Adult Social Care privacy notice

A privacy notice explains how and why we use any information we collect about you, how we may share your information, how long we keep your information and your rights. 

Adult Social Care's privacy notice

  Download the Easy read version

Download the Full version

Information we collect and use about you and what we use it for

Why we need this information

We need this information to do things like:

• help us decide if you need any ongoing social care services
• use this information to meet and manage any ongoing social care needs
• check the quality of the services you receive
• investigate if we have concerns about your safety or you are reporting concerns about another person’s safety
• look into complaints you have about your services
• keep track of the spending on your services
• detect and prevent fraud or crime
• help with service delivery and planning, for example training of staff.

The legal basis for collecting and using this information

We will use this data to comply with our legal obligations and duties, and where it is necessary to protect individuals from harm or injury. The full version of the Adult Social Care privacy notice lists the legal basis.

What happens if you do not want to give this information

The information we collect is required in order to have a complete picture of your social care needs and allows us to better help you. You do not have to give us your information if you do not want to. However, if we do not have this information we may not be able to assess your needs or provide you with social care services.

Other people may give us information

We may also receive personal information about you from others. This could include family members and friends, NHS agencies (such as GPs or hospitals), commissioned support providers, other local authorities, voluntary sector organisations and the Metropolitan Police.

Sharing Information

When Adult Social Care shares your information

We may share your information with other council departments or third parties. Camden’s policy is that all information will only be shared among council services and other agencies where we have a legal power or duty to do this. Third parties include Health services and in relation to No recourse to Public Funds the Home Office and other local authorities. More information on who we share information with, and the reasons, can be found by accessing the full version Adult Social Care privacy notice.

Please speak with your social care practitioner if you have any questions about the organisations we could share your information with.

We may also share your personal information to protect adults who are at immediate risk or if there is a serious risk to the public or council employees. This does not happen often and the risk must be serious enough for it to override your right to privacy, when there is an important reason that outweighs protecting your privacy.

The council has a number of Data Sharing Agreements with organisations such as the Police or the NHS to cover sharing that is regular or routine.

If an external agency asks us to share any information that is sensitive and personal to you we will only do this if we can do so legally. If we want to share this information, as we feel it would help you, but there is no legal power or duty for us to share this information we will ask you first if you are happy for us to share your information.

Section 251: National Health Service Act 2006

An organisation may approach us to disclose your data if they have Section 251 approval for research. The data collected will be used by the organisation for research and planning purposes. If you want to opt out of your data being used by organisations who have a Section 251 National Health Service Act 2006 approval please contact [email protected] or speak with your social care practitioner.

How long Adult Social Care keeps your personal data

We will stop using your data after we no longer have a legal reason to use your information, which may be when your services have ended. If you would like to know more about how long we keep Adult Social Care records, please view the Council’s retention schedule.

Your information rights

The law also gives you a number of rights to control what and how we use your personal and special category information. If you would like more information on your rights and the exemptions, please ask.

The name and contact details of the Data Protection Officer

We have a Data Protection Officer who is a council staff member whose job it is to make sure we respect your rights and follow the law. Please contact Andrew Maughan, who is also the Council’s Borough Solicitor, if you have any questions or concerns about how we use your personal information. Andrew can be contacted at [email protected].

Your right to make a complaint

It would be helpful if you contacted us first at [email protected] to see if we can resolve the problem.

You can also make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you are unhappy with how the council has handled your personal data.  Their contact details are below.