CASPAR privacy notice

1 Council contact details

1.1 West Northamptonshire Council
Registered Office:
One Angel Square
Angel Street
Northampton
NN1 1ET

This notice explains what personal data (information) we hold about you, how we collect it, how we use it and how we may share information that we hold about you in order to deliver our services. We are required to give you this information under data protection law. West Northamptonshire Council is committed to protecting your privacy when you use our services. The Privacy Notice below explains how we use information about you and how we protect your privacy. This privacy notice links in with the Council’s corporate privacy notice so therefore should be read alongside it.

West Northamptonshire Council complies with data protection legislation (the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and are registered as Data Controllers (Reg. No. ZA896620).

1.2 The Client Funds Teams delivers appointee/ deputyship services for customers who lack the capacity to deal with their own finances. The team supports customers to apply and manage welfare benefits, savings, utility bills, rent agreements, debts plus other general day to day spending, safeguarding the customer’s finances, protecting them from potential abuse.

2 Information that we hold

2.1 Personal information that we might hold within the Client Funds Service includes the likes of name, address, phone number, email address, etc. We might also hold sensitive personal data (referred to as Special Categories of data under UK GDPR) including ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disabilities, medical conditions, finances, benefit entitlements, savings and investments and property details.

We also sometimes hold some information about individuals that other organisations are required to provide to us. This may include organisations like the police, NHS, etc. They will have their own privacy notices that explain what information they collect and who they share it with.

3 How the information is obtained

3.1 Most of the information we hold starts as a result of:

an individual directly contacting us wanting to use one of our services such as your Care Manager, Social Worker, Carer
another organisation, such as your local Care Team, an NHS body, the Office of the Public Guardian, Department for Work and Pensions, Care Home making a referral to us, generally on the individual’s behalf and with their knowledge

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; and
you have requested a service from us

We have a public duty and contractual requirement to provide the above services under the Care Act 2014, Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Mental Health Act 1983, and to deliver these we need to collect and use personal information of those using or affected by these services.

If you access our services then the requirement mentioned above will be our lawful basis for collecting and using your personal data, as we can’t provide you with the service without it.

Whenever we use information, we always limit this to only the details that are needed and we ensure that it is used safely and securely. We require anyone we share information with, or who uses it on our behalf, to do so too. All our staff receive training on data protection and information security.

4 What we do with the information

4.1 We use the information that you have given us to ensure your welfare benefits are checked and are correct and that these are at the appropriate levels given your set of circumstances. Plus we make sure your bills and day to day living expenses are covered and paid on time, negotiate debts you may have incurred and work with you to financially plan for other expenses and interests you might have or want to pursue.

4.2 Who we share information with:

We share information with a range of different types of people and organisations depending on the service being provided or the statutory requirement that we have to comply with. The types of recipients include:

Service users (and families where relevant)
Local government organisations
Central government departments (for example The Department for Work and Pensions, Office of the Public Guardian and Court of Protection)
Our contractors: organisations that we commission to provide goods and services
Law enforcement agencies such as Northamptonshire Police
Health and social care organisations and professionals (NHS bodies such as GPs, Nene CCG, Northampton and Kettering General hospital)
Education establishments such as schools, colleges and early years settings
Examining bodies
Regulatory bodies, investigators and ombudsman (for example Ofsted, CQC, Local Govt Ombudsman)
Courts, tribunals and prisons
Legal representatives
Fraud prevention agencies
Debt collection agencies
Current, past and prospective employers
Trade unions
Press and the media
Councillors and political parties
Housing associations and landlords
Survey and research organisations

Why do we share this information?

In order for the service to fully carry out its legal duties and to deliver its service, it is a necessary requirement to share this information.

We will share personal information with law enforcement or other authorities if required by applicable law. Any information sharing is undertaken in accordance with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 and we have mechanisms in place to share information lawfully and securely.

4.3 There is also no automatic decision-taking when your personal information is processed.

5 How long we keep your information for and how we securely dispose of it after use

5.1 We only keep information for as long as it is needed. This will differ according to what information we hold and its purpose. It will be based on either a legal requirement (where a law says we have to keep information for a specific period of time) or accepted business practice. Within our Service, we keep the following information for the following periods:

financial information for 7 years

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 All of the personal information we hold is kept securely on our Council servers/held externally within the UK or EU.

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.

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