PRIVACY POLICY

West Mersea Town Council collects holds and processes a considerable amount of information, including personal information to allow it to provide services effectively.
West Mersea Town Council does this in its capacity as a data controller. Contact details for the data controller can be found in the 'Where can I get advice section?' below.
The Council recognises that this information is important to residents and that it is responsible to the residents for the information it holds about them. As such, it takes seriously its responsibilities under General Data Protection Regulations to ensure that any personal information it collects and uses is done so proportionately, correctly and safely.
The privacy notice below explains how the Council uses information about you and the ways in which we protect your privacy.

What is personal data?
Personal data means any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified in particular by reference to an identifier.
This definition provides for a wide range of personal identifiers to constitute personal data, including name, identification number, location data or online identifier, reflecting changes in technology and the way organisations collect information about people.

What level of personal data is used?
The Council collects, holds and uses personal data to allow it to provide services on behalf of the residents of West Mersea. These services include, amongst others, planning, recycling and waste, allotments, cemeteries and gate licenses.

Why we use personal information?
West Mersea Town Council will use your personal data for a limited number of purposes, and at all times within the rules set out in Data Protection legislation.
We will process personal data for the following purposes:

• For the purpose for which you provided the information. e.g. processing information given for a gate license, and to monitor the Council's performance in responding to your request.
• To allow the Council to be able to communicate and provide services appropriate to your needs.
• To ensure that the council meets its legal requirements, including obligations imposed under the Equality Act and Health and Safety Acts.
• Where the processing is necessary to comply with its legal obligations, e.g. the prevention and/or detection of crime.
• To process financial transactions including grants.
• Where you have consented to the processing.
• Where necessary to protect individuals from harm or injury.
• West Mersea Town Council will use your personal data, after it has been anonymised, to allow the statistical analysis of data to allow the Council to effective target and plan the provision of services.
• To deliver services and support to you, to manage those services, to monitor the quality of services provided and to plan new and updated services.
• To train staff.
• Where we need to investigate any worries or complaints you have about your services.

How the law allows us to use your personal information
There are a number of legal reasons why we need to collect and use your personal information. Each privacy notice at the bottom of this page explains for each service which legal reason is being used. Generally we collect and use personal information where:

• 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
• 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

If we have consent to use your personal information, you have the right to remove it at any time. If you want to remove your consent, please contact info@westmersea.org and tell us which service you're using so we can deal with your request.

Customer record
West Mersea Town Council is continually working to improve how it provides services to the residents of West Mersea. The Council holds a customer record, comprising of your name and address. For some services we might also ask for email address and telephone number. The customer record will allow the council to respond to any queries you may have in respect of the provision of services more quickly and efficiently.

Telephone calls
Telephone calls are not recorded.

Newsletter subscriptions
If you subscribe to the newsletter on our website, we will not pass your details onto any third parties, and they will be stored confidentially, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation. In order for us to provide this service to you we will need to collect and store an email address. The Council will only use your email address to send you e-newsletters. You can unsubscribe at any time by contacting info@westmersea.org or phoning 01206 382128.

Your rights
The law gives you a number of rights to control what personal information is used by us and how it is used by us.

How can you access the information we hold about you?
You are also legally entitled to request access to any records held by West Mersea Town Council about yourself. When we receive a request from you in writing, we must normally give you access to everything we have recorded about you. However, we will not let you see any parts of your record which contain:

• confidential information about other people; or
• if we think that a crime may be prevented or found out by disclosing information to you.

This applies to paper and electronic records.

How can you request correction of inaccurate information?
Whilst West Mersea Town Council tries to ensure that any personal data it holds about you is correct, there may be situations where the information it holds is no longer accurate. If this is the case, please contact us so that any errors can be investigated and corrected.

You can ask to delete information (right to be forgotten)
You can ask for your personal information to be deleted, for example:

• Where your personal information is no longer needed for the reason why it was collected in the first place
• Where you have removed your consent for us to use your information (where there is no other legal reason for us to use it)
• Where there is no legal reason for the use of your information
• Where deleting the information is a legal requirement

Please note that we cannot delete your information where:

• We are required to have it by law
• it is used for freedom of expression
• it is necessary for legal claim

Right to complain
You have the right to complain about any matter relating to our service, including how we use your personal data. In the first instance please contact info@westmersea.org

How do we keep information secure?
We will take appropriate steps to make sure we hold records about you (on paper and electronically) in a secure way, and we will only make them available to those who have a right to see them. Our security includes:

• access controls on systems
• training for all staff

How long do we keep your personal information?
We will only store your personal information for as long as is necessary. Records will be kept in accordance with the retention policy written by the National Association of Local Councils, (NALC Local Councils Documents and Records Policy can be found on www.westmersea.org).

Where can I get advice?
If you would like further information or if you have any concerns about how the Council is handling your personal data, please contact us in writing.
For independent advice about data protection, privacy and data sharing issues, you can contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Tel: 0303 123 1113. www.ico.org.uk

Measuring website usage (Google Analytics)
We use Google Analytics to collect information about how people use this site. We do this to make sure it's meeting its users' needs and to understand how we could do it better
Google Analytics stores information about what pages you visit, how long you are on the site, how you got here and what you click on. We do not collect or store your personal information (e.g. your name or address) so this information cannot be used to identify who you are.
We also collect information on the number of times particular search terms are used and the number of failed searches. We use this information to improve access to the site and to identify gaps in the information content so we can plan appropriate expansion of the system. Unless the law allows us to, we do not:

• share any of the information we collect about you with others
• use this information to identify individuals.

Updates to this privacy notice
West Mersea Town Council will continually review and update this privacy notice to reflect changes in our services as well as to comply with changes in the law. We encourage you to periodically visit the Council's web site to review this notice and to be informed of how West Mersea Town Council is protecting your information.

Links to:
Allotment: click here
Cemeteries: click here
Civic Service: click here
Customer Service: click here
Freedom of Information: click here
Gate Licences: click here
 

Adopted:	7th November 2019
Reviewed:	24th November 2022
Next Review:	November 2023