Legal Services Privacy Notice
Who are we and what do we do
Legal Services is part of Gateshead Council. We are based at the Civic Centre, Gateshead, and include the following teams:
children and adult social care
commercial, employment and regional transport
Data Protection Officer (DPO - part of Governance Team)
litigation and regulatory law
property law and land charges
This privacy notice provides specific information about how we process your personal data. It is an addition to the information contained in our Corporate Privacy notice.
What type of information is collected about you
We collect personal information to understand your needs and provide services. Information may include:
name
address (current and previous)
date of birth
employment information
financial information
ID information (for example, passport or driving license)
images
National Insurance (NI) or NHS number
school or college
social care information
We may also collect and process the following special category data:
genetic data
health information
political opinions
race or ethnic origin
religious or philosophical beliefs
sexual orientation and sex life
trade union membership
How we collect information about you
We collect information about you from various sources to ensure that we meet your needs, including:
from you when you contact us to discuss any legal issues involving you and the Council, such as the purchase of a Council property or the collection of debt owed to the Council
from other council departments allowing us to provide legal advice across the services
from organisations such as the Police or government departments (such as DWP or HMRC) where required for the purposes of establishing or defending legal claims or as part of legal proceedings
from third parties, such as solicitors or those representing you such as Citizens Advice, social workers or other agencies you are working with where this is relevant to the legal services we are providing
Why we need your information
Our purpose for collecting personal information is to establish, defend and advise in relation to legal issues or claims.
The lawful basis for our processing is:
performance of a contract to which data subject is party
legal obligation to which the data controller is subject
task in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority
Our lawful basis for processing of sensitive personal data is:
legal claims or judicial acts
reasons of substantial public interest (with a basis in law)
health or social care (with a basis in law)
A full list of legislation can be obtained by contacting dpocouncil@gateshead.gov.uk
Who your information can be shared with
Our Corporate Privacy notice explains information sharing the Council carries out. This sharing fulfils statutory obligations, legal requirements and service delivery.
If we wish to share your information with other council services or third parties for purposes outside of those listed above, we will ask your permission.
How long we will keep your information
We keep your information for as long as we need to provide services to you. We may also need to keep your information in accordance with legal or other obligations. Where we have no need to keep your data it will be securely destroyed. We keep a Record of Processing Activity (a requirement under the GDPR). This sets out the specific retention periods applicable in different circumstances. For more information please contact: DPOCouncil@gateshead.gov.uk
Where your information is held
Legal Services use an electronic case management system provided by Iken. The Council has a data processing agreement in place with Iken to ensure the security of your personal information. It is stored in Iken's system and on Council-owned and managed servers and drives. Your personal information does not leave the UK.
Where information is collected on paper, it is stored within secure council premises.
How you can update your information
Our delivery of efficient services depends on the accuracy of your information.
Please inform us of any changes to the following:
email address
personal circumstances
postal address
any of the other information we hold
Please contact:
Litigation and regulatory law:
CSGLitigationandregulatorylaw@gateshead.gov.uk
Commercial, employment and regional transport
LegalCommericialTeam@gateshead.gov.uk
Property law and land charges:
CSGPropertyLaw@gateshead.gov.uk
DPO (Data Protection Officer) (part of Governance Team):
Children and adult social care:
Your information rights
Please see the relevant section of our Corporate privacy notice.
Marketing and e-newsletters
Please see our email marketing privacy notice.
Business intelligence, profiling and automated-decision making
Please see the relevant section of our Corporate privacy notice.
Protecting your information
Please see the relevant section of our Corporate privacy notice.
Data Protection Officer
Data Protection Officer
Civic Centre Regent Street
Gateshead NE8 1HH
DPOcouncil@gateshead.gov.uk 0191 433 3000
Information Commissioner's Office
The Information Commissioner is the UK's independent body for upholding information rights. Visit their website to find out more about your rights under Data Protection law, and what to expect from us.
For privacy practices or data protection rights concerns, contact the Information Commissioner's Office:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
0303 123 1113 or 01625 545 745
casework@ico.org.uk