Environment sensors privacy notice

First published

21 Aug 2024

Last updated

21 Aug 2024

Environment sensors 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?

Environmental sensors provided and operated by Aico HomeLINK will be installed across our portfolio of housing, providing an insightful overview of a property’s health and condition, facilitating early identification and proactive resolution of issues that could impact upon customers health, safety and well-being.

A HomeLINK residential App will be available to tenants to download.  This will allow for notifications or communications to be received through this App directly to the tenant.

The type of personal information we collect

A residents account will be set up which will include the name, address of the tenant and the property type. 

Access to the HomeLINK App will require an email address as well as the tenant setting up log in details. 

We may collect the following data from sensors in your home:

  • Temperature
  • Humidity
  • Carbon dioxide (CO2)
  • Fire Alarm events
  • Carbon Monoxide events
  • Electricity usage
  • Boiler information
  • Water leak events
  • Door and window status events

Please note: Dependant on the devices installed in your home, we may not collect all of the above.

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

For use of sensors - UK GDPR Article 6(1)(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.

For use of App – UK GDPR Article 6(1)(a) - the data subject has given consent to the processing of his or her personal data for one or more specific purposes.

Where does the Council obtain personal information from?

Information is already held by Stirling Council about tenant information.  For those tenants who wish to use the App, any additional information will be received via the tenant. 

Where does the Council keep personal information?

The information collected from the sensors will be stored securely on the Aico HomeLINK Contractors’ Virtual Private Networks hosted by the Amazon Web Services (AWS).  The AWS data centers are within the EU and UK.

Information will also be held by Stirling Council on secure servers and our Northgate system. 

How long does the Council keep personal information?

The data will be collected from the time the devices are installed and the information held for a period of the lifetime of the tenancy or where the tenant moves from the premises.

At the end of the subscription service, all data obtained will be fully anonymised and personal data will be physically deleted. Anonymised data will only be retained for the purpose of increasing the accuracy of machine learnt insights.

Who does the Council share personal information with?

The data will be collected from the time the devices are installed and the information held for a period of the lifetime of the tenancy or where the tenant moves from the premises.

At the end of the subscription service, all data obtained will be fully anonymised and personal data will be physically deleted. Anonymised data will only be retained for the purpose of increasing the accuracy of machine learnt insights.

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.

Access to your information

You have the right to request a copy of the personal information that 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.

Correcting your information

We want to make sure that your personal information is accurate, complete and up to date. Therefore you may ask us to correct any personal information about you that you believe does not meet these standards.

Deleting your information

You have the right to ask us to delete personal information about you where:

  • you think that we no longer need to hold the information for the purposes for which it was originally obtained
  • we are using that information with your consent and you have withdrawn your consent - see the 'withdrawing consent to using your information' section below.  Please note that in general we do not rely on consent as the legal basis for processing your personal information
  • you have a genuine objection to our use of your personal information - see 'objecting to how we may use your information' below
  • our use of your personal information is contrary to law or our other legal obligations.

Objecting to how we may use your information

You have the right at any time to tell us to stop using your personal information for direct marketing purposes, profiling or research purposes. 

Restricting how we may use your information 

In some cases, you may ask us to restrict how we use your personal information.  This right might apply, for example, where we are checking the accuracy of personal information that we hold about you or we are assessing the objection you have made to our use of your information. 

This right might also apply if we no longer have a basis for using your personal information - but you don't want us to delete the data.  Where this right is realistically applied will mean that we may only use the relevant personal information with your consent, for legal claims or where there are other public interest grounds to do so.

Withdrawing consent to use your information

Where we use your personal information with your consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time and we will stop using your personal information for the purpose(s) for which consent was given.

Your request to transfer your data

If we are processing your personal information with your consent or as part of a contract with you, and it is held in an accessible and machine-readable format, you have a right to ask us to transmit it to another organisation. This is known as the right to data portability.

Our profiling or automated decision-making processes

We make some use of automated decision-making processes but very little use of profiling.  Where these techniques are used, this will be explained in the specific privacy statements relating to those functions, together with a description of the reason involved in any automated decision-making.

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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