Children and Adult’s Directorate Privacy Notice
Medway Council is committed to compliance with Data Protection legislation. Keeping your personal information accurate and secure is a vital part of providing efficient services to you.
Under the Data Protection Act 2018 the Council is required to protect any personal information we hold about you and ensure we process it fairly.
This Privacy Notice tells you:
- what information we (Medway Council's Children and Adults Services) hold about you
- how we use your information
- who we share your information with
- how long we keep your information
Children and Adult’s services staff can update our systems with any details relating to your situation that will assist the council in supporting you to meet your education, family support, social care and health needs.
The information we hold is confidential. Any records we hold on you (computer or paper files) can only be seen by authorised staff and others with the right to know (including you).
What information do we hold about you?
Our Children and Adult’s IT systems hold:
- information that you provide to us on forms, over the phone or in face-to-face meetings such as assessments and reviews
- copies of your support plan and information from other people which relates to you
- details of conversations between you and Children and Adult’s Services staff
- details of conversations about you (for example, but not limited to, between colleagues in the council and NHS, members of your family or providers of care, commissioning services, colleagues in education, early years settings and schools and youth services).
- copies of letters, documents produced by you or relating to you.
This may include (but is not limited to):
- your personal details (name, address, previous address, DOB, marital status, ethnicity)
- information about other members of your household
- details of family relationships in and outside of your household
- the names and contact details of your close relatives and/or Carers
- details of your legal status and documents (e.g. immigration, power of attorney etc)
- details about your accommodation (type, layout, details of alarms fitted, accessibility etc)
- details about your needs in all areas of your life (e.g. personal care, eating and drinking, practical tasks, physical and emotional well being, parenting)
- details of any communication needs (e.g. if you need an interpreter or translator)
- any cultural, spiritual or religious beliefs where we need to take these into account when providing support
- your medical history and details of any diagnoses
- details of health, social care, educational needs, Family Support or other services you are getting
- details of goals you wish to achieve relating to your needs.
- details of support provided by any Carers or others.
- details of any risks
- information about your situation given to us by your family and/or Carers
- things that other organisations (such as health/care or other services) tell us to help us understand your situation and needs and co-ordinate your care services more effectively
- reports relating to your situation and care
- any documents sent to us relating to you
- records of phone conversations relating to you
- education/Early Years Setting
- education achievements (i.e. examination results)
- Education Welfare
- education legal Intervention
- details relating to children missing in education
- youth Offending – convictions
- youth Offending – intervention
- Education Employment Training
How do we use this information?
The data is used to:
- help decide what support a person needs, how often they need it and when
- support the council to commission appropriate services to meet a person’s needs
- inform other staff in partner organisations about a person’s needs and situation so that they don't have to repeat questions
- share with health and social care providers to ensure support is tailored to meet individual needs
- share information with appropriate agencies to ensure compliance with safeguarding children and adults policies and procedures
- help the council evidence that it has met its statutory duties.
- obtain accurate information through surveys and figures about the number of people using our services and their different needs, to help us provide the right services and plan better for the future.
- undertake different types of analysis, such as price benchmarking, government returns, placements and services, and calculation of rates for services
Who can access to this information?
The data is accessed by staff working in Medway Council including, but not limited to:
- Children and Adults Directorate
- Customer Contact Team
- Finance & Accountancy
- Independent Reviewing Officers
- Legal Services
- Complaints Team
- Information Governance Team
- ICT
- Counter Fraud and Auditing
- Key worker in the Blue Badge Team
There are named workers in specific organisations that have access to systems including:
- Named NHS – Looked After Children Nurses employed by Medway Foundation Trust
- Out of hours colleagues where support is provided by colleagues in Kent County Council.
- Social Workers and Social Care Officers - Medway Community Healthcare
- Medway Commercial Group
- DEAF services
- Kent Association for the Blind (K.A.B)
- McMillian Welfare Benefits
- Designated Officers at Kent Probation Trust
Please note team names may change quickly and without notice but it is the functions that they perform which will determine if they can see the information. Staff in each area will access the data that is essential to their work. In addition, departments outside of Children and Adult Services may have access to information if appropriate in order to carry out their statutory roles or support the teams as listed above.
Who else is this information passed to?
Relevant information may be passed to external organisations in order to arrange support to meet your needs or meet your objectives. The types of organisation we may pass your information to, are listed below (this is not an exhaustive list). Please note any organisation we pass your information to will have an agreement with us to ensure they meet the standards of the Data Protection Act.
- NHS – e.g. Staff working within Mental Health.
- Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG)
- Providers of domiciliary care and supported living care.
- Providers of day services/activities.
- Providers of residential & nursing care services.
- Providers of respite services.
- Providers of community services whom the Council has a contract with.
- Other Local Authorities if a person is placed or is transferred outside of the borough.
- Government department that assist in ensuring services are fit for purpose such as the Disclosure and Barring Service and Care Quality Commission
Under the Data Protection Act 2018 we also have a legal duty to pass information to third party organisations such as the Police and/or the Department of Work and Pensions and anti fraud agencies for the purposes of preventing and detecting crime, or for anti-fraud purposes.
How do we store information?
Information is stored in on a number of IT systems relative to each division. To ensure security of data the system can only be accessed with a username and password. Each system user has an individual username and password and a user profile which only allows them to access the details they need to carry out their job. All user actions are logged by the application in an audit log.
Client records can sometimes be held by staff in paper form. Anything written down by staff or any letters received or sent will be scanned on to the system or held securely in paper files.
Requests for information or complaints
For advice on data protection, to request a copy of your data or to make a complaint regarding how we have used or looked after your data, please contact our Data Protection Officer at:
Data Protection Officer
Information Governance Team
Legal Services
Medway Council
Gun Wharf
Dock Road
Chatham
Kent
ME4 4TR
Email: gdpr@medway.gov.uk
If you are unhappy with how the council has answered your complaint, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office, at:
The Office of the Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AX
Website: www.ico.org.uk
Email: casework@ico.org.uk