Legal advice 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.

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

Personal data is processed in order to provide legal advice to Stirling Council as a whole, to specific Services and/or to Elected Members.

Data can also be processed in relation to the performance of core statutory matters, other contractual obligations or meet other conditions of processing (or can be preparatory thereto including litigation advice).

In order to provide legal advice, it may be necessary to process potentially any personal data already held by the Council, including personal data relating to:

• Adults,
• Children
• Vulnerable adults,
• Vulnerable children
• Council tenants
• Council employees
• School pupils (and potential pupils) within education authority area, third parties where information is directly relevant to the circumstances of any of the above

In the provision of legal advice and/ or in contemplation of litigation, a significant amount of personal data is considered and processed by legal in considering options and routes available to client services, that can include (dependant on the nature of the case)

Personal Data

• Name and DOB
• Address
• Financial details
• Physical health/ mental health details (including (in the context of possible adoption) as to addictions, genetic disorders, complex needs and assessments);
• Family circumstances
• Adopters/ prospective adopters, foster carers
• Employment details, financial means and family outgoings (e.g. housing cases)
• School and pupil records
• Criminal convictions, allegations of a criminal nature involvement with Police or criminal justice/ MAPPA services
• Details as to the suspension/ removal of parental rights and responsibilities and information through the Court and Children’s Hearing systems
• Complex detail of family histories, family compositions, social work involvement with families over significant periods of time and involvement with services.

“Special Category” Data

• Biometric data
• Genetic data
• Health (physical or mental)
• Political opinions
• Racial or ethnic origin
• Religious or philosophical beliefs
• Sexual life
• Trade union membership

Data relating to criminal convictions and offences is also processed. 

Depending on the specific case, personal data may be processed:

• As a result of a contract with the data subject
• To comply with a statutory obligation
• To perform a “public task” in the public interest
• With the consent of the individual

Personal data is typically collected by other Services within the Council and sent to Legal internally. Personal data can also be:

• Provided by the relevant Service
• Disclosed by data subjects or their legal agents as part of the process
• Obtained by carrying out standard legal searches with Approved Searchers
• Disclosed by external government agencies
• Disclosed by partners i.e. other local authorities/police (for example, directly from health or others under Adult Support and Protection processes)

In most cases any personal data would not have been collected for the sole or main reason of use in legal proceedings and/or the provision of legal advice but will have been collected in consideration of the wider statutory role.  To give appropriate legal advice it may however be necessary to fully process information available to the Council.

On occasions information may come directly from Health or Police or other external provider. However the primary point of contact for any external organisation would normally be the Service, and not legal services.  For example, Vulnerable Person Reports which may be relevant to a permanence case will typically be disclosed to Social Work, who would then share with legal services.  We would not receive these directly.

Personal Data can also be disclosed to the Council by legal agents acting on behalf of data subjects.

In paper format, and in electronic format on the council network.

Data Protection laws require personal data to be kept no longer than is necessary.

Depending on the type of legal advice, different retention rules apply.

Personal data may be shared with legal representatives of the data subjects in discussions/ negotiations.

It will be shared as a matter of course (if Court action initiated) with the Court & Tribunals System – through the lodging of applications (normally at Stirling Sheriff Court) and perhaps also with Sheriff Officers who are instructed to effect service of certain court documents on behalf of the Council; 

When certain Court applications are made the Court then orders that the local authority serve copies of papers on relevant people to the action (this may mean for example that a Guardianship application is served on their nearest relative, their care provider and other family members) – those applications will include sensitive personal information and include medical reports – that specific sharing mechanism is provided for under the AWI act but under other frameworks such as Adult Support and Protection it may also be done

Shared with government agencies

Shared with partner agencies (perhaps with Health in discussion as to an ASP matter) or perhaps with the Office of the Public Guardian, Mental Welfare Commission

External legal firms acting for the Council on a particular matter.

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.

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.