What this privacy notice is for

Our core data protection obligations and commitments are set out in the council’s primary privacy notice at www.oldham.gov.uk/dataprotection

This notice provides additional privacy information for:

• Those submitting feedback, including complaints, enquiries, compliments and service requests, to the Council

Updating our privacy notices

We may update or revise our privacy notices at any time so please refer to the version published on our website for the most up to date details.

What we use your information for

We collect your personal information for the following purpose(s):

• To carry out investigations into your complaint
• To provide a response and agree appropriate actions
• To learn from the experience, to inform change in policy and/or process and train staff
• To provide a response to the relevant Ombudsman in relation to an investigation they may conduct into your complaint once you have completed the Council's complaints process
• Equality monitoring

What categories of personal information we use?

Personal information can be anything that identifies and relates to a living person; this can include information that when linked with other information, allows a person to be uniquely identified.

The law treats some types of personal information as ‘special’ because the information requires more protection due to its sensitivity. This information consists of:

• Racial or ethnic origin
• Sexuality and sexual life
• Religious or philosophical beliefs
• Trade union membership
• Political opinions
• Genetic and bio-metric data
• Physical or mental health
• Criminal convictions and offences

In order to carry out these purposes we collect and obtain the following personal information:

You can also submit feedback anonymously without supplying your personal information, however we will not be able to keep you updated with progress of any investigations we may make because of your feedback.

If your complaint is on behalf of another person, we will need to contact them separately to gain consent if this has not already been provided.

Legal basis for processing

We're required by law to manage all types of feedback including complaints. This is detailed in legislation and guidance including:

• The Local Government Act 1974
• The Localism Act 2011
• The Equality Act 2010
• The Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003
• The Children Act 1989
• The Children Act Representations Procedure (England) 2006 Regulations
• Social Services Complaints Procedure (Wales) Regulations 2014
• Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009
• The Housing Act 1996 (schedule 2)

We are allowed to process personal and sensitive data for the following reasons under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Articles and the Data Protection Act 2018:

• To comply with a legal obligation
• For public tasks or statutory functions
• Substantial public interest
• For the performance of a contract
• Legitimate interests

Information sharing/recipients

Your personal data is shared securely only where it is both necessary and appropriate to do so.

We collect information from, and disclose information to, individuals and organisations that can support our work including:

• Council departments responsible for responding to complaints and other types of feedback
• Other commissioned partners or third-party contractors that provide services on our behalf and will need to respond separately to the complaint
• Investigating Officers who will lead a Stage 2 Statutory Children’s Social Care complaints investigation
• Independent Persons who ensure the Stage 2 Statutory Children’s Social Care investigation is open, transparent and fair
• Independent Panel Members in a Statutory Stage 3 Children’s Social Care Review Panel
• National regulators such as the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, Housing Ombudsman Service and the Information Commissioner’s Office should you complain to them
• Other Local Authorities
• Police/ law enforcement
• The courts and tribunals
• Elected Members and MPs (as your representative)

As well as information collected directly from you, we also obtain or receive information from:

• Services/departments within the Council
• NHS organisations where the complaint or feedback you have raised relates to their services or a service the council has commissioned them to provide
• Third parties who are commissioned by the Council to deliver services that you have provided feedback about; this may include, but is not limited to, care providers, waste and highways contractors and Housing Associations

Data Transfers beyond European Economic Area

We do not transfer any of your personal information outside the European Economic Area (‘EEA’).

Automated Decisions

All the decisions we make about you involve human intervention.

How long we keep your data

We will only keep your personal information for as long as the law specifies or where the law does not specify this, for the length of time determined by our business requirements.

Where you have made a complaint, we will hold your personal information for:

• 3 years (minor)
• 6 years (major)
• 10 years after case closure (where the complaint involves an Ombudsman)

Exceptions to the above timeframes will apply in some circumstances, such as Statutory Children’s Social Care complaints, where details of the complaint, response letters and reports will be kept with the child’s social care record.

Where you have provided another type of feedback, such as a compliment or service request, we will hold your personal information for 2 years.

Where can I get advice?

More information on how to seek advice in order to exercise your rights, raise a concern or complain about the handling of your personal information by the council can be found in the council’s privacy notice which can be found at www.oldham.gov.uk/dataprotection