurisdiction that may not offer an equivalent level of protection as is required by EEA countries. If this occurs, we are obliged to verify that appropriate safeguards are implemented with a view to protecting your data in accordance with applicable laws.

Further Information

If you would like to discuss any of the above you can email us at DPA@torfaen.gov.uk.

The section below gives specific details of what information is shared with Welsh Government.

Some of the information held about you will be shared with Welsh Government. This will help them to carry out research to improve the care and support provided to you and other people in Wales. The information will be shared lawfully and will only be used by the Welsh Government for research in support of official business.

What information will be shared with Welsh Government?

We will share some personal info about you, such as:

  • Date of birth
  • Gender
  • Ethnic group
  • Disability status
  • Other health information
  • Basic details of the care or support provided to you
  • Information from your school about your education

However, we will not share:

  • Your name
  • The names of your family and/or carers
  • Your address

How will my information be used by Welsh Government?

  • To help with planning services people in Wales
  • To measure how well services are being provided so that they can be improved
  • To help conduct research into people’s well-being – this may involve combining it with other information e.g health or education data

However

  • No action will be taken in relation to you personally
  • You will not be identified in any reports
  • Information will never be shared or combined in a way that could lead to you being identified.

What are my rights relating to the use of my data?

  • Right to be informed (this notice)
  • Right to access the personal data Welsh Government holds on you
  • Right to rectify any inaccuracies in that data
  • Right to (in certain circumstances) object or restrict processing of your information
  • Right to (in certain circumstances) for your data to be ‘erased’
  • Right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioners Officer (ICO) who is our independent regulator for data protection.

Is my information secure?

The information shared with Welsh Government will be sent and stored securely. It will only ever be shared with others under careful controls, to ensure it is only used in the ways listed here.

Is collecting the data lawful?

Welsh Government are collecting these data using powers set out in legislation and to ensure we are able to fulfil public functions and statutory requirements.

How long will you keep the data?

Welsh Government will keep the data until the child / adults 25th birthday. After this point the data will be anonymised and continue to be used only for statistical and

Further information

For a full description of the information being shared with Welsh Government; your rights and the relevant legal information; and complaints, please write to us via the address below:

Data Collection Team Knowledge and Analytical Services Welsh Government Floor 4 South, CP2, Crown Buildings Cathays Park Cardiff CF10 3NQ email: stats.pss@gov.wales

Last Modified: 17/07/2023 Back to top