Details
- Name of service - Legal Services
- Directorate - Corporate Resources
- Date of issue - 5 November 2020
- Date of current version - 2 November 2023
- Review date - 19 October 2025
Notice
The reasons why we use your personal data
Surrey Legal Services offer expert in house legal advice to all officers and County Councillors in the Council on a full range of areas of law including the following:
- Major projects
- Procurement and contracts
- Property, planning and highways
- Housing and Licensing
- Prosecutions, civil litigation and employment
- Adult and children's services
- Education
- Administrative and local government law
What processing of personal data is undertaken by the service?
Some of the information which the public provides to the Council (or external clients) is passed to the legal team so that we can provide legal advice and representation.
Generally the information we hold will have been provided to us by you, by Council staff or by our external clients. However we may also hold information provided by third parties where this is relevant and necessary for the provision of our legal service, for example from social workers, health professionals, doctors, occupational therapists and enforcement and regulatory agencies such as the police.
What information do we collect?
The types of personal data we hold may include names, addresses and dates of birth as well as biographical, professional, financial and social information about residents, members of the public, elected members, and experts instructed for the purposes of providing legal advice and representation.
We may also hold sensitive personal information such as race, ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, trade union membership, health, sex life or sexual orientation.
How we are allowed to use your information
We rely on one or more of the following reasons to process your data:
- to perform a contract which you have entered into with us
- to comply with a legal obligation that we are subject to
- to perform a task carried out in the public interest or where we are exercising official authority
- to carry out certain obligations and rights in the field of employment law, social security or social protection law
- to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim
- processing is in the substantial public interest
- to provide health or social care.
We work under various UK legislation including but not limited to:
- Local Government Act
- Localism Act 2011
- Mental Capacity Act 2005
- Mental Health Act 1983, 2007
- Local Safeguarding Children & Adults Boards Regulations 2006
- Crime and Disorder Act 1998
- Welfare Reform Act 2012
Consent
Where we have consent to process your personal data, we will explain to you what we are asking you to agree to and why. If we have consent to use your personal data, you may have the right to remove it at any time. If you want to remove your consent, please contact us at the following email address legal.records@surreycc.gov.uk and we will deal with your request.
Who we share your personal data with
Voluntary sector, Charities, Districts and Boroughs, Providers, Health Agencies, Judicial Agencies such as courts, our insurers or external auditors, system providers:
Where we need to share your data with trusted external organisations to process your data on our behalf, for example where we use external software or systems to deliver our service, then the other party will be contractually required to adhere to the security requirements imposed by data protection legislation. They will only be able to use your information to the extent that they need to do so to complete work on our behalf.
Retention of data
Data will be retained in accordance with SCC countywide data retention schedule.
Other information
For further information on our privacy notices, please see information and privacy.
