Privacy Notice - Environmental Health

Please read the following Privacy Notice carefully.

The purpose of this Privacy Notice is to explain how and for what purposes we process your personal data. It applies to personal data that is processed electronically and on paper. 

Why we are collecting your data

Basildon Borough Council is a data controller. This means we need to collect your personal data so we can carry out our statutory duties, including responding to customer complaints and enquiries, carrying out investigations, issuing licenses and permits, and carrying out inspections. We will only collect the personal data from you that we need in order to do this.

Information collected

• Name
• Address
• Date of birth
• Phone Number - you do not have to provide this, but it may make it easier to resolve any issues
• Email address
• National Insurance Number
• Information received from third parties, e.g. landlords.
• Signature
• Images

The basis for the processing

We do this as a task in order to help us to carry out our statutory functions, and in particular so that we can get in touch, provide the service, or issue a licence/permit.

The processing is necessary to perform a task in the public interest or for our official functions, and the task or function has a clear basis in law.

If you choose not to supply the information, we may not be able to register your complaint or fulfil our statutory duties.  

We may contact you to ask about your experience of the service we provide, but you do not have to respond to this.

Who your information will be shared with

We do not share your information with anyone else, unless we are required to do so by law, or it is necessary to enable us to provide our services to you.

We have a public interest reason, which is supported by legislation and this may mean that we will share relevant information with the following internal services:

• Housing
• Revenues and Benefits
• Safeguarding
• Streetcare
• Internal investigations and Legal advisors.

We may also share your information where it is relevant to your enquiries, service request or licence with other bodies such as:

• Drinking Water Inspectorate
• Environment Agency
• DEFRA
• Home Office
• Essex County Council
• Relevant Housing Association
• Essex Fire and Rescue
• Police
• Housing Associations
• Public Health England
• National Fraud Initiative (for the purpose of preventing and detecting fraud)
• HMRC
• Health and Safety Executive
• Mortgage providers.

We will never sell your data, however it will be shared with third parties to:

• help business partners, suppliers and sub-contractors to deliver any contract we enter with them or you
• help us if we are need additional professional or legal advice on a matter relating to you
• help prevent fraud.

Provide accurate information

We need to hold accurate and up to date information about you so that we can deliver appropriate services. If any of your details change, you need to tell us as soon as possible so that we can update your records.

We will not:

• Use your information for marketing or sales purposes without your prior explicit consent.
• Send or store your data abroad unless it meets the requirements of the Data Protection regulations
• Make decisions about you based on automated processing.

How long will we hold your data for?

The information we collect is stored electronically.

We will hold a closed complaint for seven years after closure, or in relation to a licence or permit, seven years after the licence has lapsed.

Information collected as part of a contaminated land investigation is held permanently.

Your rights

You have the right to access the personal information we hold about you.  Any access requests are free of charge.
If the information we hold about you is inaccurate, you have a right to have this corrected and you have the right to request completion of incomplete data.
You have the right to ask us to erase your personal data in certain circumstances ('right to be forgotten').

You have the right to ask us to stop or restrict the processing of your personal data, in certain circumstances.  Where possible, we will seek to comply with your request, but we may need to hold or process information to comply with a legal requirement.

You can make any of these requests by:

• Email: Data Protection Officer (opens new window)
• Phone: 01268 533333
• Letter to:

If you are dissatisfied with how we have used your personal information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office, by:

• Email: casework@ico.org.uk (opens new window)
• Phone: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745
• Letter to:

Further independent advice about data protection, privacy and data sharing issues is available from the Information Commissioner's Office, see:

• Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) (opens new window).