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Environmental Health - Privacy Notice

Who the Council is and what the Council does

Cotswold District Council is a data controller under the Data Protection Legislation as the Council collects and processes personal information about you in order to provide services and meet their statutory and regulatory obligations. These duties and obligations may concern monitoring and interventions within the remit of Environmental Legislation.

Any questions regarding our privacy practices should be sent to:

Data Protection Officer (DPO)
Cotswold District Council
Council Offices, Cirencester, GL7 1PX
Email: data.protection@cotswold.gov.uk
Tel: 01993 861194

Why the Council needs your information and how the Council uses it

Environmental Health comprises a range of statutory functions which require the collection and use of your personal data, including but not limited to:

  • Food hygiene including responsibility for carrying out inspections and enforcement
  • Public health
  • Land, air and water quality and contamination checks and enforcement
  • Animal welfare
  • Environmental protection including investigation of reports regarding fly-tipping, pollution and contamination including noise, nuisance, anti-social behaviour and community issues etc.
  • Criminal enforcement activities

We collect this information by:

  • telephone, email, social media, writing or in person and by use of surveillance cameras.

What is the legal process for collecting and processing this data

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018, the lawful bases we rely on for processing this information are:

  • GDPR Article 6 (1) (c) Legal Obligation – we collect and lawfully process your personal data mainly under the Local Government Acts and the Localism Act 2011, but the list (not exhaustive) of Environmental Health legislation that may apply is:
    • Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963
    • Animal Health Act 1981
    • Animal Welfare Act 2006
    • Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014
    • Breeding of Dogs Act 1991
    • Building Act 1984
    • Caravan Sites Act 1968
    • Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960
    • Clean Air Act 1993
    • Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005
    • Control of Dogs Order 1992
    • Control of Pollution Act 1974
    • Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
    • Dangerous Dogs Act 1991
    • Dangerous Wild Animals 1970 and 1991
    • Environmental Protection Act 1990
    • Food and Environment Protection Act 1985
    • Food Safety Act 1990
    • Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regs 2013 (as amended)
    • Health Act 2006 (Part 1) and any regulations thereunder
    • Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
    • Health Protection (Part 2A Orders) Regs 2010
    • Housing Act 1985
    • Housing Act 2004
    • Housing Grants Construction and Regeneration Act 1996
    • Licensing Act 2003
    • Local Government and Housing Act 1989
    • Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Acts 1976 and 1982
    • Mobile Homes Act 2013
    • Noise Act 1996
    • Official Feeds Food Controls (England) Regs 2009
    • Pet Animals Act 1951 as amended 1983
    • Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999
    • Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949
    • Products of Animal Origin (Import and Export) Regs 1996 (as amended)
    • Products of Animal Origin (3rd Country imports) (England) (amendment) Regs 2010
    • Public Health Act 1936
    • Public Health Act 1961
    • Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984
    • Regulatory Reform (Housing Assistance) (England and Wales) Order 2002
    • Riding Establishments Act 1964 and 1970
    • Smoke Free regulations 2006
    • Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013
    • Sunday Trading Act 1994
    • Water Industry Act 1991
    • Working Time Regulations 1998
    • Zoo Licensing Act 1981
  • GDPR Article 6 (1) (e) Public Task – we collect and lawfully process your personal data as it is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in us.

What type of information is collected from you

Personal details, which may include:

  • Name
  • Address
  • Other contact details – email address and telephone number
  • Images from surveillance/mobile cameras (Personal identifiers, contacts and characteristics; Car Registration)
  • Any other information legally required in the discharge of the specific statutory obligation

Who your information may be shared with (internally and externally)

Your data is shared internally only with the appropriate staff where it is necessary for the performance of their roles.

We may share your information with government departments and agencies and third party contractors such as:-

  • Emergency Services
  • The Food Standards Agency
  • Trading Standards
  • The Health and Safety Executive
  • The Water Authority
  • Environment Agency
  • Department for Environment , Food and Rural Affairs
  • Public Health England

We will not normally share your information with organisations without your consent, however, there may be certain circumstances where we would share without consent such as where we are required to do so by law (i.e. Public Registers), to safeguard public safety and in risk of harm or emergency situations.

How long the Council keeps your information (retention period)

We will only retain your personal information for as long as we are required to do so by law and the purpose, we collected it for.

Once your data is no longer needed it will be securely and confidentially destroyed or disposed of the data in line with retention schedules.

How the Council protects your Information

Your data is stored securely on our systems and accessed only by authorised officers using their own username and password created in line with pre-defined user credentials. Personal data is also held in electronic files on the council’s network drives. These are only accessible through personal logon credentials and access privileges to specific drives. Access to our council sites require a personal electronic pass to access staff only areas. The Council has strict procedures for the way this is done. Any and all information about you is treated as confidential and with respect. There are also clear rules and guidance about storing, recording and sharing information which staff receive training on.

The Council will not transfer your personal data outside the EU without your consent.

The Council have implemented generally accepted standards of technology and operational security in order to protect personal data from loss, misuse, or unauthorised alteration or destruction.  

Please note however that where you are transmitting information to us over the internet this can never be guaranteed to be 100% secure.  

The Council will notify you promptly in the event of any breach of your personal data which might expose you to serious risk.

Your rights

You have the following rights under the Data Protection Legislations:

  • To access your personal data
  • To be provided with information about how your personal data is processed
  • To have your personal data corrected
  • To have your personal data erased in certain circumstances
  • To object to or restrict how your personal data is processed
  • To have your personal data transferred to yourself or to another business in certain circumstances
  • To be told if the Council have made a mistake whilst processing your data and the Council will self-report breaches to the Commissioner.

How you can access, update or correct your information

The Data Protection law gives you the right to apply for a copy of information about yourself. This is called a ‘Subject Access Request'.

If you wish to see a copy of your records you should contact the Data Protection Officer. You are entitled to receive a copy of your records free of charge, within a month.

In certain circumstances access to your records may be limited, for example, if the records you have asked for contain information relating to another person.

The accuracy of your information is important to us to be able to provide relevant services more quickly. The Council is working to make our record keeping more efficient. In the meantime, if you change your address or email address, or if any of your circumstances change or any of the other information the Council holds is inaccurate or out of date, please email us or write to us at:

Cotswold District Council
Trinity Road, Cirencester, GL7 1PX
Email: customer.services@cotswold.gov.uk

Further information

If you would like to know more about how the Council uses your information, or if for any reason you do not wish to have your information used in any of the ways described in this privacy notice, please contact the Data Protection Officer at data.protection@cotswold.gov.uk

For more information about data protection please visit: www.cotswold.gov.uk/about-the-council/council-data-and-access-to-information/data-protection/

If you are concerned about the way the Council is handling your personal information you can contact the Information Commissioner (ICO): https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

The Council reserve the right to update this privacy notice from time to time by publishing a new version on our website.

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