Early Intervention and Prevention
Who we are and what we do
The London Borough of Redbridge Council is a data controller under the UK Data Protection law as we collect and process personal information about you in order to provide Adult Social Care and Children’s Care services, and Welfare Benefit Advice, to our citizens and communities and to meet our statutory obligations.
The Housing Service is responsible for managing the Council’s housing stock and dealing with Council tenants and leaseholder issues as well as undertaking day to day repairs and planned maintenance programmes. We also manage the Housing Advice Centre providing advice and assistance on housing and homelessness issues. We collect and recover income for the Council’s housing stock and for the 2,100 households in temporary accommodation.
Any questions regarding our privacy practices should be sent by email to data.protection@redbridge.gov.uk or in writing to:
Data Protection Officer
8th Floor Rear
255-259 High Road
Ilford, Essex IG1 1NY
Tel: 0208 708 3890
Why we need your information and how we use it
Our legal basis for using your personal data is “under a legal obligation". Under Children Act 1989 and Care Act 2014 local authorities have the duty to provide relevant social care services for:
service delivery
service planning/improvement
We may also use your data for the prevention or detection of fraud/crime or research. When it is for research purposes it will be anonymised data only.
Remember if we cannot use your data, we would not be able to assess social care needs or be able to arrange or provide social care services.
As a local authority, we have a public duty to identify members of the borough who are considered vulnerable based on specific circumstances and offer them a range of benefits they may be eligible for. In accordance with this, the information we collect is used to assist with the application for or issues with claims for any welfare benefits and allowances you’re receiving or are eligible for.
The processing of your information is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation primarily under the Housing Act 1988, 1996, and 2004, the Homelessness Act 2002 and the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 to which we are subject. In some cases, you can refuse to provide your details if you deem a request to be inappropriate. However, you should note that this may impact on our ability to provide some services to you.
We take your privacy seriously and will only use your personal information to administer your Housing account and to provide services you have requested from us. We follow the principles of Data Protection legislation, as well as respecting people’s rights to confidentiality and privacy. Personal data can include information supplied to us such as:
asking people to fill in their names, addresses and health information on an official form, either online or in paper form;
recording and retaining the calls customers make to a call centre.
Personal information which you supply to us and information about other household members may be used in a number of ways, for example:
to make housing decisions
for fraud prevention
for audit and debt collection
for statistical analysis
When you provide information about household members we assume that you do so with their full knowledge and consent.
What is the source of your personal data?
In most cases, we will get obtain your personal data directly from you. If we get it from another source, we will:
inform you of the source within a reasonable period after obtaining the personal data, but at the latest within one month or when we first communicate with you using that information (which) ever is the earliest
we will also tell you if we disclosure or envisage disclosing that personal data to another party.
What type of information is collected from you?
Where relevant and appropriate we will hold the following information about you:
name and contact details
home address
date of birth
National Insurance Number
social care ID
NHS number
family details
lifestyle and social circumstances
financial details
property ownership
rent paid
landlord details
housing needs
immigration details
visual images, personal appearance and behaviour
photographic ID
case file information
reports of antisocial behaviour
complaints
change of circumstances
recordings of telephone calls
market research
customer satisfaction surveys
physical or mental health details
racial or ethnic origin
offences (including alleged offences)
religious or other beliefs of a similar nature
social care support outcomes
advocacy details
Generally, the information we hold will have been provided by you (on application or enquiry forms or when we communicate with you), but we may also hold information provided by third parties where this is relevant to your relevant circumstances (e.g. from social workers and health professionals, doctors and occupational therapists).
Who your information may be shared with (internally and externally)
health providers
NHS agencies (GPs, hospitals, ambulance, health visitor)
education providers
domiciliary care providers
residential/nursing care providers
day care providers
mental health services
government agencies (department of health, department of work and pensions)
local government
police and other relevant authorities (probation service, HM revenues and Customs)
substance misuse agencies
advocacy services
fire & rescue services
prepaid card providers
credit reference agencies
debt collection agencies
direct payment support services
landlords
housing associations and trusts
housing benefits section
contractors
third party service providers (in connection with services performed on our behalf)
utility companies (and their representatives)
council tax offices
This list is not exhaustive as there are other circumstances where we may also be required to share information e.g. in order to meet our legal obligations. We will use all information held by us for the purposes of law enforcement, regulation and licensing, criminal prosecutions and court proceedings.
Use of your NHS Number in Adult Social Care
If you are receiving support from adult social care, then the NHS may share your NHS number with us. This is so that the NHS and adult social care are using the same number to identify you whilst providing your care. By using the same number, we are able to work together to improve your care and support.
We will use this Number in an integrated care record system across a number of support services including GPs, hospitals, community matrons, district nurses and social care practitioners.
How long we keep your information (retention period)
We have a robust minimum archiving and retention timescales for purging data we collect. However, the Chief Executive of the Local Authority has received notice from The Chair of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, established by the Home Secretary, instructing the Authority to retain any and all documents; correspondence; notes; emails and all other information – however held – which contain or may contain content pertaining directly or indirectly to the sexual abuse of children or to child protection and care.
In general, we will stop using your data after we no longer have a statutory reason to use your information, this may be when your services have ended and we are no longer required to use your information for service planning or improvement purposes.
Your data will be deleted 7 years after we stop using it where a service has been provided or 5 years after we stop using it where we have only provided you with advice and information.
Welfare benefits: We retain your information for a minimum of 2 years after which time it will be destroyed.
Marketing and E-Newsletters
Information collected is not used for marking or sending out E-newsletters, but social workers would provide families with information about advocacy.
Business Intelligence, Profiling and Automated-Decision making
We may analyse your personal information to improve services and for the following purposes;
undertake statutory functions efficiently and effectively
service planning by understanding your needs to provide the services that you request
understanding what we can do for you and inform you of other relevant services and benefits
help us to build up a picture of how we are performing at delivering services to you and what services the people of Redbridge need
The Council is however committed to using pseudonymised or anonymised information as much as is practical, and in many cases this will be the default position.
We may use your information from the different services that you engage with to create a single view and profile of you, which will help us to better understand your specific needs and ensure we are providing the right and efficient services to you in accordance with your needs as well as ensure that we hold one accurate record of your basic personal data across all our Council services; such as your name, DoB, address, email address, change in circumstances etc.
Profiling will be carried out only when it is necessary in order to provide you with the service you have agreed to receive or where the Council has a statutory obligation or where to the law allows. However, we will notify you where we would do this and where required we will
Protecting your information
Please see the relevant section of the Corporate Privacy Notice.
How you can access, update or correct your information
The Data Protection law gives you the right to apply for a copy of information about yourself. This is called a ‘Subject Access Request'.
Find out more about how to make a Subject Access Request.
The accuracy of your information is important to us to be able to provide relevant services more quickly. We are working to make our record keeping more efficient. In the meantime, if you change your address or email address, or if any of your circumstances change or any of the other information we hold is inaccurate or out of date, please email us at data.protection@redbridge.gov.uk or write to us at:
Data Protection Officer
8th Floor Rear
255-259 High Road
Ilford, Essex IG1 1NY
For children’s services, please email us at childrens.rights@redbridge.gov.uk or write to us at:
Children’s Right
Children & Families
London Borough of Redbridge
4th Floor (Front) Lynton House
255-259 High Road, Ilford
Essex, IG1 1NN
For welfare benefits, please email us at welfare.benefits@redbridge.gov.uk or write to us at:
Welfare Benefit Section
Revenues, Benefits and Transactional Centre
PO Box 1354
Lynton House
255-259 High Road
Ilford
IG1 1NN
Your information choice and rights
Please see the relevant section of the Corporate Privacy Notice.
Your information choice and rights
Please see the relevant section of the Corporate Privacy Notice.
