Privacy policy

 This privacy notice tells you what to expect when Walton Community Council collects personal information. It sets out the type of information we collect (or information we are supplied with). It tells you how the information is held, who we share it with and how it is used. All personal data collected, or supplied, will be treated in accordance with current data protection laws in the UK.

When you contact us, we create a record of your name. To that record we add information that you provide to us. We keep records when you contact us. We collect and use information about Councillors and employees. We are supplied with a copy of the register of electors from Milton Keynes Council. We do not sell personal information to other organisations.

If you do want to receive information about services from Walton Community Council, we may ask you to make this choice when you contact us. All forms that you complete, relating to you receiving further information from us, will seek your explicit consent.

Visitors to our website

We use a third party to host our website and collect information about users’ activity on the site, for example the number of users viewing pages on the site, to monitor and report on the effectiveness of the site and help us improve it. The site uses cookies from Google Analytics, Recaptcha and Maps, and collects data via the contact form.

People who contact us via social media

If you send us a private or direct message via social media the message will not be shared with any other organisations.

Calling our offices

When you call our office, your number will display on the handset. This information is retained in a call log on the handset but will not be shared with any other third party/organisation. If the call is not answered in the office it will redirect to a staff mobile. Your number will display on the mobile and will be stored in an app on the mobile phone, but this will not be shared with any other third party/organisation.

Calling Mobile Phones

When you call mobile phones, this will display caller information. The information is retained in the call log in the phone but we will not share this information with any other third party/organisation.

People who email us

Any email sent to us, including any attachments, may be monitored and used by us for reasons of security and for monitoring compliance with office policy and in accordance with our retentions policy.

People who make a complaint to us

When we receive a complaint from a person we make up an electronic file containing the details of the complaint. This normally contains the identity of the complainant and any other individuals involved in the complaint. Only relevant personnel will have access to the file.

We will only use the personal information we collect to process the complaint and to check on the level of service we provide. Any compilation or publishing of statistics showing information such as the number of complaints we receive, it will be undertaken in a form which does not identify anyone.

Sometimes we will have to disclose the complainant’s identity to whoever the complaint is about. This is inevitable where, for example, the accuracy of a person’s record is in dispute. If a complainant does not want information identifying him or her to be disclosed, we will try to respect that. However, it may not be possible to handle a complaint on an anonymous basis. However, that will be explained to the complainant and for them to make a decision about how the complaint may be progressed.

We will keep personal information contained in line with our retentions policy. This means that information relating to a complaint will be retained in a secure environment and access to it will be restricted and only available on a ‘need to know’ basis.

Similarly, where enquiries are submitted to us, we will only use the information supplied to us to deal with the enquiry and any subsequent issues and to check on the level of service we provide.

People who use Walton Community Council’s services

We need to hold the details of the people who have requested a service in order to provide it. However, we only use these details to provide the service the person has requested and for other closely related purposes. For example, we might use information about people who have an allotment plot to see if they would be interested in being an allotment representative or assisting with events on the allotment site. We would also hold details of individuals for only as long as it is required. For example, when we take bookings for coach trips and youth activities we would retain the information until the activity has concluded, unless participants give consent for us to retain their details so that we may inform them of future activities.

Individuals and Organisations applying for a grant

When individuals/organisations apply for a grant under the Council’s Grants Scheme, they submit their information in an Application Form; provide details of their proposal and an outline of the potential cost of the whole of the project, which may be a different amount than the amount requested. Those who are awarded grants are now asked to provide progress reports and a final account of how the money was used. Any personal information that is provided in the application is used for the purpose of reviewing the grant application and the ongoing administration and management of any grants that are awarded. We also publish information about grants we have provided on our own website and in our newsletter, including the amount awarded and the recipient. The information published will not include any personal data.

Volunteers (Parish Guardians)

When an individual applies to join our Parish Guardians (volunteer) scheme we will use their details for that purpose only. Parish Guardians are requested to sign our Volunteer Policy, which includes details of how their information is to be stored and used. When they leave the scheme, individual’s data is deleted in line with our retentions policy.

Job applicants, current and former employees

When individuals apply to work at the Council, we use the information they supply to us to process their application and to monitor recruitment statistics. Where we need to disclose information to a third party, for example where we want to take up a reference or obtain a ‘disclosure’ from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) we will not do so without informing applicants beforehand unless the disclosure is required by law.

Personal information about unsuccessful candidates will be held for 12 months after the recruitment exercise has been completed, it will then be destroyed or deleted, in line with our retentions policy.

Once a person has taken up employment with the Council, we will compile an electronic file relating to their employment. The information contained in this will be kept secure and will only be used for purposes directly relevant to that person’s employment. Once their employment with the Council has ended, we will retain the file in accordance with the requirements of our retention policy.

Marketing and Promotions

The Council may carry out market research or send you a resident’s survey to help plan and improve our services. We may contact you ourselves or ask an external agency to do so on our behalf.

Equalities

We may produce aggregated statistical information, including data for monitoring equality of opportunity.

Complaints or queries

Walton Community Council tries to meet the highest standards when collecting and using personal information. For this reason, we take any complaints we receive about this very seriously. We will encourage people to bring it to our attention if they think that our collection or use of information is unfair, misleading or inappropriate. We would also welcome any suggestions for improving our procedures.

This privacy notice does not provide exhaustive detail of all aspects of the Council’s collection and use of personal information. However, we are happy to provide any additional information or explanation needed. Any requests for this should be sent to the address below.

Access to personal information

The Council tries to be as open as it can be in terms of giving people access to their personal information. Individuals can find out if we hold any personal information by making a ‘subject access request’ under the Data Protection Act 1998 and or General Data Protection Regulation 2018. If we do hold information about you we will:

• give you a description of the information we are holding,
• tell you why we are holding it, and tell you who it could be disclosed to, and
• let you have a copy of the information in an intelligible form.

To make a request to the Council for any personal information you need to put the request in writing, addressing it to the Council Manager, to the address provided below.

If we do hold information about you, you can ask us to correct any mistakes, or request your information is deleted by, contacting the Council Manager.

Disclosure of personal information

In many circumstances we will not disclose personal data without consent.

You can obtain further information on:

• any agreement we may have with other organisations for sharing information,
• circumstances where we can pass on personal data without consent for example, to prevent and detect crime and to produce anonymised statistics,
• our instructions to staff on how to collect, use and delete personal data, and
• how we check that the information we hold is accurate and up to date.

How long do we keep your data

How long we keep data is set out in our Retentions Policy.

We will publish on our website any changes we make to our data protection/information management policies and notify you by other communications channels as appropriate.

Data-Sharing

On occasion, the Council may wish to share your data with other organisations, such as Milton Keynes City Council, local community groups, the local neighbourhood policing team and on occasion, our contractors. Your data will not be shared with any organisation or any third party unless your consent has been gained to do so.

Removal of your data

Where you exercise your right to removal of your personal data, we will continue to maintain a minimal amount of personal data to ensure we do not contact you inadvertently in the future. The ‘right to be forgotten’ is a qualified right and the public interest test will always be applied when a request for deletion of personal data is made.

Access to your data

You are entitled to know what personal information we hold about you and how the information is processed. You are entitled to you ask for your personal data to be corrected when you believe it is inaccurate. You are also entitled to withdraw your consent to the processing of your personal data. However, if the processing is necessary to provide you with the service or information you have requested then withdrawal may mean you will not receive that service of information in the future. We will make it clear if this is the case and discuss your concerns directly with you before we stop processing your data.

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How to contact us

The data controller for your personal data is Walton Community Council.

If you want to request more information about how we use your data, or if you wish to make a complaint, you can contact our Council Manager:

Council Manager
Walton Community Council
MK Snap Building, 20 Bourton Low
Walnut Tree
Milton Keynes
MK7 7DE

Email: [email protected]
Tel: 01908 694758

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint, you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner. There is no charge for making an appeal. Contact details are:

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Email: [email protected]
Tel: 01625 545745 or 0303 123 1113 (local rate)