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Data protection

Personal information held by Plymouth City is processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018. The Data Protection Act 2018 includes the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) 2018.

Your right of access

The Act gives you the right to know whether we hold personal information about you and if we do access to this information

The Act also gives you the right to:

  • Know the types of information we hold about you
  • Know what your information is being used for and why
  • Know where the information came from and with whom we might share it
  • Know how long we will keep your personal information
  • Have information about you erased if it meets certain conditions
  • Make corrections to inaccurate information and lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner

Other rights

You also have the right to:

  • Restrict processing.  You have the right to suppress processing. We can retain just enough information about you to ensure that the restriction is respected in future.
  • Data portability.  We can provide you with your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine readable form when asked.
  • The right to object. You can object to your personal data being used for profiling, direct marketing or research purposes.
  • You have rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling, to reduce the risk that a potentially damaging decision is taken without human intervention.

Data Protection – Data Subject Rights

To make a request to exercise any of your information rights please complete the Data Subject Rights Request Form. With this form you will also need to provide two original identification documents from the list below. These documents will be returned to you either in person or by Royal Mail recorded delivery.

  • Birth certificate
  • Divorce, annulment or separation document
  • Marriage certificate
  • Utility bill
  • Passport
  • Bank statement
  • Medical card
  • Letter from doctor, solicitor or probation officer
  • UK residents permit
  • Benefits or Tax Credit letter
  • Pay slips

If you have difficulty supplying these documents please call 01752 306120 or email DataProtectionOfficer@plymouth.gov.uk.

Your completed request should be sent to the Information Governance Team (IGT) at the following address:

Information Governance Team – Information Access
Plymouth City Council
Ballard House
West Hoe Road
Plymouth PL1 3BJ

Tel: 01752 306120
Email: DataProtectionOfficer@plymouth.gov.uk

To see how we will use the information you supply with your request please see our Privacy Notice – Data Subject Rights Request document.

Responding to your request

Your right of access

If your request is to access personal information we will:

  • Provide you with a copy of the requested information within one month (30 days)
  • Provide you with the requested information either in paper or electronic format. Please let us know when you make your request your preferred format
  • We will provide a copy of the information free of charge. We will also provide the following information:
    • Where the information came from
    • What is being used for and who we might share it with
    • How long we will keep your information
    • What to do if you think the information is inaccurate or you think it should be erased.

Please be aware:

  • If your request is particularly complex or numerous we have the right to extend the period of compliance by a further two months (60 days). In this case we will contact you within the first month to explain why the extension is necessary. We may also ask if you can be more specific in the information you hope to obtain.
  • We reserve the right to charge a fee where the request is manifestly unfounded, excessive or where we have already provided a copy. This fee will be based on the administrative cost of providing you with the information.
  • In exceptional circumstances where a request is manifestly unfounded, excessive and in particular repetitive we can refuse to respond. If we decide to refuse your request we must explain why and inform you of your right to complain to the Information Commissioner and to a judicial remedy without undue delay and at the latest within one month.

Your other individual information rights

  • Your request will be passed to the Plymouth City Council Data Protection Officer who will respond, in writing, within one month (30 days) detailing what action we will take.

Further information

If you would like further information about your information rights under the Data Protection Act 2018 please contact our Data Protection Officer, email DataProtectionOfficer@plymouth.gov.uk.

Independent advice

You can also contact the Information Commissioner’s Office to seek an independent opinion.  You can call them on 03031231113, write to them at the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK 9 5AF or visit the Information Commissioner website.

Privacy Statement

For information about how Plymouth City Council will use the information you supply when making a Data Protection – Information Rights request and the rights you have in respect to this data please see our Privacy Notice – Data Subject Rights Request document.