Electoral Services - privacy notice

Who we are

Derby City Council is the local government unitary authority for Derby city. Our address is the Council House, Corporation Street, Derby, DE1 2FS. You can contact our Data Protection Officer on 01332 640763 or by email at data.protection@derby.gov.uk.

How do we collect information from you?

We collect information from you when you visit www.derby.gov.uk, when you fill in any forms using our customer portals or on our website, including myAccount; also when you contact us in writing, speak to us on the phone, by email or any other type of electronic communication, or talk to us face to face. We may collect information from a setting you attend, such as a school or care home, where this data collection is necessary for the following purposes listed.

What types of information do we collect from you?

We collect different categories of information about you, depending on the service you want from us and/or the reason why we need to process information relating to you. This could be personal information (for example your name and address), or other more sensitive data. We only collect and use more sensitive data in very particular circumstances that are set out in law.

The information we collect will depend on the service you want from us and/or the reason why we need to request and process information relating to you.

Details of information obtained from third parties?

To verify the identity of potential electors we are required by law to share new registration applications with the IER Digital Service. This is an automated service run by the Government which compares details on applications with data held by Government departments.

What is the lawful basis?

The legal basis for data processing we are relying on comes from Article 6 of the UK General Data Protection Regulations (UK GDPR). The following sections apply:

• Article 6 (1) (c) Legal Obligation - processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject
• Article 6 (1) (e) Public task - the processing is necessary for you to perform a task in the public interest or for your official functions, and the task or function has a clear basis in law.

We rely on the following conditions as per Article 9 (2) of the UK GDPR:

• (a) the data subject has given explicit consent to the processing of those personal data for one or more specified purposes.
• (g) processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest, on the basis of domestic law which shall be proportionate to the aim pursued, respect the essence of the right to data protection and provide for suitable and specific measures to safeguard the fundamental rights and the interests of the data subject.
• (f) processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims or whenever courts are acting in their judicial capacity.

We also rely on the following:

• Article 10 of the UK GDPR provides that processing of personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences or related security measures based on Article 6 (1) shall be carried out only under the control of official authority or when the processing is authorised by domestic law providing for appropriate safeguards for the rights and freedoms of data subjects.

We process all information in accordance with our legal obligations and public tasks arising from the following provisions:

• The Coronavirus Act 2020
• The Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010
• The Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 and associated Regulations
• The Fraud Act 2006
• The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000
• The Local Government Act 1972
• The Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012
• The Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus)(Flexibility of Local Authority and Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020
• The Representation of the People Act (1983)
• The Representation of the People Regulations (2001)
• The Localism Act 2011
• The Elections Act 2022
• The Voter Identification Regulations 2022
• The Representation of the People (Annual Canvass) (Amendment) Regulations 2019
• Representation of the People (Franchise Amendment and Eligibility Review) Regulations 2023

How is your information used?

We may use your information to:

• Process your application to register to vote including Overseas, Service or Anonymous registrations.
• Process your application for an absent (postal or proxy) vote.
• If you are a European Union citizen living in the UK, to determine your eligibility to remain on the electoral register and vote in UK elections following changes brought in by the Elections Act 2022. This is called the Electoral Confirmation Review. Process changes to your registration which, for example, may include opt in in or out of the Open Register, or changing your name or address Compile and update the Register of Electors for the purposes of voting and other legitimate reasons.
• Notify you of changes to our service.
• Send communications inviting you or occupants of your household to register to vote where you may be eligible, this is done in accordance with our legal obligations.
• Fulfil our legal obligations to maintain a complete and accurate register of electors.
• Manage employment, training and payroll for temporary election and canvassing staff.
• Process your application for a Voter Authority Certificate or Anonymous Elector Document.
• Provide you with a Voter Authority Certificate or an Anonymous Elector Document.
• Conduct conflict of interest checks for election staff.

COVID-19/Coronavirus

Coronavirus has been added as a notifiable disease under the Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010. Under the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 and associated Regulations; the Council has a legal duty to store, process and share personal information. The information will be stored, processed and shared as part of investigations into COVID-19 cases and outbreaks and issues of non-compliance with the acts and associated regulations. The information will also be used; interrogated and mapped to inform the Councils actions and decision-making processes. Any such storage, processing or sharing of information will be done in the public interest in order to promote health and wellbeing.

During the investigation of cases and/or outbreaks of Coronavirus, information which is gathered may be shared between departments within Derby City Council; with other Councils associated with an outbreak; other health services or with other government bodies associated with the control of the Coronavirus. The Council has a duty to notify national Government bodies, such as the UK Health Security Agency and the relevant local authority where an individual resides (if different), where there are suspected Coronavirus cases. The Council will disclose the information under Article 9(2)(j) of the UK GDPR (processing is necessary for reasons of public interest in the area of public health, such as protecting against serious cross-border threats to health), and confidential information may be lawfully disclosed in the public interest, without consent, where the benefits to an individual or to society outweigh both the individual’s and the public interest in maintaining the confidentiality of such data.

The Council may contact staff, service users, residents, patients, businesses and premises with messages relating to Coronavirus by text, phone, letter or email. This contact is not direct marketing; therefore we do not need your Consent before contacting you. There is more information available on the Information Commissioners Office's website.

We may use contact details held in Council systems to ensure that we are able to contact you, and to ensure that we are working from accurate and up to date information. Such information will be accessed and processed where it is necessary to comply with our legal obligations and public tasks arising from the Coronavirus Act 2020, the Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010 and the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984, the Care Act 2014 and associated Regulations.

Research and statistics

Anonymised and pseudonymised data may be used for research and statistical purposes. Any data collected may be used for research and statistical purposes that are relevant and compatible with the purpose that the data was collected for.

Who has access to your information?

We may share your information with the following third parties for the reasons detailed;

• Government Digital service, Government departments and their sub-processors, for:
  • verification of applications to register to vote
  • verification of applications for absent votes
  • applications for Voter Authority Certificates or Anonymous Elector Documents
  • administration of the Electoral Confirmation Review for electors who are European Union citizens living in the UK
  • contacting you regarding your registration to vote, or as part of our annual electoral canvass.
• Contracted print companies to print Registration Forms, Poll Cards, Postal Packs, and Voter Authority Certificates
• Civica UK Ltd and Civica Election Services Ltd who provide software and services to us to support our election and canvas campaigns.
• Registered political parties, elected representatives, candidates and agents and other permitted participants who can use the information for Electoral purposes only.
• Details of whether you have voted (but not how you have voted) to those who are entitled to it by law after an election.
• Credit Reference Agencies, the British Library, UK Statistics authority, The Electoral Commission and other statutory recipients of the Electoral Register
• Statutory agencies, such as the Police or the National Fraud Authority for the purposes of crime prevention. We may share your information with statutory agencies in line with our legal obligations and/or in completion of our public tasks.
• Those requesting to view the electoral register by appointment for a particular property or location in the city as per our requirements to make the register available for public inspection.
• Where you have opted out of the Open Register, we will not sell or rent your information to third parties. We will not share information contained in the Closed Register with third parties for marketing purposes.

What are your rights?

• Access – you can request copies of any of your personal information that is held by the Council.
• Rectification – you can ask us to correct any incorrect information.
• Deletion – you can ask us to delete your personal information. The Council can refuse to delete information if we have a lawful reason to keep this.
• Portability – you can ask us to transfer your personal data to different services or to you.
• Right to object or restrict processing – you have the right to object to how your data is being used and how it is going to be used in the future.
• Right to prevent automatic decisions – you have the right to challenge a decision that affects you that has been made automatically without human intervention, for example an online form with an instant decision.

How long will we keep your information for?

We keep and dispose of all records in line with our record retention schedule. We will comply with Data Protection legislation.

What security precautions are in place to protect the loss, misuse or alteration of your information?

We are strongly committed to data security and will take reasonable and appropriate steps to protect your personal information from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or corruption. We have put in place physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard the information you provide to us. However, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us. We recommend that you take every precaution to protect your personal information.

Keeping your data up to date

We want to ensure any information we hold is accurate. You can help us by promptly informing us of any changes to the information we hold about you.

Under 13

If you are accessing online services and are under the age of 13‚ please ask for your parent or guardian's permission beforehand whenever you provide us with personal information

Cookies

Cookies are small text files which identify your computer to our servers. They are used to improve the user experience. View what cookies we use and how you can manage them.

IP addresses

Internet Protocol (IP) addresses are collected when our site is used:

• for statistical or analytical purposes
• to identify any malicious activity.

Complaints

If you would like to make a complaint regarding the use of your personal data you can contact our Data Protection Officer:

• By post: Information Governance, Council House, Corporation Street, Derby, DE1 2FS
• By phone: 01332 640763
• By email: data.protection@derby.gov.uk

For independent advice about data protection, privacy and data sharing issues, you can contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):

• By post: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
• By phone: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745 if you prefer to use a national rate number

Alternatively, visit ico.org.uk or email casework@ico.org.uk.