Care City is committed to protecting your privacy when you use our services. This privacy notice explains how we use information about you and how we protect your privacy.
Why we use your personal information
Personal information
Personal information can be any information relating to a living person who can be directly or indirectly identified by reference to an identifier. A personal identifier includes your name, location, online identifier and identification numbers.
Special category personal information
Some information is ‘special’ and needs more protection due to its sensitivity. It’s often information you would not want widely known and is very personal to you. This is likely to include anything that can reveal your:
- sexuality and sexual health
- religious or philosophical beliefs
- ethnicity
- physical or mental health
- trade union membership
- political opinion
- genetic/biometric data
- criminal history
How the law allows us to use your personal information
There are a number of legal reasons why we need to collect and use your personal information.
Generally we collect and use personal information where:
- you, or your legal representative, have given consent
- you have entered into a contract with us
- you are participating in one of our pilot studies
- it’s necessary to protect someone in an emergency
- it’s required by law
- it’s necessary for employment purposes
- it’s necessary to deliver health or social care services
- you have made your information publicly available
- it’s necessary for legal cases
- it’s to the benefit of society as a whole
- it’s necessary to protect public health
- it’s necessary for archiving, research, or statistical purposes
If we have consent to use your personal information, you have the right to remove it at any time. If you want to remove your consent, contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and tell us which service you’re using so we can deal with your request.
We only use what we need
Where we can, we’ll only collect and use personal information if we need it to deliver a service or meet a requirement.
If we don’t need personal information we’ll either keep you anonymous if we already have it for something else or we won’t ask you for it. For example, in a survey we may not need your contact details we’ll only collect your survey responses.
If we use your personal information for research and analysis, we’ll always keep you anonymous or use a different name unless you’ve agreed that your personal information can be used for that research.
We don’t sell your personal information to anyone else.
Access your information with a subject access request (SAR) form
Accessing information we hold about you
We would normally expect to share what we record about you with you whenever we assess your needs or provide you with services.
You also have the right to ask for all the information we have about you and the services you receive from us. When we receive a request from you in writing, we must give you access to everything we’ve recorded about you.
We can’t let you see any information on your record which contains:
- confidential information about other people; or
- information a professional thinks will cause serious harm to you or someone else’s physical or mental well-being; or
- if we think that giving you the information may stop us from preventing or detecting a crime
This applies to personal information that is in both paper and electronic records. If you ask us, we’ll also let others see your record (except if one of the points above applies).
How to request your information
When you request access to your information, you must:
- complete and sign the subject access request (SAR) form
- provide one form of identification with the request from and a contact telephone number.
Care City is unable to accept subject access requests which are submitted via online platforms as we are unable to confirm the security of personal data and identity of requestors via these means and as such they do not comply with the published Article 15 Obligations. Your right to access data is not affected and you are able to request information via the published subject access form below.
Subject access request form
Request by email
Print and sign the subject access request form and send to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with a scanned copy of your ID or by post with proof of ID enclosed.
Request by post
Print and sign our subject access request form and send it to us with proof of ID enclosed, addressed to:
Private and confidential: for the attention of: Data Protection Officer, Care City, Maritime House, 1 Linton Road, Barking, IG11 8HG
What happens next
Once we have the required information your request should be responded to within 30 days. In exceptional circumstances where it is not possible to comply within this period you will be informed of the delay and given a timescale for when your request is likely to be met.
Who we share your information with
We work with a number of organisations to run health and social care innovation pilots and your data will be shared with them should you agree to participate in a pilot to enable you to access the service. Where we have these arrangements there is an agreement in place to make sure that the organisation complies with data protection law.
How we protect your information
We’ll do what we can to make sure we hold records about you (on paper and electronically) in a secure way, and we’ll only make them available to those who have a right to see them. Examples of our security include:
- encryption, meaning that information is hidden so that it cannot be read without special knowledge (such as a password). This is done with a secret code or what’s called a ‘cypher’. The hidden information is said to then be ‘encrypted’
- controlling access to systems and networks allows us to stop people who are not allowed to view your personal information from getting access to it
- training for our staff allows us to make them aware of how to handle information and how and when to report when something goes wrong
- regular testing our technology and ways of working including keeping up to date on the latest security updates (commonly called patches)
Where we store your information
The majority of personal information is stored on systems in the UK. There may be some occasions where your information may leave the UK either in order to get another organisation or if it’s stored in a system outside of the EU.
We have additional protections on your information if it leaves the UK ranging from secure ways of transferring data to ensuring we have a robust contract in place with that third party.
We’ll take all practical steps to make sure your personal information is not sent to a country that is not seen as ‘safe’ either by the UK or EU governments.
If we need to send your information to an ‘unsafe’ location we’ll always seek advice from the Information Commissioner first.
How long we keep your personal information
There’s often a legal reason for keeping your personal information for a set period of time, we try to include all of these in our retention schedule.
Full details can be found in our records management policy.
Exempt information
In certain circumstances, the General Data Protection Regulation permits us to withhold information, for example;
- personal staff data (full names, contact details etc)
- information likely to cause serious harm to the physical or mental health or condition of you, or any other person
- information relating to or provided by a third person who has not consented to the disclosure, including images removed or obscured
If we can’t give you some or any of the information, we’ll tell you why. More information is available in our subject access request policy.
Subject access request policy
Ask us to change information you think is inaccurate
You should let us know if you disagree with something written on your file.
We may not always be able to change or remove that information but we’ll correct factual inaccuracies and if we can’t correct it we will include your comments on the record to show that you disagree with it.
If you want us to correct the information we hold about you, email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and tell us how you are working with us so we can deal with your request.
Ask us to delete information (right to be forgotten)
In some circumstances you can ask for your personal information to be deleted, for example;
- where your personal information is no longer needed for the reason why it was collected in the first place
- where you have removed your consent for us to use your information (where there is no other legal reason for us to use it)
- where there is no legal reason for the us to retain your information
- where deleting the information is a legal requirement
Where your personal information has been shared with others, we’ll do what we can to make sure those using your personal information comply with your request for erasure.
We can’t delete your information where:
- we’re required to have it by law
- it is used for freedom of expression
- it is used for public health purposes
- it is for, scientific or historical research, or statistical purposes where it would make information unusable
- it is necessary for legal claims
Ask to limit what we use your personal information for
You have the right to ask us to restrict what we use your personal information for where:
- you have identified inaccurate information, and have told us of it
- where we have no legal reason to use that information but you want us to restrict what we use it for rather than erase the information altogether
When information is restricted it can’t be used other than to securely store the data and with your consent to handle legal claims and protect others, or where it’s for important public interests of the UK.
Where restriction of use has been granted, we’ll inform you before we carry on using your personal information.
You have the right to ask us to stop using your personal information for any council service. However, if this request is approved this may cause delays or prevent us delivering that service.
Where possible we’ll seek to comply with your request, but we may need to hold or use information because we are required to by law.
Where to get advice
If you have any queries about how your personal information is handled, contact our Data Protection Officer at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
For independent advice about data protection, privacy and data-sharing issues, you can also contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at:
Information commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water lane, Wilmslow SK9 5AF
0303 123 1113
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
