FAQ

Tower Hamlets Training Hub: MECC & The Vital 5

The Training Hub, in collaboration with Tower Hamlets Public Health, is offering half-day "Making Every Contact Count" training to all health and wellbeing frontline staff in Tower Hamlets. Attendees will learn how to have brief, person-centred conversations that quickly identify The Vital 5 key risk factors and support behavioural change.

The Vital 5 is a public health framework aimed at addressing five key risk factors that significantly impact overall health and wellbeing (blood pressure, smoking, alcohol, physical activity, mental well-being). These factors are interconnected and contribute to preventable chronic diseases and inequalities in health outcomes.

Each session is valued at £90 and non-attendance without prior cancellation will incur a charge.

Date

Various

Delivery method

Hybrid (face-to-face and online via Zoom). Those booking online will need a working camera and audio.

More information

Register via The Tower Hamlets Education Provider Network and Training Hub webpage.

Tower Hamlets Training Hub: MECC for social isolation and loneliness

The Training Hub, in collaboration with Tower Hamlets Public Health, is offering half-day “Making Every Contact Count” training to frontline staff in Tower Hamlets. Attendees will learn how to have brief supportive, conversations with residents experiencing social isolation and loneliness using the MECC Framework.

This interactive and practical 3.5 hour module covers:

• the definition, risk factors and impact of social isolation and loneliness.
• developing and practicing person centred communication skills with people experiencing loneliness and social isolation.
• learning and reviewing the MECC framework and how it can be adapted to those experiencing social isolation and loneliness.
• exploring common challenges in having person-centred conversations in relation to social isolation and loneliness.
• exploring how to effectively signpost residents to useful national and local resources for residents experiencing loneliness and social isolation.

Each session is valued at £90 and non-attendance without prior cancellation will incur a DNA charge.

Date

Various

Delivery method

Face-to-face and online sessions via Zoom. Those booking online will need a working camera and audio.

More information

Register via The Tower Hamlets Education Provider Network and Training Hub webpage.

Money Guiders free training

The Money and Pensions Services (MaPS) delivers a calendar of free training sessions to professionals who support people with money troubles. Upcoming sessions cover topics like Income Maximisation, Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Awareness, Pensions, Insurance, Student Debt, Housing Mediation, Financial and Digital Exclusion, Credit Unions and Gambling Awareness.

Date

Various dates.

Delivery method

Online.

More information

Visit the Money Guiders Knowledge Hub for information and bookings.

Protection Approaches - Understanding Hate Crime

This training has been designed for those who work with those most at risk of being the victims of hate crime.

The course can be delivered as a short course over 2 hours or as a more in-depth course over a full day. It covers: 

• Hate crime laws
• The impact of hate crime on victims, witnesses, and communities
• How and where people can report
• Why it is important to report
• How to support victims
• How to prevent hate crime.

Date

Contact education@protectionapproaches.org for bookings.

Delivery method

Online. 

More information

See this Hate crime training info sheet for more information.

Protection Approaches - Identity-based violence & atrocity prevention

This training can include anything from urgent briefings on situations of impending or ongoing mass atrocities, to structural training on how organisations or governments can implement prevention strategies of monitoring, analysis, communication, and response. The session can be tailored according to the needs of partners. 

Date

Contact Kate.Ferguson@protectionapproaches.org for bookings.

Delivery method

Online.

More information

Visit the Protection Approaches - Training webpage for more information.

Protection Approaches – Active Bystander Training

This session was created in partnership with British East and South East Asian Network (besea.n). Participants are guided through a series of discussions to explore how they can play a role in tackling identity-based prejudice and violence in their community, school, or place of work.

Content is tailored to the needs of each group. The training has a minimum time of 2 hours but can also be delivered over a half or full day. Content includes:

• What it means to be an active bystander or ally: through group discussion the participants explore what being an active bystander means to them
• Standing up for victims: working through a series of scenarios, participants consider and learn what they can do when they encounter prejudice, harassment or violence such as a racist attack in a supermarket or an inappropriate comment from a colleague
• What you can do if you are the victim: participants consider some options they may have if they are the victim of prejudice or violence, and find out where there are support services and resources.

Date

Contact education@protectionapproaches.org for bookings.

Delivery method

Online.

More information

Visit the Active Bystandership training webpage for more information.

Cory Group Community Fund

The aim of the Community Fund is to support groups and projects that strengthen local communities, with a particular focus on activities that support Cory’s wider goals of:

• enhancing the local environment
• preventing waste and growing the reuse economy
• developing skills in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM), sustainability, recycling, reuseand waste management, as well as on the River Thames.

Grants can be used for running costs, essential items and equipment, capital projects, one-off events, staff, volunteer or training costs.

Eligibility

• Voluntary or community organisations
• Registered charities
• Constituted groups or clubs
• Not-for-profit companies and Community Interest Companies.

Funding amount

Grants of up to £7,500 are available.

Closing date

Friday 21 November

More information

For full details and to apply, The Cory Group Community Fund webpage.

London City Airport Community Fund

He London City Airport Fund supports charities and not-for-profit organisations that improve quality of life in local communities by:

• building stronger, safer and healthier communities
• creating more sustainable and greener communities
• raising aspirations of East Londoners creating pathways into employment

Eligibility

Voluntary and community organisations based in:

• Barking & Dagenham, Bexley, Epping Forest District Council 
• Greenwich, Hackney, Havering, Newham, Lambeth, Lewisham 
• Redbridge, Southwark, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest 

Funding amount

Between £300 and £3,000

Closing date

Upcoming submission deadlines are:

• 2 January 2026 (5pm)
• 26 June 2026 (5pm)

More information

For full details and to apply visit the London City Airport Community Fund website.

North London Forensic Collaborative Small Grants (NLFC)

NLFC is offering a small grant programme to voluntary sector, faith, and grassroot organisations as part of its aspiration to build relationships and work together to tackle inequalities and improve quality outcomes for forensic service users.

The term “forensic service users” is used to describe people who access adult forensic mental health services, as an inpatient in an adult secure service, or in the community under the care of a specialist community forensic team. 

Eligibility

Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise organisations based in North London that currently operate within one of the Integrated Care System regions (North East London, North West London, North Central London).

Funding Amount

Grants range from £500 to £4,999. For projects supporting employment pathways, including work-based placements or training leading to jobs, larger grants of up to £9,999 are available.

Closing Date

Applications are welcome until March 2026, or until all funds are spent.

More Information

Please visit the North London NHS Foundation Trust website for more information.

The Garfield Weston Foundation - Projects/Specific activity grant

The Garfield Weston Foundation is a charitable grant-making foundation. Grants can be used for running costs, for a specific activity, or for capital projects. The Foundation is flexible and funds what charities need the most.

Eligibility

UK registered charities and CIOs (Charitable Incorporated Organisations).

Funding amount

£1,000 to several million pounds, depending on the size and scope of the work.

Closing date

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

For information

Please visit the Garfield Weston Foundation website.

Arnold Clark Community Fund

Grants of up to £2,500 are available to UK charities, community and voluntary organisations and CICs whose work directly supports those most affected by the cost-of-living crisis.

Applications are particularly welcome from smaller voluntary and community organisations who are working with those most affected by and vulnerable to the increased cost of living. 

Eligibility

Registered UK charities and community groups that are within a 50-mile radius of an Arnold Clark branch.

Funding amount

The following grants are available:

• Community Support grants up to £1,000
• Cost of living grants up to £2,500

Closing date

Applications are accepted on a rolling monthly basis, but may be paused due to high demand. Because of this, early applications are recommended.

More information

For full details and to apply, visit the Arnold Clark Community Fund page

AB Charitable Trust Open Programme

The AB Charitable Trust (ABCT) supports work that promotes human dignity and defends the human rights of the most marginalised and excluded people. Organisations can apply under the following priorities:

• The Human Rights Framework
• Access to Justice
• The Criminal Legal System
• Migrants and Refugees

Eligibility

UK registered charities with annual income between £150,000 and £1.5 million

Funding amount

Open Programme grants are usually between £10,000 to £30,000 per year and are awarded from one to three years.

Closing date

Upcoming closing dates are:

• 30 January 2026
• 24 April 2026

For information

Please visit the ABCT Open Programme webpage.

Matthew Good Foundation – Grants for Good

Grants for Good is funded by the John Good Group and is designed to direct funding only to small and growing local charities, voluntary groups or social enterprises that are making a big impact on communities, people or the environment.

This programme offers unrestricted funds that can be used for any costs, including core running costs.

Eligibility

UK-based local community groups, charities, voluntary groups and social enterprises with income under £50,000.Applicants must have a bank account in the organisation’s name.

Funding amount

£15,000 is shared between five shortlisted projects each quarter.

Closing date

Quarterly application windows.

More information

Visit the Grants for Good webpage for more information.

Esmée Fairbairn: Creative, Confident Communities

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation aims to improve our natural world, secure a fairer future and strengthen the bonds in communities in the UK. It supports people and organisations who are doing everything they can to bring about the change they want to see.

The Foundation’s grant funding is focussed on work that will deliver long-term impact and create change for the future. This means that it makes longer-term grants to organisations, rather than short-term or small-scale grants.

The Foundation’s  current priorities under “A Fairer Future” are:

• Communities working together for change
• Community driven enterprise and regeneration
• Community-led art and creativity.

Eligibility

Organisations with an annual turnover of more than £100,000.

Funding Amount

Grants valued from £30,000 (no maximum) are available for core or project costs, including staff salaries and overheads. Unrestricted funding for charities is available. The majority of grants are for three to five years.

Closing Date

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

More Information

Please visit Creative, Confident Communities priorities | Esmée Fairbairn Foundation for more information.

Sanctuary Housing Community Investment Fund

The Community Investment Fund aims to develop successful and sustainable communities in the areas where Sanctuary Housing operates.

The Fund’s current funding priorities are:

• ‎Employment, education, skills and training‎
• Health and Wellbeing‎
• Community safety and Infrastructure‎
• Environment‎
• Financial inclusion.

Eligibility

Charities, community groups, residents’ associations and voluntary organisations operating in areas where Sanctuary Housing works are welcome to make an enquiry. Please note, match funding requirements apply.

Closing Date

Enquiries are currently welcome, with no closing date stated.

More Information

Please visit the Sanctuary Housing website for more information.

The Cooks Charity – Elizabeth Fund

The aim of the Elizabeth Fund is to provide small, one-off grants to deserving food-related and/or cooking projects or good causes, which would not otherwise be supported by the Cooks Charity’s normal annual grant-giving.

Eligibility

Qualifying projects are to be connected with the City of London, to include the City Fringe boroughs of Camden, Islington, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Southwark and the City of Westminster in some way.

Funding amount

Up to £1,000.

Closing date

N/A

More information

Visit The Elizabeth Fund webpage for more information.

 Shanly Foundation – Core Grants

The Shanly Foundation aims to support causes that help individuals and benefit the local community, including support for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, the homeless, those with mental health issues and people with physical disabilities, injury or life-limiting illness.

Eligibility

• Registered charities, CICs, CIOs, and organisations exempt or excepted under Charity Commission guidance.
• Funding supports core costs and unrestricted activity for groups assisting disabled individuals, the elderly, and disadvantaged communities.
• Organisations focused on rehabilitation, homelessness, local sports and social clubs, Scouts and Guides, youth outdoor centres

Funding amount

The foundation typically awards core grants ranging from £1,000 to £25,000.

Closing date

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

More information

Please visit the Shanly Foundation website.

Trust for London

Trust for London, established in 1891, is the largest independent charity focused on poverty and inequality in London.

The Trust funds organisations and projects working towards Social Justice and/or Economic Justice. Click here for details about the priority areas of work that sit under each of these strategic aims.

Trust for London provides both project funding and unrestricted funding.

Eligibility

The Trust funds:

• Registered Charities
• Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIO)
• Community Interest Companies (CIC)
• Companies Limited by Guarantee (CLG)
• Trusts
• Unincorporated Associations
• Cooperative Societies
• Trade unions

£500 Access Payments are available to those requiring accessibility-related support to apply.

Funding amount

Grants range from £40,000 to £80,000 per year, for up to 5 years.

Closing date

Applications can be submitted at any time.

More information

Please read the Trust’s funding guidelines, then visit the Trust for London website.

Morrisons Foundation

The newly established Morrisons Foundation is looking to award approximately £2 million a year for community projects that improve people’s lives. Funding objectives of this fund are:

• Tackling poverty and social deprivation.
• Enhancing Community Spaces, facilities and services.
• Improving Health & wellbeing.

Eligibility

Registered charities with an income of less than £1m .

Funding amount

Grants are available for up to £10,000 for capital spend or direct project delivery

Closing date

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

More information

Please visit the Morrisons Foundation website.

 The National Lottery Awards for All England

The funding supports new activities, ongoing ones, or organisational adaptations.

Projects must do at least one of these things:

• bring people together to build strong relationships in and across communities.
• improve the places and spaces that matter to communities.
• help more people to reach their potential, by supporting them at the earliest possible stage
• support people, communities and organisations facing more demands and challenges because of the cost-of-living crisis.

Eligibility

Applications are accepted from:

• constituted voluntary or community organisation
• constituted group or club
• registered charities
• Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)
• Not-For-Profit companies
• Community Interest Companies (CIC)
• school (if your project benefits and involves the communities around the school)
• statutory bodies (including local authorities, town, parish and community council)
• community benefit societies.

Funding amount

£300 to £20,000 for up to two years.

Closing date

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

More information

Please visit the National Lottery Awards for All England website.

The National Lottery UK Fund

The fund is for organisations wanting to help communities connect better. Organisations  are encouraged to apply for funding for projects that:

• strengthen relationships between people whose experiences of life have not been the same. For example, relationships between people of different ethnic backgrounds, generations, occupations, or geographies
• create connections between online and offline worlds
• help make sure people from all backgrounds can shape the future of their communities.

Eligibility

Applications are accepted from:

• constituted voluntary or community organisation
• constituted group or club
• registered charities
• Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)
• Not-For-Profit companies
• Community Interest Companies (CIC)
• school (if your project benefits and involves the communities around the school)
• statutory bodies (including local authorities, town, parish, and community council)
• community benefit societies

Funding amount

This UK-wide funding offers £500,000 to £5 million for projects tackling national issues over 2-10 years.

Closing date

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

More information

Please visit the The UK Fund website.

The National Lottery Reaching Communities England

This funding supports projects and groups improving their community. The National Lottery defines community as people in the same area or with similar interests or experiences.

Projects or organisations applying for funding must do at least one of these things:

• bring people together to build strong relationships in and across communities
• improve the places and spaces that matter to communities
• help more people to reach their potential, by supporting them at the earliest possible stage.

This fund is flexible and can respond to your community’s needs, therefore the following funding options are available:

• for the long or short term
• for a specific activity, or for broader costs to help your organisation or community
• for one organisation or to bring organisations together
• to support people, communities, and organisations most affected by the cost-of-living crisis
• to help organisations address the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on how they work, now and in the future.

Eligibility

Applications are accepted from:

• constituted voluntary or community organisation
• constituted group or club
• registered charities
• Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)
• Not-For-Profit companies
• Community Interest Companies (CIC)
• school (if your project benefits and involves the communities around the school)
• statutory bodies (including local authorities, town, parish, and community council)
• community benefit societies.

Funding amount

£20,001 or more, for up to five years.

Closing date

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

More information

Please visit the Reaching Communities England website.

The National Lottery Partnerships

This funding is for organisations working together in partnership to help their community. The National Lottery defines community as people in one area or with similar interests or experiences.

Eligibility

Applications are accepted from:

• constituted voluntary or community organisation
• constituted group or club
• registered charities
• Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)
• Not-For-Profit companies
• Community Interest Companies (CIC)
• school (if your project benefits and involves the communities around the school)
• statutory bodies (including local authorities, town, parish, and community council)
• community benefit societies.

Funding amount

£20,001 or more, for up to five years.

Closing date

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

More information

Please visit the National Lottery Partnerships Fund website.

The Weavers Company

Funding for projects that support offenders and ex-offenders, including supporting them into work, and for helping specific groups within the criminal justice sector, who are less popular with funders. Funding also available for projects aiding disadvantaged young people, including immigrants, in realising their potential and engaging in society.

Eligibility

Registered charities, charitable incorporated organisations, and in exceptional circumstances, community interest companies can apply. Applicants must demonstrate efforts to secure other funding and future sustainability.

Funding amount

Small Grants Programme offering up to £5,000, and a Main Grants Programme with no maximum limit. Funding covers both project and core costs.

Closing date

13 November 2025

More information

Please visit The Weavers' Company website.

Who we are and what we do

The Electoral Services Section is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. For the purpose of the 2018 General Data Protection Regulation, the Data Controller is (depending on the service) either the Electoral Registration Officer (for registration matters), or the Returning Officer (for election matters) based at the Town Hall, 160 Whitechapel Rd, London E1 1BJ

When you contact the Electoral Services Team, we are likely to ask you for certain personal information in order to be able to assist with your enquiry. Some of this information will need to be recorded and stored on our systems. This Privacy Notice aims to explain:

1. the different kinds of personal data we process
2. how we use your data
3. how we store your data
4. why we process your data
5. when and why we share your information
6. the legal grounds for processing your information.

Everyone working for Electoral Services has a legal duty to keep and process information about you in accordance with the law.

This notice explains why we ask for your personal information, how that information will be used and how you can access your records.

We process your data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and UK privacy legislation and if you have any concerns or questions the Council’s Data Protection Officer can be contacted on DPO@towerhamlets.gov.uk.

The laws that govern the collection and use of this data

The following is a list of all primary and secondary legislation relevant to the collection, processing and retention of personal data:

• Local Government Act 1972
• Representation of the People Act 1983
• Electoral Administration Act 2006
• Electoral Administration Act 2013
• Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001
• Representation of the People (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2002 and 2006
• Representation of the People (England and Wales) (Amendment) (No 2) 2006
• European Parliamentary Elections (Registration of Citizens of Accession States) Regulations 2003
• European Parliamentary Elections Regulations 2004
• Police (Scotland) Regulations 2004
• European Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Regulations 2009
• Local Elections (Principal Areas) Rules 2006
• Local Authorities (Mayoral Elections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007
• Greater London Authority Elections Rules 2007
• The Local Authorities (Mayoral Elections) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2011
• The Local Elections (Principal Areas) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Rules 2011
• Greater London Authority Elections (Amendment) Rules 2012
• Neighbourhood Planning (Referendums) Regulations 2012
• Elections Act 2022

Why we need your information and how we use it

We use information about citizens, electors and voters to enable us to carry out specific functions for which we are responsible and to provide you with a statutory service.

We keep records about potential and actual electors, voters, citizens, candidates and their agents, staff employed at an election and the people we need to pay. These may be written down (manual records) or kept on a computer (electronic records).

What type of information is collected from you

The information we collect and process may include:

1. basic details about you, for example, name, address, date of birth and nationality
2. unique identifiers (such as your NI number),
3. scanned application forms & dates of any letters of correspondence
4. notes about any relevant circumstances that you have told us
5. details and records about the service you have received
6. your previous or any redirected address
7. the other occupants in your home
8. if you are over 76 or under 16/17
9. whether you have chosen to opt out of the Open version of the Register.

Who your information may be shared with (internally and externally)

This will include:

1. contracted printers to print polling cards, postal packs & other electoral material
2. to registered political parties, elected representatives, candidates, agents and other permitted participants who are able to use it for electoral purposes only
3. credit reference agencies, the British Library, UK Statistics Authority, the Electoral Commission and other statutory recipients of the Electoral Register
4. details of whether you have voted (but not how you have voted) to those who are entitled in law to receive it after an election
5. where the health and safety of others is at risk
6. when the law requires us to pass on information under special circumstances,
7. crime prevention or the detection of fraud as part of the National Fraud Initiative.

How long we keep your information (retention period)

In order to provide you with this service, we rely on our legal obligations. The Electoral Registration Officer & Returning Officer are independent statutory post holders and are obliged to process your personal data in relation to preparing for and conducting Elections.

Your details will be kept and updated in accordance with our legal obligations and in line with statutory retention periods.
Anyone who receives information from us has a legal duty to keep it confidential.
We are required by law to report certain information to appropriate authorities – for example:

• where a formal court order has been issued.
• to law enforcement agencies for the prevention or detection of a crime
• to the Jury Central Summoning Bureau indicating those persons who are aged 76 or over and are no longer eligible for jury service.

Partner organisations

The process of checking citizens’ personal identifiers to ensure eligibility for inclusion in the Electoral Register, is controlled by the Cabinet Office via the Governments Individual Electoral Registration Digital Service.

The process includes:

• The Department for Work and Pensions who use data provided to verify the identity of new applicants
• The Cabinet Office will inform the old local authority of people who have moved area

Information will be processed within the European Economic Area (EEA) and will not be shared with overseas recipients.

If your details are in the Open version of the Electoral Register, your name and address can be sold to third parties who may use it for any purpose. You can opt out of this version at any time and are given the opportunity when you apply to register to vote and annually as part of the Canvass of all households.

To verify your identity, when you apply to be registered to vote the data you provide will be processed by the Individual Electoral Registration Digital Service managed by the Cabinet Office. As part of this process your data will be shared with the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Cabinet Office suppliers that are data processors for the Individual Electoral Registration Digital Service.

Find more information on the Register to vote website.

How we protect your Information

We will not transfer your personal data outside the EU without your consent.

We have implemented generally accepted standards of technology and operational security in order to protect personal data from loss, misuse, or unauthorised alteration or destruction.  

Please note that where you are transmitting information to us over the internet this can never be guaranteed to be 100 per cent secure.  

For any payments which we take from you online we will use a recognised online secure payment system.

We will notify you promptly in the event of any breach of your personal data which might expose you to serious risk. 

Your rights

You have rights under the Data Protection Legislations:

• to access your personal data
• to be provided with information about how your personal data is processed
• to have your personal data corrected
• to have your personal data erased in certain circumstances
• to object to or restrict how your personal data is processed
• to have your personal data transferred to yourself or to another business in certain circumstances.
• You have the right to be told if we have made a mistake whilst processing your data and we will self-report breaches to the Commissioner.

How you can access, update or correct your information

The Data Protection Legislation allows you to find out what information is held about you, on paper and computer records. This is known as ‘right of subject access’ and applies to your Electoral Services records along with all other personal records.

If you wish to see a copy of your records you should contact the Data Protection officer. You are entitled to receive a copy of your records free of charge, within a month.

In certain circumstances access to your records may be limited, for example, if the records you have asked for contain information relating to another person.

The accuracy of your information is important to us to be able to provide relevant services more quickly. We are working to make our record keeping more efficient. In the meantime, if you change your address or email address, or if any of your circumstances change or any of the other information we hold is inaccurate or out of date please email us or write to us at:

Electoral Services
Tower Hamlets Town Hall
160 Whitechapel Rd
London
E1 1BJ

Tel: 020 7364 5000

If you would like to know more about how we use your information, or if for any reason you do not wish to have your information used in any of the ways described, please tell us by contacting our Data Protection Officer:

The Data Protection Officer
Complaints and Information Team
Tower Hamlets Council
160 Whitechapel Rd
London
E1 1BJ

Tel: 020 7364 5000
Email: DPO@towerhamlets.gov.uk

You can obtain further information about GDPR from the Information Commissioner and can also contact them if you have any complaints that you wish to make:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Water Lane
Wilmslow, Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Tel: 0303 123 1113
ico.org.uk

Data Controller and purpose

The information you provide will be used by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets’ contact centre service, to process your telephone interactions. London Borough of Tower Hamlets is the data controller and Wavenet is the data processor for telephone calls.

We process your data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and if you have any concerns the council’s Data Protection Officer can be contacted on DPO@towerhamlets.gov.uk.

Condition for processing personal data

It is necessary for us to process your personal data under the GDPR article 6(1)(a) consent.

A delay in you providing the information requested may result in a delay in providing appropriate services.

How long do we keep your information?

We will only hold your information for as long as is required by law and to provide you with the necessary services. Telephone call recordings are retained for 12 months and then the recording is automatically deleted. In order to maintain privacy and confidentiality, the Corporate Contact Centre does not hold conference calls (e.g. talk to a customer and a 3^rd party at the same time).

We may also anonymise some personal data you provide to us to ensure that you cannot be identified and use this for statistical analysis of data to allow the council to effectively target and plan the provision of services. 

Information sharing

Your personal information may be shared with internal departments or with external partners and agencies involved in delivering services on our behalf. This may include Council tax, Benefits, Parking and other Council departments.

The council has a duty to protect public funds and may use personal information and data-matching techniques to detect and prevent fraud, and ensure public money is targeted and spent in the most appropriate and cost-effective way. Information may be shared with internal services and external bodies like the Audit Commission, Department for Work and Pensions, other local authorities, HM Revenue and Customs, and the Police.

This activity is carried out under social protection law.

We have a duty to improve the health of the population we serve. To help with this, we use data and information from a range of sources including hospitals to understand more about the nature and causes of disease and ill-health in the area. This data would normally be anonymised and never used to make decisions on a specific individual or family.

The service will process some of the data by computer and may therefore make automated decisions on your case. You can ask for this to be explained to you, please see the ‘your rights’.

Your Rights

You can find out more about your rights on our data protection page and this includes details of your rights about automated decisions, such as the ranking of Housing Applications, and how to complain to the Information Commissioner.