Public Health Incident Investigations Privacy Statement

First published

23 Mar 2023

Last updated

06 Aug 2024

Public Health Incident Investigations Privacy Notice

Find out how Stirling Council uses personal data by checking the Council’s website at the following address:

https://www.stirling.gov.uk/privacy-statement/

Our website contains a Register of Data Processing which lists all the different ways
in which the Council uses personal data.

This Privacy Notice provides more information about just one of those processes.

Who do I contact about my personal information?

The Council has a Data Protection Officer to make sure it is complying with data protection laws.

They can be contacted at:

Data Protection Officer
Stirling Council
Old Viewforth
14-20 Pitt Terrace
Stirling
FK8 2ET

Email: dataprotection@stirling.gov.uk
Telephone: 01786 404040

Why does the Council process personal information?

To permit investigation of cases of infectious disease or ill health which will involve contacting the case or other person(s) who may have been in contact with the case or source of ill health.

Personal data is recorded to allow the source of illness to be investigated by the appropriate local authority(ies).

The type of personal information we collect

The data subjects are people who may have become ill after eating or staying at a business in the local area. These are residents within the local council area or consumers from out-with the area who have eaten or stayed at a local business.

This also includes residents of the local area who may have become ill whilst staying abroad.

The data subjects may also be persons exposed to

  • environmental hazards,
  • or living or working near to a commercial
    premises operating a particular type of plant or process.

Data subject can also be proxy contacts who are contacts of the case in our area who have given authority for a family member to act on their behalf.

Personal Data

  • Name
  • Address
  • Telephone number – landline / mobile
  • Email address
  • Date of birth
  • Details as above of family members, friends and associates with close personal contact to the case

“Special Category” data

  • Health (physical or mental)
  • Racial or ethnic origin

What makes it lawful for the Council to process this personal information?

GDPR Article (6)(e) - processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.

We have a statutory requirement to investigate sources of infectious disease in order to prevent spread or other sources of ill-health.

Where does the Council obtain personal information from?

Submitted directly by data subjects via interview or telephone conversation but may also be by letter or email or by proxy contact on behalf of data subject.

Personal data normally originates from Forth Valley or other Health Board and is subject to a data sharing agreement. Data is provided by local Health Board to further investigation.

Where does the Council keep personal information?

Data is stored on the Uniform system. Data is also stored in paper format and on the council network.

How long does the Council keep personal information?

We will not keep your information for any longer than it is needed, and will dispose of both paper and electronic records in a secure way. The length of time we need to
keep information will depend on the purpose for which it is collected. The Council has a Record Retention Schedule which sets out how long we keep records and the reason why.

Who does the Council share personal information with?

Personal data is passed to Forth Valley or other Health Board in order to facilitate investigation and prevent the spread of ill-health.
Data may also be transferred to another Local Authority or Agency if it is more appropriate for them to deal with the incident.

Your rights

You have the following rights under data protection laws. If you have a request under any of these rights, you can make a subject access request.

  • The right of access You have the right to request information we hold about you. This is known as a subject access request and is free of charge. We must respond within one month, although this can be extended to three months if the information is complex.

  • The right to rectification - You are entitled to have your information rectified if it is factually inaccurate or incomplete. We must respond to your request within one month. If we decide to take no action, we will tell you why and let you know about your right of complaint to the UK Information Commissioner

  • The right to erasure - You have the right to ask us to delete your information or stop using it. It will not always be possible for us to comply with your request, for example, if we have a legal obligation to keep the information. If we decide to take no action, we will tell you why and let you know about your right of complaint to the UK Information Commissioner.

  • The right to restrict processing - You have the right to restrict how your data is processed in certain circumstances, for example, if the information is not accurate. If a restriction is applied, we can retain just enough information to ensure that the restriction is respected in future. We must tell you if we decide to lift a restriction on processing.

  • The right to data portability – You have the right to object to processing, if we are processing your personal data with your consent, and it is held in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable form, you have a right to ask us to transmit it to another data controller so they can use it. This right does not apply if we process your personal data as part of our public task.

  • The right to object - You can object to your information being used for profiling, direct marketing or research purposes.

  • You have rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling - to reduce the risk that a potentially damaging decision is taken without human intervention.

Complaints and comments

If you want to complain about or comment on how we have processed your personal information, you should email dataprotection@stirling.gov.uk

If you are still unhappy with how the council handled your complaint, you can contact the UK Information Commissioner's Office at:

The Information Commissioner,
Wycliffe House,
Water Lane,
Wilmslow,
Cheshire SK9 5AF

Phone: 0303 123 1113

You can find further information on the Information Commissioners Office website.

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