Environmental health, protection and licensing privacy notice

1. Council contact details

1.1. West Northamptonshire Council

Registered Office:

One Angel Square
Angel Street
Northampton, NN1 1ED
Contact centre telephone: 0300 126 7000

The Data Controller is West Northamptonshire Council

ICO registration number: ZA896620

The Environmental Health, Protection and Licensing team can be contacted by email at [email protected].

1.2 This privacy notice sets out the information for the Council’s Environmental Health, Protection and Licensing Service which covers:

Accident Notifications on Council Property - The council has a duty to record and investigate all accidents on council property
Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) - The council has a duty to investigate accidents which fall for notification under RIDDOR in certain premises
The council has a responsibility under the Health and Safety at Work Act to protect the safety of its employees and as such a record is kept of customers who pose a potential threat to staff
Environmental enforcement – including investigation and prosecution of environmental offences such as fly tipping, littering, graffiti, fly posting, abandoned vehicles, public spaces protection orders, waste offences
Environmental Health Complaints - including anti-social behaviour, noise, travellers, bonfires, food premises, health and safety standards, taxis and licensed premises
Environmental Permitting - Under the Pollution Prevention Control Act 1999 and the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016 (as amended) certain premises in the council’s area require a permit to emit pollutants to air and for certain premises land and water
Infectious Disease Cases - The council has a responsibility to investigate cases of notifiable illnesses
Licensing Applicants - taxi driver/vehicle and operator licenses, premises licences, gambling permits, houses in multiple occupation, animal welfare licences, and other forms of licences and registrations
Pest Control Service Requests - customers requesting a pest control treatment will be requested to provide personal data to enable the service to be provided
Public Health Funerals - under the Public Health (Control of Diseases) Act 1984 where no suitable funeral arrangements have been made, or are being made, for a deceased person who has died in the area, the council has a duty to arrange the funeral
Security Alarm Register - the council holds key holder information obtained via consent from individuals with security systems, in case a noise nuisance is caused by the sounding of the alarm through malfunction
Stray Dogs - when the council’s nominated officer or representative collects a stray dog
Temporary campsites (Silverstone) - the council co-ordinates the Campsite safety advisory group for large scale events held at Silverstone Circuit throughout the year
Travellers - the council are responsible for liaising with and moving on travellers who are illegally encamped on council property
We also carry out project work to educate others about regulatory processes, protect the environment and improve health

2. Information that we hold

2.1. Information about the types of data we collect to deliver this service.
The personal and special category data we collect varies according to the purpose of the contact.

Applications for our services are not restricted to people living or working in Northamptonshire. Anyone is entitled to contact the Council about our service.

The information we hold may include:

General Information

your name (including forename and surname)
your address (including postcode)
your telephone number(s)
your email address
payment details (such as card numbers) which are held securely and encrypted in the Council’s Financial systems
Unique Identifier (i.e. NI number or similar)
imagery (photographs & video footage
land ownership details
occupier details
tenancy arrangements

Accident Notifications on Council Property

injured parties name, address and contact telephone numbers
details of witnesses or other persons involved
Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR)
name, address, age and contact details of injured person
injury sustained, circumstances and location of the accident
details of witnesses or other persons involved

Customer Behaviour Register

name, address and date of birth of the customer who displayed inappropriate behaviour
the type of inappropriate behaviour
details of witnesses or other persons involved
details of any ill health/injury sustained, circumstances and location of the incident

Environmental Enforcement

name, address and date of birth of the customer who committed environmental offences
contact details, including email and phone number
physical description of the alleged offender
details of environmental offences committed
vulnerabilities if relevant (may include mental health and other health information)
bodyworn camera footage of the interactions between alleged offender and officers, which will include audio recordings of conversations
other witness details

Environmental Health Complaints

complainants name, address and contact details, including email address and telephone numbers
alleged perpetrators / landlords name, address and contact details, including email address and telephone numbers
other witness details
details of issues experienced including log sheets completed by the complainant
noise / video recordings and photographs taken during the course of the investigation
ill health suffered as a result of the alleged incident or other relevant details in relation to the complaint
vehicle registration and keeper details
CCTV images including body worn camera footage

Environmental Permitting

name, address and contact details of the permit holders
name, address and contact details of site representatives
potentially sensitive commercial information

Infectious Disease Cases

name, address, date of birth and contact telephone numbers
medical conditions
employment detail
travel history
family contacts
sample results

Licensing

name, address, date of birth and contact details including telephone numbers and email addresses
applicants nationality and entitlement to work in the UK
applicants criminal record
applicants medical history
personal documents will be checked and copied, including bank records. driving licences, vehicle log book, insurance details and passports, amongst others
details of licensed vehicles and their ownership

Pest Control Service Requests

name, address and contact telephone numbers/email
for customers paying for the treatment, payment card details will be obtained
for customers obtaining a free treatment, checks will be made on the council’s benefits system to verify that the applicant is in receipt of a relevant benefit payment, to check entitlement to receive the free treatment

Public Health Funerals

name, address and contact details of relatives of the deceased and/or the key holder
name, address and contact details of the person reporting the death

Security Alarm Register

name, address and contact telephone numbers/emails of the nominated key holders

Stray Dogs

name, address and contact telephone number/email of the dog owner
name, address and contact telephone number/email of the finder
the dog will be checked for the presence of a micro-chip and if one is present, a check will be made on the government approved micro-chip databases to identify the owner
the council is required to keep a stray dog register. This register includes details of the dog owner and finder as per above and the microchip information if available

Temporary campsites (Silverstone)

name
address (business and site location)
telephone
email address

Travellers

name, location and contact telephone number/email of the traveller
name, address and contact telephone number/email of the complainant

Project Work

Domestic Burning Project

forename, family name, gender, age range, health or social care status
address, postcode, contact details including email and phone number, household income data in banded brackets
details of home such as build date, condition, type
any other data on agreement with the client

Other than outlined above, where applicable we will also collect and process Special Category Data relating to:

health data
Social Care data
racial or ethnic origin
political opinion
religious belief
Trade Union membership
health, disability & behavioural data
Social Care data
sexual life
sexual orientation
commission or alleged commission of an offence
proceedings for any offence committed or alleged
any other criminal data

3. How and why your information is collected and used

3.1. How we collect this personal information

Most of the personal information we process is provided to us directly by you in the following ways:

face to face
reports
application form
web forms
telephone
email or in writing

3.2. Why we collect your information

There are a number of reasons why we need to collect and use your personal information.

Much of what we do in our service area is governed by legislation, set nationally, which requires us to provide various services across West Northamptonshire.

We process personal data to deliver public tasks outlined in a number of pieces of legislation. We also provide statutory services in our role as regulators, and educating others about regulatory processes to protect the environment and improve health.

For a full list of legislation please contact us at [email protected].

The information we collect, and store is also used to provide an auditable record of service delivery and enables us to contact people initiating reports/issues to request further information or provide updates.

Whenever we collect information, we always limit this to only the details that are needed. We ensure that data is used and stored safely and securely. We require anyone we share information with, or who uses it on our behalf, to do so too.

All our staff have received training on data protection and information security.

3.3 Lawful processing

We rely on the following lawful reasons to process your person data in the Property Response Service.

UK GDPR Article 6

a. Explicit consent has been provided by the data subject;

4. What we do with the information

4.1 How we use your personal information.

Section 1.2 above outlines how we use your information.

The information will only be used for the purposes stated when it was collected. Information will not be sold, rented or provided to anyone else, or used for any other purpose than that for which it was originally collected unless required to by law.

4.2. Who we share your information with.

In order to:

deliver a range of services
undertake our statutory and non-statutory duties as a regulatory authority
deliver associated projects or programmes

It is often necessary for us to share information across the council, with our contractors or agents, with Elected Councillors and Parish Councils and with other partner agencies and government departments such as:

senior managers within our organisation
front line staff within our organisation
Police, Fire and Rescue and Ambulance service
Other Authorities
- Department for Environment
- Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
- Environment Agency
- Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)
- National Highways
- Health and Safety Executive
- Food Standards Agency
- Public Health England
- the Coroner
- Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA)
- Housing Associations, care home or other housing body
- Private Hire Operators, drivers or businesses being complained about in certain circumstances but only with prior consent of the complainant
- other local or licensing authorities in the event of a wider infectious disease outbreak or wider investigation to assist in the investigation of potential criminal activities or protect health
- other teams within our organisation such as social services, revenues and benefits, school transport team
- General Practitioners (GP’s) or medical professionals and their respective professional bodies
- the National Register for Refused and Revoked taxi/PHV licenses, and other local licensing authorities to assist in the investigation of potential criminal activities
- our nominated funeral directors
- Finders International (where assistance is required to identify the next of kin)
- our nominated Boarding Kennel and veterinary establishment and representatives

When we publish information in public, we will follow procedures that we have in place to remove personal data associated with the record wherever possible.

We will share personal information with law enforcement agencies or other authorities only if required by applicable law and in accordance with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

4.3 Automated Decision making

We do not use automated decision making for this processing. Automated decision-making is where decisions are made about you without any human influence on the outcome.

These may affect your legal rights or have an impact on your circumstances, behavior or choices.

4.4 Data Profiling

There is no profiling undertaken in relation to this processing. Profiling is where you analyse parts of an individual’s personality, behavior, interests and habits to identify their preferences, make predictions or decisions about them.

5. How long we keep your information for and how we securely dispose of it after use

5.1. Information about how your personal data is kept.

We only keep information for as long as it is needed in line with the council’s retention schedule. This will differ according to the type of information we hold and its purpose.

It will be based on either a legal requirement (where a law says we have to keep information for a specific period of time), a regulatory requirement or accepted business practice.

5.2 We will securely dispose of your information in line with the Council's Retention Schedules.

6. How we store your information

6.1. Physical (paper) records and electronic information

Some regulations state that we must have a register of information that has been provided to us. These registers will only contain details that are required to be public.

Details of what public registers the team publish and the information they contain is detailed below:

Contaminated Land

register of remediation notices served and other matters relating to contaminated land
hard copy available to view by appointment

Environmental Permitting - records

list of installations permitted under the Environmental Permitting Regulations
permits; applications; enforcement notices; monitoring information
hard copy available to view by appointment

Food Businesses

list of food premises registered within the district
register includes address, type of premises and name of food business operators
hard copy available to view by appointment

Gambling

register of licences issued under the Gambling Act 2005
includes: small society lotteries, adult gaming centre licensed premises, gambling alcohol licensed premises, gambling betting licences, bingo, club machine permits, and notifications of intent Register is available on this website

Licensed Premises

register of licences issued under the Licensing Act 2003
premises licences; club premises licences; personal licences; temporary event notice notifications
register is available on the website

Licensed Drivers / Vehicles / Operators

register of people licensed to drive a private hire vehicle or hackney carriage vehicle
register of people/businesses holding a private hire and/or hackney carriage vehicle licence
register of people/businesses holding private hire operator licences
register of people/businesses holding a private hire and/or hackney carriage vehicle licence for wheelchair accessible vehicles
registers are available on the website

Scrap Metal Dealers

Stray Dogs

time and date dog received, any ownership information
hard copy available to view by appointment

The following legislation includes provision for the public to have access to information we hold:

Data Protection Act (DPA)/General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)
Environmental Information Regulations (EIR)
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

Digital data is securely stored on the council’s computer network or on cloud severs in the UK, EEA and in countries with adequacy or that have a regulator approved Privacy Framework (such as the USA).

7. Your data protection rights

7.1. The law gives you a number of rights to control what personal information is used by us and how we can use it. Please see section 15 of the council’s Privacy Policy for further information.

7.2. Please be aware that your rights may differ depending on the lawful basis for processing your personal data.

8. Who to contact

8.1. If you would like further information about how we use your personal information, or you wish to exercise one of your data rights or you wish to complain about the use of your personal information please contact the Data Protection Officer.

8.2. If you are still dissatisfied with how we have used your data once you have made a complaint through the council’s internal complaints procedure you have the right to complain to the ICO.

The ICO’s address:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Helpline number: 0303 123 1113

9 Changes to this Service Privacy Notice

9.1 Privacy notices are live documents and will be updated or revised periodically in line with service changes and / or new legislation requirements.

This privacy notice was last updated 28/11/2024

The update reference number is: PNS/24/034/E

Last updated 11 December 2024