Trading Standards privacy notice

1. Council contact details

1.1 West Northamptonshire Council

Registered Office:

One Angel Square
Angel Street
Northampton
NN1 1ED

2. Information that we hold

Trading Standards is responsible for creating and maintaining a safe and fair trading environment for products and services, where businesses can operate and grow and consumers can engage in their economic activity with confidence.

2.1. We currently collect and process the following categories of information for Trading Standards:

personal identifiers, contacts and characteristics (such as name, email address, contact details and postcode)
details of complainants, consumers, businesses, victims and witnesses
customer financial information
referral or assessment information
information relevant to complaint/enquiry, investigation
criminal offences data

We will process this information to carry out our statutory duties and ensure compliance with the law, for public safety interests and the prevention and detection of crime.

3. How the information is obtained

3.1. Most of the personal information we process is provided to us directly by you for one of the following purposes:

discharge our statutory duties in connection with the regulation of products and services
provide advice to businesses
investigate complaints
undertake inspections and testing
service delivery
service planning ad improvement
prevent, detect and prosecute crime
service delivery, service improvement and design

We may also receive information from consumers, individuals, witnesses, victims, businesses, internal and external partners and agencies and enforcement agencies.

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

Generally, we collect and use personal information where:

you have requested a service from us
you have entered into a contract with us
it is necessary to protect public health
it is required for the prosecution of legal cases
you, or your legal representative, have given us your consent
you have made your information publicly available
it is necessary for law enforcement reasons and to prevent, and detect fraud or crime
we need to protect individuals from harm (in an emergency)
it is necessary for archiving, research, or statistical purposes - for these purposes your data would be used in a pseudonymised format (name and other identifying information replaced with a unique number)

The personal data collected is essential for the council to fulfil its official functions and meet legal requirements under relevant legislation and regulations, including but not limited to:

Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1968
Agriculture Act 1970
Animal Health Act 1981
Animal Welfare Act 2006
Animals Act 1971
Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003
Cancer Act 1939
Children and Families Act 2014
Children and Young Persons (Protection from Tobacco) Act 1991
Children and Young Persons Act 1933
Clean Air Act 1993 – Motor Fuel (Composition and Content) Regs
Companies Act 2006
Consumer Credit Act 1974
Consumer Protection Act 1987
Consumer Rights Act 2015
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
Criminal Justice Act 1988
Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001
Customs & Excise Management Act 1979
Education Reform Act 1988
Enterprise Act 2002
Estate Agents Act 1979
European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018
Fireworks Act 2003
Food Act 1984
Food and Environmental Protection Act 1985
Food Safety Act 1990
Fraud Act 2006
Hallmarking Act 1973
Health Act 2006
Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 inc
Explosives Act 1875
Public Health Acts 1936 and 1961
Knives Act 1997
Legal Services Act 2007
Licensing Act 2003
Motor Cycle Noise Act 1987
Offensive Weapons Act 2019
Olympic Symbol etc. (Protection) Act 1995
Prices Act 1974
Protection of Animals Act 1911
Psychoactive Substances Act 2016
Registered Designs Act 1949
Road Traffic Acts 1988 and 1991
Theft Act 1968
Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002
Trade Descriptions Act 1968
Trade Marks Act 1994
Unsolicited Goods and Services Acts 1971 and 1975
Vehicles (Crime) Act 2001
Video Recordings Act 1984
Weights and Measures Act 1985

and regulations made under the Acts.

Processing is necessary:

for the prevention and detection of crime
for compliance with a legal obligation
for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller
in someone’s vital interest

Consent may be required for carrying some activities that help us carrying out our public duty, and we will make it clear to you when consent is being requested.

Where personal data is solely processed on the basis of consent, you will have the right to withdraw that consent.

The legal basis for processing special category data

We may need to collect special category data such as

racial or ethnic origin
political opinion
religious beliefs or other beliefs of a similar nature
membership of a trade union
biometrics (where used for ID purposes)
physical or mental health or condition

Where we do, we rely on one or more of the following legal bases to process it:

explicit consent of the data subject
to protect the vital interests of a data subject or another individual where the data subject is physically or legally incapable of giving consent
for the purposes of carrying out the obligations and exercising specific rights of the controller or of the data subject in the field of employment and social security and social protection law
for reasons of substantial public interest on the basis of law which is proportionate to the aim pursued and which contains appropriate safeguards
for reasons of public interest in the area of public health, such as protecting against serious cross-border threats to health or ensuring high standards and of medicinal products or medical devices

Conditions for criminal offence data, enforcement investigations and prosecutions

Where we are undertaking an investigation we are processing personal information under Part III of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) for law enforcement purposes. The six law enforcement purposes are broadly the same as those in GDPR. Transparency requirements are not as strict, due to the potential to prejudice an ongoing investigation in certain circumstances.

When processing special category data, we must be able to demonstrate that the processing is strictly necessary and satisfy one of the conditions in Schedule 8 of the DPA or is based on consent.

4. What we do with the information

4.1 We may share this information with:

internal departments
external enforcement agencies such as HMRC, National Crime Agency, DWP, Illegal Money Lending Team, Insolvency Service, Environment Agency, Licensing, Action Fraud, Environmental Health, Legal Department
Police, Fire and Rescue Services
Judicial Agencies eg Courts, legal representatives
defendants and their legal representatives
other County Council Services and other Local Authorities
other Government Agencies
RSPCA (in cases involving alleged crime relating to non-farmed animals)
persons seeking to enforce their civil rights via a judicial process
Enforcement Receivers appointed under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
businesses with whom we have a Primary Authority Partnership (to help them improve compliance with legal requirements), such information will always be anonymised
Local authority trading standards and national trading standards and regional investigations teams
Central Government departments, such as the Office for Product Safety and Standards
members of the public, where lawful under certain Data Protection Act or Freedom of Information Act/Environmental Information Regulations conditions

We will not share data with third parties for marketing purposes.

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

5.1. We keep your personal information for all aspects of processing in line with the council’s retention schedules.

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. Your information is securely stored on the council’s systems.

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.

7.3. The right to withdraw consent (if applicable). You can ask that we no longer use your details for this [processing/groups of processing]. If you wish to exercise this right, please contact the Data Protection Officer.

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 once you have contacted the Data Protection Officer, 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 privacy notice

9.1 Privacy notices are live documents, which will be updated or revised in line with legislation.

Last updated 06 July 2023