Privacy notice

As a local authority, Wiltshire Council collects, holds, and processes personal data about the citizens it serves, to provide services effectively. Some examples of these services include:

• providing schools and educational facilities within the county
• providing care and support for vulnerable individuals and their families
• maintaining and improving the environment of the county and protecting the citizens generally
• enhancing and personalising user experience on websites and mobile applications to improve service delivery.

Personal data is information that relates to or can identify a living individual.

For further information and definitions of personal data, visit Information Commissioner: For the public (opens new window).

We understand the importance of this information to our citizens and acknowledge our responsibility for the personal data we hold. As such, the council takes its responsibilities seriously to ensure that any personal information it collects and uses is done so proportionately, correctly and safely.

Data collection and legal basis for processing

The council collects, holds, and uses personal data to provide services effectively on behalf of the citizens of Wiltshire. The types of data we collect include:

• personal identification details such as name, address, and contact details;
• information related to the services you use or enquire about;
• automatically collected information from your browser including your IP address and the page you requested, recorded on server logs.

You can visit our site and use many of the services without telling us who you are or giving us any personally identifiable information.

The council may process your personal information for any of the following purposes:

• administering taxes, benefits, and grants, including data matching under fraud initiatives
• carrying out surveys, research, and maintaining archived records for historical purposes
• corporate administration, including internal financial support and all activities required as a public authority and data controller
• crime prevention, prosecution of offenders, and CCTV usage
• education provision and management
• leisure, cultural, and tourism services promotion and management
• licensing and regulatory activities, including parking enforcement
• managing property and refuse collections
• marketing of council services and local tourism
• providing social services and healthcare support
• supporting and managing council employees.

Our processing shall be lawful because at least one of the following will apply:

• the data subject has given consent to the Council for processing of their personal data for one or more specific purposes;
• processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is party or in order to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering into a contract;
• processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the Council is subject;
• processing is necessary in order to protect the vital interests of the data subject or of another natural person;
• processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the Council;
• processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the controller or by a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which require protection of personal data, in particular where the data subject is a child.

If your special category data is processed, in addition to one of the above, processing will be necessary because at least one of the following shall also apply:

• the data subject has given explicit consent to the processing of those personal data for one or more specified purposes,
• to carry out the obligations and exercising specific rights of the controller or of the data subject in the field of employment and social security and social protection law
• to protect the vital interests of the data subject or of another natural person where the data subject is physically or legally incapable of giving consent;
• processing relates to personal data which are manifestly made public by the data subject;
• for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims or whenever courts are acting in their judicial capacity;
• processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest,
• processing is necessary for the purposes of preventive or occupational medicine, for the assessment of the working capacity of the employee, medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems and services;
• for reasons of public interest in the area of public health, such as protecting against serious cross-border threats to health or ensuring high standards of quality and safety of health care and of medicinal products or medical devices,
• for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes.

Data sharing and disclosure

Where necessary and lawful, or when required by legal obligation, we may share information with:

• central and local government, including other public authorities and services
• courts, tribunals, and legal entities, including the police, law enforcement agencies, and international law enforcement bodies
• credit reference, debt collection, tracing agencies, and financial organisations
• customers, service users, and their family members or representatives
• educators, examining bodies, and professional advisers/consultants
• healthcare, social care, welfare organisations, housing associations, and landlords
• Ombudsman, regulatory authorities, and political organisations
• providers of goods, services, and voluntary/charitable organisations
• professional bodies, trade unions, and the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)

There may be other situations where we share data when it is necessary and lawful to do so, as detailed further in service-specific privacy notices.

In our ongoing commitment to deliver high-quality and efficient services, the Council may share data collected, including but not limited to user feedback, between different council services. This collaborative approach enables us to:

• identify opportunities for service enhancement
• tailor our services to better meet the needs of our community
• foster innovation and continuous improvement in service delivery

We ensure that all data sharing is conducted in accordance with the principles of data protection legislation, safeguarding your privacy and using the information solely for the purpose of enhancing our services.

International transfer of data

Wiltshire Council may transfer personal data to third countries or international organisations when necessary to provide our services or comply with legal obligations. We ensure that any data transferred outside the UK is adequately protected in line with current data protection legislation. Specific details regarding international transfers will be provided in the relevant service-specific privacy notices.