Data protection and privacy

The General Data Protection Regulations and the Data Protection Act ensures the protection of personal data and sets out the key principles which all organisations using personal data should adhere to.

As a local authority, we are required to appoint a Data Protection Officer, who is responsible for providing advice and guidance on data protection, and to address any concerns or queries members of the public may have on how we are using or storing personal data.

If you would like to contact the Data Protection Officer, please email dataprotection@tunbridgewells.gov.uk, telephone 01892 554077, or write to:

Subject access request

You have the right to request access to any personal information that we hold about you and to have any inaccuracies corrected.

To make a request for information that Tunbridge Wells Borough Council holds about you please complete the Subject Access Request Form attaching the appropriate identification and any other documentation relevant to your request.

We will respond to your request within one calendar month. To notify us of any inaccuracies please make these in writing to the Data Protection Officer.

Organisations requesting personal data

If you are an organisation requesting personal data we hold about an individual please read the following information before submitting your request.

To request personal data about a data subject you must:

• be a data controller
• have a legal basis for processing the personal data you are requesting

Before completing the form please ensure that you can provide details of:

• your legal basis for processing the personal data, as set out in Article 6 of the General Data Protection Regulation.
• whether an exemption applies to your request, as set out in Schedule 2 of the Data Protection Act (2018).

If you are unsure, please check with your organisation’s Data Protection Officer before starting your request.

Complete the Organisations Requesting Personal Data Form to submit your request.

We will respond to your request within one calendar month.

Retention Schedule and Record of Processing Activities

We need to demonstrate that we are holding your personal information securely, using it for lawful purposes, and only keeping it for as long as necessary. We do this by maintaining a Retention Schedule and Record of Processing Activities.

These documents can be made available on request (redactions of personal or sensitive data may be applied). If you would like a copy, please contact the Data Protection Officer.

Privacy and cookie policy

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council automatically obtains information relating to the time of your visit to the website and the pages you view. This information is used to make the website more useful to visitors. For more information please see our privacy and cookies page.

Data Matching and the National Fraud Initiative

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council is required by law to protect the public funds we administer. We may share information provided to us with other bodies responsible for; auditing, or administering public funds, or where undertaking a public function, in order to prevent and detect fraud.

Data matching involves comparing computer records held by one body against other computer records held by the same or another body to see how far they match. This is usually personal information. Computerised data matching allows potentially fraudulent claims and payments to be identified. Where a match is found it may indicate that there is an inconsistency which requires further investigation. No assumption can be made as to whether there is fraud, error or other explanation until an investigation is carried out. Tunbridge Wells Borough Council uses data matching in a range of ways to help prevent and eliminate fraud.

We participate in the Cabinet Office’s National Fraud Initiative: a data matching exercise to assist in the prevention and detection of fraud. We are required to provide particular sets of data to the Minister for the Cabinet Office for matching for each exercise. You can view details of the data sets by following the link.

The use of data by the Cabinet Office in a data matching exercise is carried out with statutory authority under Part 6 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. It does not require the consent of the individuals concerned under the Data Protection Act 2018.

Data matching by the Cabinet Office is subject to a Code of Practice.

View further information on the Cabinet Office’s legal powers and the reasons why it matches particular information.

For further information on data matching at Tunbridge Wells contact our Data Protection Officer.