Data Protection: personal information and you


Your rights under the UK Data Protection Act 2018

Data Protection

Adur & Worthing Councils are committed to the protection of all personal information collected during the process of delivering services to our customers in accordance with the provisions of the UK Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA).

Under the DPA you have the rights listed below. Further information on what you may be entitled to is available from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), see:

The right to be informed:

This information is displayed by Adur & Worthing Councils, see:

The right of access:

The right of access, commonly referred to as a Subject Access Request or SAR, gives you the right to obtain a copy of your personal information held by the Council.

Please note that under a SAR you are only entitled to your own personal data, and not to information relating to other people (unless you are acting on their behalf, in which case you will be asked for a proof of authority).

Further rights requests:

This includes:

  • The right of rectification (to have any inaccuracies corrected)
  • The right of erasure (in certain circumstances you may have your data deleted)
  • The right to restrict processing (in certain circumstances you may suppress or restrict the processing of your personal data)
  • The right to data portability (allows data subjects to obtain and reuse their personal data across different services)
  • The right to object (in certain circumstances the data subject may object to the processing of their personal data)
  • Rights in relation to automated decision-making and profiling (applicable to circumstances where automated decisions are made, based on your personal data, solely by automated means without any human involvement)

Back to top

Making a request

Type of request and what to include:

  • Subject Access Request (SAR):
    • ie a request for information about yourself
    • you can make your request verbally or in writing
  • Data Protection Request (DP):
    • means you are requesting information about someone else, ie a third party
    • you can make your request verbally or in writing
  • Data Protection Rights Request (DPRR):
    • the right of rectification
    • the right of erasure
    • the right to restrict processing
    • the right to data portability
    • the right to object
    • rights in relation to automated decision-making and profiling

What to include in your request:

  • Try to be as specific as possible about the information that you would like. This will help us to respond accurately and promptly.
  • If you can, please indicate which service or department may hold the information you are requesting.
  • Where possible, please include a contact telephone number so that we can contact you to discuss your request if necessary.
  • You may be asked to provide proof of identity such as your passport or driving licence.
  • Signed written consent if you are making the request on behalf of someone or if you want the Councils to liaise with someone on your behalf (see also getting in touch with your councillor). You may use this consent form for your convenience:
  • If you require the information in a specific format, such as Braille, large print, audio, or languages other than English, we will do our best to assist you. Please tell us when making your request.

There are different ways to submit your request, but making your request via the online form or in writing will help us greatly in locating the information and processing your request faster:

Online:

By post, writing to:

Should you wish to print off the form, you can download the relevant form below:

Print, complete and post it to:

  • Information Governance,
    Adur & Worthing Councils,
    Worthing Town Hall,
    Chapel Road,
    Worthing,
    West Sussex,
    BN11 1HA

Or send us your own free text request to the above address.

By email:

By phone:

  • 01903 239999

Face to face:

  • by speaking to a member of staff

Back to top

Consent

In the UK all personal information is protected by the Data Protection Act 2018 ('the Act') and anyone who processes such information is obliged to comply with the requirements of the Act.

When your personal data is required to be shared with a third party, they always need a lawful basis under the Act.

One such lawful basis is consent. If you ask someone to discuss your personal case with the Council, please provide consent, so that the Council can share your personal information.

Your consent should be:

  • Freely given
  • Specific
  • Informed
  • Unambiguous
  • By a statement or a clear affirmative action
  • Explicit (if you wish some very sensitive information to be disclosed, such as health or political opinions)

It is acceptable to provide your consent in writing either by letter or by email. It needs to state who you are, what information you want the Council to disclose and to whom, as well as be clearly signed and dated. Once we are in receipt of your consent, the Council officers will be able to disclose your personal information and discuss your case as far as your consent allows them to.

You may use this consent form for your convenience:

More information on your rights is available from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), see:

Back to top

Asking your councillor to act on your behalf

In the UK all personal information is protected by the Data Protection Act 2018 ('the Act') and anyone who processes such information is obliged to comply with the requirements of the Act.

For the data protection purposes, councillors and the Councils are separate data controllers, hence when personal information is required to be shared, they always need a lawful basis under the Act.

One of such lawful bases is consent. So if you ask your councillor to discuss your personal case with the Council, please provide your consent, so that the Council can share your personal information.

Your consent should be:

  • Freely given
  • Specific
  • Informed
  • Unambiguous
  • By a statement or a clear affirmative action
  • Explicit (if you wish some very sensitive information to be disclosed, such as health or political opinions)

It is acceptable to provide your consent in writing either by letter or by email to the councillor. It needs to state who you are, what information you want the Council to disclose and to whom, as well as be clearly signed and dated. The councillor will then provide your consent to the Council. Finally, the council officers will be able to disclose your personal information and discuss your case as far as your consent allows them to.

You may use this consent form for your convenience:

More information on your rights is available from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), see:

Back to top

Review process

If you are not satisfied with our response to your request for information, you have the right to an internal review. Complaints and requests for review should be submitted by the applicants to the Senior Information Governance Officer (SIGO) within three (3) months of receipt of the response.

Please contact the SIGO explaining what you would like reviewed:

  • either via the link provided in our response email to you
  • or by emailing information.officer@adur-worthing.gov.uk
  • or by writing to the following address:
    Senior Information Governance Officer,
    Adur & Worthing Councils,
    Worthing Town Hall,
    Chapel Road,
    Worthing,
    West Sussex,
    BN11 1HA

If you are not satisfied with the internal review, you can take your complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):

Back to top

Quarterly Report - Adur & Worthing Councils' performance stats for requests for information

You may review our quarterly statistical report on various information requests received by the Councils by following the link below.

The report includes information on:

  • numbers and response deadlines for Subject Access Requests (SARs)
  • Data Protection Rights Requests (DPRRs)
  • Disclosure Requests by third parties (DP)
  • Freedom of Information (FOI) and Environmental Information (EIR) requests

Back to top

Data matching

The Councils are required by law to protection the public funds it administers. The Councils may share information provided to it with other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds to prevent and detect fraud.

For more information see:

Back to top

Data Protection Policy

You can read our Data Protection Policy below:

Back to top

Data Protection Privacy Notice

You can read our Data Protection Privacy Notice below:

See also:

Back to top

Useful links

Use the following links to find out more information about your data subject rights:

See also:

Back to top

Need assistance with this service?
Get in touch:

Page last updated: 01 March 2023

Back to top