Fair processing notices - Legal services

How we use your data

At Stoke-on-Trent City Council we have always taken your privacy seriously and, in line with existing (data protection) and recent legislation (the General Data Protection Regulation (‘GDPR’)), there are legal obligations upon us to ensure we do so. 

The data is collected by Stoke-on-Trent City Council. We are a data controller for the personal information we hold about you in relation to legal services. In order to comply with data protection legislation we must be sure you understand how we use this information.

This might include basic information such as your name, address, other contact information, date of birth, or your health. We might also collect more detailed information such as why you contacted the council or why we hold information about you. 

The way we legally process will partly depend on the reason why we are holding any information about you, but in all situations we will only process it legally and in accordance with what the current law permits.

Who, if anyone else, we share it with will depend on the reasons we are holding the data. There may be instances when we have to supply information to a care home or perhaps to a court. 

The way we may use the data may depend upon the reason we hold it.

Data will be kept for as long as the law requires or allows us to. 

Data protection law provides you with certain rights, however not all of these rights will be available to you in all situations. Where we are under a legal duty to use data for a particular purpose you will not have the right to prevent it being used in that way.
  
You can ask:

  • to see the information we hold about you
  • what is being done with the information we hold about you
  • to have some of the data we hold about you deleted
  • us to review a decision made about you by a computer, and ask for a new decision to be made by a person
  • us to stop processing the data we hold about you
  • us to make changes to data about you that you believe is inaccurate
  • us to restrict or limit what we do with your data, for example if you believe the data we hold is inaccurate, or if you believe the processing in unlawful
  • in some circumstances you can ask us to help you move your information to another organisation

There may be times when, for lawful reasons, we cannot release, amend or delete information.

The purposes for which the data will be used are to help the council to carry out its legal functions (such as in exercising its powers and duties). 

We are able to do this because:

  • you, or your legal representative, have given consent
  • you have entered into a contract with us
  • it is necessary to perform our statutory duties
  • it is necessary to protect someone in an emergency
  • it is required by law
  • it is necessary for employment purposes
  • it is necessary to deliver health or social care services 
  • you have made your information publicly available
  • it is necessary for legal cases
  • it is to the benefit of society as a whole
  • it is necessary to protect public health
  • it is necessary for archiving, research, or statistical purposes

We have a duty to protect public funds. We may therefore use the information we have for the prevention and detection of fraud.  We may share this information with other bodies for these purposes.

We may share data with our internal audit team to evaluate the effectiveness of the organisation’s risk management, control and governance processes.  We may also share your data with the council's fraud team to help to prevent and detect fraud.

Your personal data may be transferred to countries outside the EU for the purposes of fulfilling our legal duties.

Schedules
Legal services - children and education

Information collected

  • name 
  • address
  • contact details 
  • date of birth
  • health information
  • referral or assessment Information 
  • relationships Information
  • financial Information
  • convictions, cautions and warnings
  • housing information
  • employment information
  • education information
  • information from other authorities where previously you previously lived
  • involvement with the voluntary sector
  • information from previous partners
  • references
  • immigration status
  • DNA
  • hair and blood analysis 
  • other agencies involved

Agencies we might share the information with:

  • Department for Education 
  • schools
  • youth offending service 
  • alternative education providers 
  • childrens’ social care 
  • police 
  • judicial agencies, such as courts
  • health
  • immigration authorities
  • probation
  • legal representatives of other parties
  • barristers' chambers
  • client departments
  • other local authorities
  • residential care providers
  • other agencies involved
  • experts instructed, such as independent social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, substance misuse testers 
  • interpreters
  • transcribers
  • process servers

Purpose for processing: Service delivery
 
Legal services – corporate or commercial 

Information collected:

  • name 
  • address
  • contact details 
  • contractual information 
  • financial information 
  • bid responses

Agencies we might share the information with:

  • Department for Education 
  • Education Funding Agency 
  • other public bodies 
  • legal representatives of other parties
  • client departments 

Purpose for processing: service delivery
 
Legal services - adult services

Information collected:

  • name 
  • address
  • contact details 
  • date of birth
  • health information
  • referral and assessment information 
  • relationships information
  • financial information
  • convictions, cautions and warnings
  • housing information
  • employment information
  • education information
  • information from other authorities where you previously lived
  • involvement with the voluntary sector
  • information from previous partners
  • references
  • immigration status
  • DNA
  • hair and blood analysis 
  • other agencies Involved

Agencies we might share the information with:

  • Department for Education 
  • schools
  • youth offending service 
  • alternative education providers 
  • children's social care 
  • police 
  • judicial agencies,  such as courts
  • health
  • immigration authorities
  • probation
  • legal representatives of other parties
  • barristers' chambers
  • client departments
  • other local authorities
  • residential care providers
  • other agencies involved
  • experts instructed,  such as independent social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, substance misuse testers 
  • interpreters
  • transcribers
  • process servers

Purpose for processing: Service delivery
 
Legal services - property services

Information collected

  • name 
  • address
  • contact details
  • identification information
  • property ownership information 
  • other Information relevant to case 

 Agencies we might share the information with

  • Land Registry
  • other public bodies
  • legal representatives of other parties 
  • client departments 

Purpose for processing: service delivery

Legal services - regulatory and litigation service

Information collected: 

  • name and date of birth
  • address 
  • contact details 
  • health information  
  • financial information 
  • social services records 
  • human resources records
  • details of potential offence or other wrongdoing/infringement involving individuals (including standards investigations)
  • previous convictions or cautions and details of previous interactions with the police and law enforcement agencies 
  • licensing records and regulatory records
  • DBS information.

Agencies we might share the information with:

  • DWP 
  • police 
  • judicial agencies, such as courts and tribunals 
  • health agencies 
  • legal representatives of other parties 
  • other solicitors instructed by the council
  • expert witnesses 
  • client departments 
  • barristers and staff at their chambers
  • providers of social housing
  • other enforcement agencies
  • process servers or professional witnesses
  • lay witnesses to court proceedings involving the council
  • councillors
  • independent person for the standards committee

 Purpose for processing: service delivery

Who to contact if you have questions

If you wish to contact us in relation to any of your information rights, email foi@stoke.gov.uk or Information Rights Team, Floor 2, Civic Centre, Glebe Street, Stoke-on-Trent ST4 1HH

Complete the online form
 
If you wish to complain about how your personal information has been handled by Stoke-on-Trent City Council, contact the Information Rights Team in the first instance using the details above.  If you are not satisfied you can complain to Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF or call 0303 123 1113

Information Commissioner's Office website