Housing Needs Privacy Notice

Under the General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) Bassetlaw District Council, Queen’s Building, Potter Street, Worksop, Notts, S80 2AH is a Data Controller for the information it holds about you. This notice provides details of how the Council's Housing Needs department collects and uses information about you. The Council has a lawful basis for collecting information about you for this purpose under Compliance with a Legal Obligation and Public Task.

Information we collect about you

We will collect personal and sensitive information so that your homeless application can be properly considered and assessed.  Information collected may include:

  • Name (including aliases used)
  • Address (including present and previous addresses)
  • Gender
  • Date of Birth
  • Proof of identity (documentation such as Passport)
  • Nationality
  • National Insurance number
  • Relationship status
  • Household make-up
  • Telephone number
  • Email address
  • Employment status
  • Proof of earnings and other income
  • Bank statements showing income and expenditure
  • Benefit information
  • Race or ethnic origin
  • Religious beliefs
  • Medical details including current/previous health problems (confirmation of diagnosis, treatment and prognosis)
  • Drug, alcohol and other substance addictions
  • Sexual orientation
  • Criminal convictions
  • Support needs
  • Rehousing preferences

How we collect information about you

We collect information by the following means:

  • Online i.e. our website and social media platforms
  • Via email
  • Over the telephone
  • By paper correspondence
  • In person (face-to-face)
  • Through 3rd parties i.e. Police or Social Care

Use of your personal data

We are collecting your personal data for the following purposes:

  • To assess and determine the level of assistance you may be entitled to receive
  • To prevent and relieve homelessness
  • To discharge our legal obligations
  • To develop relationships with social housing providers and enable the provision of new homes
  • To assess the suitability of accommodation (both temporary and permanent)
  • For the prevention and detection of crime or fraud

Sharing of your personal data

We MAY share your information with third parties for the reasons detailed above, some of these are listed below however this list is not exhaustive:

  • Other Council Departments i.e. Community Safety, Council Tax & Housing Benefits etc
  • Elected Members and MP (as your elected representatives)
  • Other Councils i.e. Nottinghamshire County Council
  • Government bodies i.e. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government or Department of Work & Pensions etc
  • Police
  • Support providers i.e. CGL, Framework etc
  • Health and Social Care organisations
  • Probation service
  • Landlords
  • Local Housing Associations
  • Emergency accommodation providers
  • Bassetlaw Food Bank
  • 2 Shires Credit Union

We MAY be required to disclose information about you in other specific situations such as:

  • When we are required to do so by law
  • When information is required to prevent or detect crime
  • When it is in the vital interests of the person concerned

We will not sell or rent your information to third parties or share your information with third parties for marketing purposes.

Keeping your personal data

We will keep your personal data in accordance with our retention schedule, unless you explicitly request it be removed under GDPR information rights. This right to have your data removed is not an absolute right, for example, we will need to retain your data if this information forms part of a legal requirement, public registry or an existing contract.

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

View the most recent copy of the Retention Schedule. The Retention Schedule is a Live Document and as such, is updated regularly. Read our policy and guidelines that govern how we manage our Retention Schedule.

Protecting your personal data

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 personal information that we hold.

We do not currently transfer your data to any third country or international organisation.

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.

Your rights

There are a number of rights you may exercise depending on the legal basis for processing your personal data. In most cases, these rights are not absolute and there may be compelling or overriding legal reasons why we cannot meet these rights in full. This will be explained to you in more detail should you contact us for any of the reasons detailed below:

  • To request a copy of the personal information the council holds about you
  • To have any inaccuracies corrected
  • To have your personal data erased
  • To place a restriction on the council’s processing of your data
  • To object to processing and
  • To request your data to be ported (data portability)
  • To object to any automated decision-making including profiling and the right to ask for any automated decision-making to be reviewed by a human

Where the processing of your personal data is based on your consent, in most circumstances, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time and we will act on your instructions.

For more information about how the Council may use your data and to learn more about your rights please see the Council’s Privacy Statement.

If you have any concerns or questions about how your personal data is processed, please contact the Council’s Data Protection Officer at the above address or by email to DataProtectionOfficer@bassetlaw.gov.uk.

If you are dissatisfied, you can then make a complaint to the Chief Executive under stage 1 of the Council’s complaints procedure.  Should you wish to pursue this further, please send your reasons in writing to the Council’s Chief Executive Officer here at Queen’s Buildings. If you remain dissatisfied with the Council’s response, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office in writing to: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF or by telephone 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745.


Last Updated on Wednesday, September 6, 2023