Environmental Health, Licensing and Trading Standards Privacy Notice

Who will own my data once I submit it?

We will own your data once it has been submitted.

Why do you need my information?

We have a responsibility to carry out a range of statutory duties and public duties to keep the borough safe. This includes protection from unfair traders or misleading sales descriptions and regulation of food, alcohol, gambling, taxi and feed businesses, workplaces, private rented houses and the environment.

When we collect and use your information for environmental health and trading standards, we need this to:

inspect, monitor and sample business activities for food and feed safety and standards, health and safety, animal welfare, fair trading including weights and measures and environmental protection laws
investigate offences or deliver a remedy under a range of environmental health and trading standards laws in line with our enforcement policy
respond as a statutory consultee to safety and planning consultations
issue fixed penalty notices for environmental crimes and anti-social behaviour
investigate your request, contact you, or meet our statutory or authorised discretionary duties

The information that we collect about you for environmental health and trading standards is:

your name, address, postcode, telephone number(s), email address, picture or date of birth
the IP address that you accessed any of our online services from
information about any potential non-compliance held on the internet including social media
mobile phone or other communications data (where access has been obtained in line with our intelligence policy)

If you are applying for a permit, license or certificate, we need your information to:

issue you with a license, permit, certificate and register a range of business activities to satisfy licensing objectives, public health and environmental requirements including publishing public registers
investigate offences or deliver a remedy under a range of licensing laws in line with our enforcement policy
assess your application and issue a valid permit, license or certificate
communicate with you about the progress of your application
respond as a statutory consultee to licensing consultations

The information that we collect about you if you are applying for a permit, license or certificate is:

your name, address, postcode, telephone number(s), email address, picture or date of birth
entitlement to work in the UK, land ownership or business interest
national identifiers such as National Insurance number etc.
details about your lifestyle and social circumstances
information about any potential non-compliance held on the internet including social media
details of any convictions or cautions

Some restrictions apply to the publication of personal data on a public register such as:

where a business addresses is the same as a personal address this will also be shown on a public register, unless legal reasons support protection
in the case of a named person who holds a position of responsibility e.g. a designated premises supervisor (DPS) their name will appear on a public register however their personal address (if not a business address will be excluded)

What allows you to use my information?

When we collect and use your personal information for environmental health and trading standards, we do so as part of our public duties as a local authority in order to keep the borough safe and healthy. The legislation, policies and guidance that allow us to do this includes but is not limited to:

General Data Protection Legislation Article 6 part e
Animal Health & Welfare Act 1984
The Food Act 1984 and Food Safety Act 1990
Environmental Protection Act 1990 and Environment Act 1995
Fraud Act 2006
Weights and Measures Acts
Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and Health Act 2006
Housing Acts
Licensing Act 2003, Gambling Act 2005
Local Government Miscellaneous Acts
Consumer Protection from unfair Trading Act 2008
Consumer Rights Act 2015
Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013

When we collect and use your personal information for licensing duties, we do so under a contract with you in order to provide you with a valid license, permit or certificate.

Who will my information be shared with?

The information that you give us may be shared with other local authorities’ enforcement agencies and legal services in accordance with Schedule 2 Part 1 (3) of the Data Protection Act 2018 for the purpose of crime and taxation. Additionally, in relation to antisocial behaviour it may be shared with any other agency with whom we have an information sharing agreement with, for example - a registered social landlord.

In cases where you have agreed to act as a witness in your name and address may be disclosed as part of the court process and become public as a result. Additionally, if you are subject to prosecution action personal details will be made available to the court service and made public via that route.

Do I have to provide this information and what will happen if I don't?

If you do not provide information as part of an investigation or as part of your service request we may be unable to investigate on your behalf, or keep you informed of progress made. Additionally, for many of our inspection duties, failing to provide information can be viewed as obstruction and you may be leaving yourself at risk of being prosecuted or fined. An officer will advise whether the information is essential or not in such cases.

If you do not provide information as part of a license application or consultation enquiry we will be unable to process your application. This may mean that your application is delayed or that you fail to obtain the necessary permissions.

How long will you keep this data for and why?

Once a valid license, permit or certificate is issued, the supporting documentation will be held until two years after the registration lapses, except in the case of petroleum licences which will be held indefinitely since they may affect the condition of the land on which petroleum has been stored. If a licence application is made yet not completed, for any reason, the documentation will be disposed of after two years from the date of application.

Public register information is held indefinitely unless the legislation specifically states otherwise.

For environmental health and trading standards, your personal and business details will be kept for up to seven years after the inspection or case is complete in line with local government best practice. The only exception to this is where a case involves asbestos data will be stored for 50 years from the last action (Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 1987 RGLA 9.4).

Enhanced arrangements apply to the collection and storage of body camera footage which is automatically deleted after 31 days unless it is needed for evidential purposes where it may be kept for a maximum of seven years from case closure.

How will my information be stored?

Your information is held securely on systems within our IT network.

What rights do I have when it comes to my data?

Under Data Protection legislation you have the right to request access to the information that we hold about you.

To request a copy of your data or ask questions about how it is used you can submit your request by following your preferred method of contact in the 'How do I ask for my personal information' section.

In certain circumstances, under data protection legislation, when you apply for a permit, licence or certificate, you may also have the right to:

have inaccurate personal data rectified, blocked, erased or destroyed
prevent processing for the purpose of direct marketing
right to receive your information in a machine readable portable format

In certain circumstances, under data protection legislation, for environmental health and trading standards, you may also have the right to:

object to processing of personal data that is likely to cause, or is causing, damage or distress
have inaccurate personal data rectified, blocked, erased or destroyed
prevent processing for the purpose of direct marketing
object to decisions being taken by automated means

You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you.

To make a request follow the instructions on our Data protection for you page.

Who can I complain to if I am unhappy with how my data is used?

You can complain directly to our Data Protection team online or by post.

Contact the DPO
By post: Data Protection Officer, The Portal, Wellington Road, Ellesmere Port, CH65 0BA

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office using the following details:

Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) website
By post: The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Telephone: 08456 30 60 60

Will this information be used to take automated decisions about me?

No.

Will my data be transferred abroad and why?

No.