Community Directory Privacy Policy

Kent Connect to Support Privacy Notice

We keep this privacy notice under regular review and was last updated on 4 April 2023.

Kent County Council respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data.  This privacy notice will inform you as to how we look after your personal data and tell you about your privacy rights and how the law protects you.

Who we are

Kent County Council collects, uses and is responsible for certain personal information about you. When we do so we are regulated under the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (‘UK GDPR’) and the Data Protection Act 2018.  We are responsible as ‘controller’ of that personal information. Our Data Protection Officer is Benjamin Watts.

Adult Social Care and Health has a services Community Directory which allows residents to find community-based services within their local areas and provides KCC with key contact information to ensure clear communication channels with services.  This includes services not provided by KCC. The Community Directory database is maintained by Public Consulting Group on KCC’s behalf.  

The personal information we collect and use

Information collected by us

In the course of producing a community directory we collect the following personal information when you provide it to us:

• Personal information e.g., name, company, contact details, e.g., email address, telephone number of services,
• Technical information e.g., internet protocol (IP) address, login data, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in and versions, operating system and platform and other technology on the devices you use to access this website for users of the Community Directory,
• Business information e.g., employment, licenses and permits held for services,
• Visual images e.g., company logos for services

We will also collect anonmyised information on how the Community Directory is used e.g., number of clicks on pages, top searches etc. Other anonmyised information collected will include services by type e.g., number of services providing care and support for dementia.

 

How we use your personal information

We use your personal information to:

• Ensure registration to enable your service to appear on the community directory,
• Promote the services available to residents within local areas,
• Ensure information is readily available and accessible,
• Understand how the Community Directory is being used and provide statistics on use,
• To administer and protect our business and our website (including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, system maintenance, support, reporting and hosting of data)

 

Reasons we can collect and use your personal information

When we collect your personal data, we rely on the following legal bases:

• Article 6(1)(a) - the individual has given clear consent for you to process their personal data for a specific purpose

 

The provision of the information we collect from you is reliant on consent and is required from you to enable us to use the information you have provided in the ways set out within this privacy notice. You may withdraw your consent at any time. If you do withdraw your consent no further personal information will be collected and the existing personal information shall only be retained in accordance with KCC’s retention schedule.

 

How long your personal data will be kept

We will only hold your personal information for as long as necessary. We rely on To work out how long we need to keep your information for we use our retention schedule (see retention period ED1.3.1) which provides a breakdown of the retention period relied on for the Community Directory. Services are able to make amendments to their service information directly or removal information that is no longer relevant.

 

Who we share your personal information with

In the course of working with you, we may collect information from, or share it, with some of the following third parties (non exhaustive list):

• Public Consulting Group UK Limited (PCG UK)

We have a contract and data processing agreement in place with PCG UK recipient as listed above.

We will share personal information with law enforcement or other authorities if required by applicable law or in connection with legal proceedings. 

We will share personal information with our legal and professional advisers in the event of a dispute, complaint or claim.  We rely on Article 9(2)(f) where the processing of special category data is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims or whenever courts are acting in their judicial capacity.

Your rights

Under the UK GDPR you have a number of rights which you can access free of charge which allow you to:

• know what we are doing with your information and why we are doing it
• ask to see what information we hold about you
• ask us to correct any mistakes in the information we hold about you
• object to direct marketing
• make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

 

Depending on our reason for using your information you may also be entitled to:

• object to how we are using your information
• ask us to delete information we hold about you
• have your information transferred electronically to yourself or to another organisation
• object to decisions being made that significantly affect you
• stop us using your information in certain ways.

 

We will always seek to comply with your request however we may be required to hold or use your information to comply with legal duties. Please note: your request may delay or prevent us delivering a service to you.

For further information about your rights, including the circumstances in which they apply, see the guidance from the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on individuals’ rights under the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation.

If you would like to exercise a right, please contact the Information Resilience and Transparency Team at data.protection@kent.gov.uk.

Your Right to Withdraw your Consent

Where we rely on your consent to process your personal information, you can withdraw your consent to our use of your data at any time. 

You can do this by contacting Adult Social Care Stakeholder Engagement Team on stakeholderteam@kent.gov.uk. This email address can also be used by services who wish to contact KCC about their service information or raise any queries or concerns about the Community Directory.

Keeping your personal information secure

We have appropriate security measures in place to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost, or used or accessed in an unauthorised way. We limit access to your personal information to those who have a genuine business need to know it. Those processing your information will do so only in an authorised manner and are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We also have procedures in place to deal with any suspected data security breach. We will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected data security breach where we are legally required to do so.

Who to Contact

Please contact the Information Resilience and Transparency Team at data.protection@kent.gov.uk to exercise any of your rights, or if you have a complaint about why your information has been collected, how it has been used or how long we have kept it for.

You can contact our Data Protection Officer, Benjamin Watts, at dpo@kent.gov.uk.

The United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation also gives you the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner who may be contacted at https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/or telephone 0303 123 1113.

For further information visit https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/about-the-website/privacy-statement