Family Hubs Privacy Statement

How we handle your information

Everyone working for the Early Help Team/Family Hubs has a legal duty to keep and process information about you in accordance with the law. This document explains why we ask for your personal information, how that information will be used and how you can access your records.

Why is information recorded about me?

We use information about children and families aged 0-19 years and up to 25 with additional needs (SEND) to enable us to carry out specific functions for which we are responsible and to provide you with a service. We keep records about children and families. These may be written down (manual records) or kept on a computer (electric records).

These records may include:

• Basic details about you, for example, name, address, date of birth.
• Unique identifiers (such as your NHS number)
• Contact we have had with you, for example, appointments and letters of correspondence
• Notes and reports about your relevant circumstances
• Details and records about the service you have received
• Relevant information from other people that we have been in contact with relation to the service that you have received.

We may also process some sensitive information about you that is classed as ‘special category’ data which receives additional protections under law, and in terms of our processing of it. The special category (sensitive) personal information we process may include ethnic origin.

What is the information used for?

Your records are used to help ensure that we provide you with the service that you need. We share information to help us to improve future services. We use your information to find out how support can help families. We may share your personal information for research purposes. These are used by the government to evaluate the effectiveness of the support. It is important that your records are accurate and up to date as they will help make sure that our staff are able to provide you with the help, advice or support you need. If you do not provide us with this new information, then we will not be able to contact you to inform you of services.

How long for?

In order to provide you with this service, we rely on the legal basis of legitimate interest or public task. Your details will be kept for 6 years in general and 75 years for children who have been looked after or subject to child protection plans. Processing is kept to a minimum and will only be processed in accordance with the law. When other agencies are involved in supporting your family, such as health or education, we may need to share details about you to enable us to work together for your benefit. Information will only be shared with third parties if they have genuine and lawful need for it.

Occasions when your information needs to be discussed (shared) include:

• Where the health and safety of others is at risk.
• Safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults.
• When the law requires us to pass on information under special circumstances.
• Crime prevention or the detection of fraud as part of the National Fraud Initiative.

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 we encounter infectious diseases which may be a public health concern
• Where a formal court order has been issued.

Partner Organisations

We work with other agencies, such as health, schools, police, housing, children’s social care, community and voluntary organisations to ensure families in our area get the support they need from the most appropriate agency.

These could include:

• Partner organisations who will be part of the provision of the service and who will process personal data.
• Commissioned services for Family Hubs and Early Help who provide services on behalf of the council.
• Other organisations/teams who are involved in supporting your family.
• Information will be processed with the EEA and will not be shared with overseas recipients.

Can I see my records?

The General Data Protection Regulation 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 Early Help Team/Family Hubs records along with all other personal records. If you wish to see a copy of your records, you should submit a Subject Access Request which is available on our website or by contacting the Information Governance Office directly. 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.

Do I have other rights?

Data Protection law gives you the right:

1. To be informed why, where and how we use your information.
2. To ask for access to your information.
3. To ask for information to be corrected if inaccurate or incomplete.
4. To ask for your information to be deleted or removed where there is no need for us to continue processing it.
5. To ask us to restrict the use of your information.
6. To ask us to copy or transfer your information from one IT system to another in a safe and secure way, without impacting the quality of the information.
7. To object to how your information is used.
8. To challenge any decisions made without human intervention (automated decision making)
9. To lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office whose contact details are below.
10. If our processing is based upon your consent, to withdraw your consent.

Further Information

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 in this leaflet, please tell us.

Contact Family Hubs

North: 01670 620461, West: 01434 601698, Central: 01670 819988, South East: 01670 798800.

Data Protection Officer: informationgovernance@northumberland.gov.uk

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office if you are unhappy with the way we process your data. Details can be found on the ICO website, or you may write to the ICO at the following address: