Candidates and agents privacy notice
1 Council contact details
1.1 Include:
Electoral Registration Officer and Returning Officer, c/o Electoral Services
West Northamptonshire Council
C/o Civic Offices, Lodge Road, Daventry, Northants, NN11 4FP
[email protected]
2 Information that we hold
When you stand for election or have been nominated to assist a candidate in their campaign as an election agent, polling agent, counting agent or postal vote agent, Electoral Services are required to collect certain information from you in order to administer the election process. This information is provided directly by you, the data subject, when you stand for election. If you are appointed as any type of agent, your details are provided by the candidate you are assisting.
2.1 We currently collect and process the following information for handling nomination to stand for election:
- name and contact details
- political opinions
For candidates and election agents, there is a statutory requirement to collect certain categories of your personal data, such as your full name, address, date of birth, as some of this information is used to establish your eligibility to stand for election or ability to be appointed as an agent. There is a statutory requirement that your name and address are published on prescribed election notices and made available to the public.
Your contact details such as your telephone number and email address are also requested by Electoral Services so that we can contact you more easily in the lead up to an election, but this information is not made public and is strictly for office purposes.
3 How the information is obtained
3.1 Most of the personal information we process is provided to us directly by you for one of the following reasons:
- to process applications to stand as candidates and agents
We also receive personal information indirectly, from the following sources in the following scenarios:
- via an agent on behalf of a candidate
3.2 There are a number of reasons why we need to collect and use your personal information. Generally, we collect and use personal information where it is necessary to meet our legal obligations under the following laws:
- Representation of the People Act 1983
- Local Government Act 1972
- The Local Elections (Principal Areas) (England and Wales) Rules 2006
- Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013
- Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000
- Localism Act 2011
4 What we do with the information
4.1 Your name and address is used to compose election notices and there is a statutory requirement that this information is in the public domain and accessible to the electorate. We may use your email address or telephone number to contact you during the election period to notify you more quickly about electoral arrangements that you need to be aware of and in relation to your nomination to stand as a candidate.
4.2 We may share this information with printers for the purpose of printing ballot papers (name and address only) and the public for the purpose of voting (name and address only).
5 How long we keep your information for and how we securely dispose of it after use
5.1 We keep your personal information for all aspects of processing in line with the council’s retention schedules and the Electoral Commission’s guidance.
5.2 We will securely dispose of your information in line with the Council's Retention Schedules.
6 How we store your information
6.1 Your information is securely stored on the council’s systems and in a secure Unit owned by the Council.
7 Your data protection rights
7.1 The law gives you a number of rights to control what personal information is used by us and how we can use it. Please see section 15 of the council’s Privacy Policy for further information.
7.2 Please be aware that your rights may differ depending on the lawful basis for processing your personal data.
7.3 The lawful basis upon which Electoral Services process personal data is set out in this notice. However, where personal data is solely processed on the basis of consent, you will have the right to withdraw that consent. If you wish to exercise this right, please contact the Data Protection Officer detailed in section 8.1 below.
8 Who to contact
8.1 If you would like further information about how we use your personal information, or you wish to exercise one of your data rights or you wish to complain about the use of your personal information please contact the Data Protection Officer.
8.2 If you are still dissatisfied once you have contacted the Data Protection Officer, you have the right to complain to the ICO.
The ICO’s address:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Helpline number: 0303 123 1113
9 Changes to this privacy notice
9.1 Privacy notices are live documents, which will be updated or revised in line with legislation.
Last updated 06 July 2023