Data Protection and how to access your records

The data protection legislation gives individuals the right to know what information is held about them and requires organisations to adhere to the stated principles of data protection.

Wiltshire Council is committed to complying with the legislation by applying the principles of good information handling across all its services. This page sets out the basics of why we collect your information and how you can ask to see it, and your information rights.

Why we hold personal information about you

As a Local Authority we need to collect, process and keep data in relation to our statutory duties such as in the provision of Social Care Services and Education. Information is also used to help plan the services we provide.

We also will keep personal information about you so that we can provide the services that you need and for us to maintain a record of those services.

How it is stored

Wiltshire Council stores information both as paper files and computer records. We are committed to maintaining the highest standard of security to protect your information.

How to gain access to your information

Under the data protection legislation you have the right to request a copy of the information we hold on you. This request can be made by you directly or you can authorise someone else to make the request; this could be a parent, solicitor or any other adult.

To make a request please write to:

Information Governance
Legal and Governance
Wiltshire Council
County Hall
Bythesea Road
Trowbridge
BA14 8JN
Or e-mail InformationGovernance@wiltshire.gov.uk (opens new window)

In the request you should include the following:

The information you require
As much information as possible to help us locate the information you require. This may include date of birth, previous addresses and names, names of social workers/contacts within Wiltshire Council and so on.
Proof of your identity. This should be a copy of your birth certificate, driving licence, passport or identity card. If these are not available please contact the Information Governance Team to discuss other options.
If you are using someone else to access your information you must include written authorisation for them to do this. If you authorise a professional to make the request on your behalf (e.g. Solicitor) the request must be made on their headed paper, if it is a friend or family member, proof of their identity will be required as well as your own (as above).

If the Information Governance Team has any queries they will contact you.

Once a request has been received with the necessary documentation and sufficient information to locate the information, the Council has up to one month in which to respond or provide you with an explanation why this may not be possible.

If the request is for complex information the Council are allowed to extend this timeframe by up to a further 2 months. We will not do so without informing you and explaining first.

If information held about you is wrong

If you believe that information held by us is factually incorrect you have the right to request that this is corrected. If you do not agree with the information held, it may be possible to include your views on the file. In either case please the Information Governance Team who will address the issue.

Other rights

Your rights as a data subject are set out in the data protection legislation and include:

The right to withdraw any consent you may have given that the Council is relying upon to process your personal information
The right to complain to the Information Commissioner (opens new window) if you feel we are processing your personal information unlawfully
The right to restrict processing activity in certain circumstances
The right to object to certain types of processing activity
The right to erasure (to be "forgotten") in certain circumstances
The right to data portability of personal information you have provided to the Council

Complaints

If you disagree with our response or wish to complain about how we are dealing with your personal information please contact us so we may try to resolve the issue. However, if you have a complaint about how your information has been handled or your request for access to information you also have the right to contact the Information Commissioners Office. The ICO will expect us to have been involved in your concern and will ask us what we have done to resolve it. For further information on how to complain to the Information Commissioner call 08456 30 60 60 or visit https://ico.org.uk/ (opens new window).