Democratic Services

1. The purpose for which we use your personal data

The information we collect is used to administer the Council’s democratic process and support Elected Members in carrying out their role.

Part of this support role includes a Councillor enquiry system, to help Elected Members make representations on behalf of residents living in their wards.

We also use personal data about members of the public to enable you to participate in Council meetings.

The legal basis for the processing of your information is that it is necessary to comply with a legal obligation under the Local Government Act 1972 and Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011.

We collect and use special category (sensitive) personal data for reasons of substantial public interest, on the basis of the legislation referred to above.

2. What type of information do we use?

We collect the following types of personal data about this service:

Elected members and co-opted representatives:

• Name
• Address
• Date of birth
• Gender
• Unique reference number
• Telephone number
• Email address
• Bank/payment details
• Declarations of interest
• Employment and education details
• Photographs
• Images and audio recorded at public meetings
• Vehicle registration number
• Information about your health
• Political opinions

Members of the public who attend and speak at Council meetings:

• Name
• Address
• Email address
• Telephone number
• Vehicle registration number to arrange parking
• Images and audio recorded at public meetings

3. Do we use information received from other sources?

Yes.  When an Elected Member contacts the Democratic Services unit to make enquiries on your behalf as a resident within their ward, which will involve personal data about you being provided. This includes as a minimum:

• Your name
• Your address and other contact details

Other personal data is also provided when we receive these enquiries.  The type and amount of personal data depends on your circumstances and the nature of the issue being dealt with by the Elected Member, however, this can include information about your health, social and financial circumstances, housing needs and so forth.

4. Transferring your information abroad

Footage filmed at the Council’s public meetings is webcast via our website and is accessible worldwide via the internet.

We use Microsoft Office 365 to process our electronic documents under the terms of a strict agreement, which safeguards your information. This personal data is hosted on servers outside the UK, but only in EU countries which are subject to the General Data Protection Regulation.

We don’t transfer any other information about you outside of the UK.

5. Who has access to your information?

We share personal data about Elected Members and co-opted representatives with:

• Relevant Council officers
• The public via our website
• The Council’s Payroll team to pay salaries and process claims

If you are a member of the public attending and speaking at a public meeting of the Council or its committees, images and audio recorded at the meeting are broadcast on our website. The provider of our webcasting facility (Public-i) also has access to this footage.

We do not share any other information about you.

Personal data about residents making contacting the Council via their Elected Members is shared with the Council service the enquiry is about.

There are also other specific situations where we may be required to disclose information about you, such as:

• Where the Council is required to provide the information by law
• Where disclosing the information is required to prevent or detect a crime
• Where disclosure is in the vital interests of the person concerned

6. How long we will keep your information

We keep information on Elected Members for 6 years after membership ceases.

If you are a member of the public who has attended and spoken at a Council meeting, we keep your name and contact details for 3 months.

Personal data relating to enquiries made through our Councillor enquiry system are kept for 6 years after the receipt of the enquiry.

7. Your Data Protection rights

You have the right to:

• Obtain access to the personal data that Carmarthenshire Council is processing about you
• Have any inaccurate or incomplete information rectified (corrected)
• Withdraw your consent to processing, where this is the only basis for the processing
• Make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the independent body in the UK which protects information rights

In some circumstances, you may have the right to:

• Object to the processing of your personal information
• The erasure of your personal data
• Restrict the processing of your personal information
• Data portability

8. Contact details

For more information regarding this privacy notice and your rights, please contact:

Data Protection Officer
Carmarthenshire County Council
County Hall
Carmarthen
SA31 1JP

Email: dataprotection@carmarthenshire.gov.uk

Contact details for the Information Commissioner’s Office along with further guidance on Data Protection legislation can be found on the ICO website .