Data protection

On 25 May 2018 the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force across all the member states of the European Union.

Along with the Data Protection Act 2018, the new legislation sets out the obligations on how the Council uses personal information.

To provide services and carry out our statutory duties, East Dunbartonshire Council must gather personal information about residents, employees and other individuals. This personal information, however it is acquired and used, must be done so lawfully, fairly and transparently.

GDPR establishes a set of principles for the way that personal information must be used. This states that:-

Personal data shall be:

• Processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject (‘lawfulness, fairness and transparency’)
• Collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes; further processing for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes shall, in accordance with Article 89(1), not be considered to be incompatible with the initial purposes (‘purpose limitation’)
• Adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed (‘data minimisation’)
• Accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date; every reasonable step must be taken to ensure that personal data that are inaccurate, having regard to the purposes for which they are processed, are erased or rectified without delay (‘accuracy’)
• Kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed; personal data may be stored for longer periods insofar as the personal data will be processed solely for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes in accordance with Article 89(1) subject to implementation of the appropriate technical and organisational measures required by this Regulation in order to safeguard the rights and freedoms of the data subject (‘storage limitation’)
• Processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures (‘integrity and confidentiality’).

The controller shall be responsible for, and be able to demonstrate compliance with, paragraph 1 (‘accountability’).

To ensure that East Dunbartonshire Council complies with the terms of the GDPR, a Data Protection Policy has been published. This gives information on the act, the Council’s responsibilities under it and its commitment to it. Read the Data Protection Policy.

• Right to be informed
• Right of access
• Right to rectification
• Right to erasure
• Right to restrict processing
• Right to data portability
• Right to object
• Rights related to automated decision making including profiling.

Transparency is a key requirement of GDPR. The Council will always ensure that individuals are aware of how their information is used, who will have access to it, how long it will be kept for and what rights they have over their personal information in the Council’s care.

A list of the Council’s privacy notices is available on the Privacy Notices section. Visit the Privacy Notices section.

The Freedom of Information legislation does not normally allow for personal details about individuals to be released. For example, we cannot give you access to other peoples' housing records or an individual’s employee records.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) does however give individuals the right to access personal data held about them by the Council.

In Scotland the Freedom of Information legislation is regulated by the Scottish Information Commissioner. The Scottish Information Commissioner website provides information on using the Act, their role in regulating the legislation and also the review decisions issued by the Commissioner where individuals have been dissatisfied with the way in which public authorities have dealt with requests.

The Preservation of Archives Policy establishes a framework for the effective and efficient creation and management of the Council and its predecessors' current, semi-current and permanently preserved information, data and records.

This Policy is undergoing review along with all Information Governance Polices and Records Management Plan and will be Published on completion.

On 25 May 2018 the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 came into force across Europe. This legislation replaced the existing Data Protection Act 1998 and establish the principles by which the Council uses information about living individuals.

Peoples’ right to privacy is recognised by the Council and all our processing of personal information is compliant with GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

To meet the requirements of GDPR the Council is improving the way it explains how personal information is used. All the new privacy notices, providing details on how the personal information is used to provide services, are available on the Privacy Notices section. Visit the Privacy Notices section.

Should you have any questions or concerns about the Council’s handling of your personal data you can contact the Council’s Data Protection Officer.

Karen Donnelly
Data Protection Officer
East Dunbartonshire Council
12 Strathkelvin Place
Kirkintilloch
G66 1TJ

Tel: 0300 123 4510
Email: dpo@eastdunbarton.gov.uk