Communications Service Privacy Notice

What this Privacy Notice covers

Adur & Worthing Councils are the data controllers (referred to in this notice as 'we' or 'us') of your personal data for the purposes of applicable data protection legislation in relation to the administration and management of the following:

  • Communications services to Adur & Worthing Councils and the Greater Brighton Economic Board

The Councils' Data Protection Officer can be contacted at:

In relation to your personal data we are committed to collecting, using and protecting it appropriately. Our Data Protection Policy can be found on the Data Protection page of our website.

This privacy notice explains:

  • How and why we collect and use your personal data
  • The type of personal data that we collect
  • When and why we may share personal data with other organisations
  • The rights and choices you have in relation to the personal data that we hold about you
  • How long the information is kept for
  • Our legal basis for processing your data

What we collect, why and how it is used

We may collect the following personal information:

  • Name, address, occupation, email addresses and phone numbers which enables us to report on lifestyles of individuals
  • Social and personal information including special category (sensitive) data
  • Data may be shared between the Councils and our partner agencies or with other internal departments at the Councils
  • Data may also be collected by the Communications Service directly
  • Email addresses of contacts at partner agencies
  • Email addresses of individuals working for the media
  • Visual images, recordings or filming

We may also collect the following special category or criminal offence personal data:

  • Photographs of individuals involved in Councils' and Greater Brighton Economic Board communications activity
  • Political beliefs of elected officials
  • Special category (sensitive) data which may include health, racial or ethnic origin, gender, religion, sexual orientation, other protected characteristics

We collect your personal information for the purpose of

  • Producing communications material to inform the public about Councils' and Greater Brighton Economic Board activity
  • Responding to questions from the media
  • Statutory HR responsibilities - absence management, staff appraisals, recruitment (eg proof of identity)
  • Contacting staff during out-of-hours emergencies

We may share personal data with other departments within the Councils and external organisations on a case by case basis lawfully in the following circumstances:

  • To agree communications materials for internal and external use
  • To formulate media responses
  • To perform our statutory responsibilities around absence management, appraisals and recruitment

Data may be passed to third parties including:

  • Media outlets who we may share data with
  • Your information will not be shared with a third party without your consent

We will not provide personal data to anyone else or use the data about you for any other purpose unless the law allows or permits us to.

Your personal data may be converted ('anonymised') into statistical or aggregated data in such a way that ensures that you cannot be identified from it. Aggregated data can't, by definition, be linked back to you as an individual and may be used to conduct research and analysis, including the preparation of statistics for use in reports.

Our legal basis for processing your personal data

  • Article 6(1)(a)of the General Data Protection Regulation - the individual has given clear consent for us to process their personal data
  • Article 9(a) of the General Data Protection Regulation - the individual has given express consent, or
  • Article 9(e) of the General Data Protection Regulation - the data has been made public by the data subject.
  • Article 6(1)(c) of the General Data Protection Regulation - processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject (Local Government Act 2000)

How long the information is kept for

For matters that are closed, we retain information for up to 6 years from the date the matter is closed, as per s.2 of the Limitation Act 1980. Records are kept in accordance with the Council's Information Retention and Disposal Schedule and we will not keep your information for longer than necessary.

Your rights

You have certain rights under the UK Data Protection law including:

  • The right to be informed
  • The right of access to your personal data (also known as a Subject Access Request or SAR)
  • The right to withdraw consent
  • The right of rectification (to have any inaccuracies corrected)
  • The right of erasure (to have your records deleted)
  • The right to restrict processing
  • The right to data portability
  • The right to object
  • Rights in relation to automated decision-making and profiling

Further information about your rights is available on the Information Commissioner's Office website.

If you have a concern about the way that we are collecting or using your personal data, we ask that you contact us in the first instance. Alternatively, you can contact the Information Commissioner's Office.

How to contact us

If you have any questions about how we collect, store, or use personal data please contact us as listed below:

Last reviewed: 16/12/2022

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Page last updated: 11 January 2023

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