Privacy Notice - Strategic Housing

Who To Contact

Data Protection Officer
Knowsley Council
Westmorland Road
Huyton
L36 9GL

Who will own my data once I submit it?

Knowsley Council.

Why do you need my information?

Strategic Housing will collect your data for the following reasons:

For the purposes of preventing or relieving homelessness – we will need to collect and share some of your data if you make a homeless presentation to us. Knowsley Housing Options manage the Council’s Homelessness service. You can find Knowsley Housing Options's privacy notice here.
For the provision and management of temporary accommodation.
For the administration of the Council’s social housing register on Property Pool Plus – Property Pool Plus also has its own privacy notice.
For the administration and allocation of Housing Assistance Grants – if you apply to us for a grant we will need to collect your data in order to check your eligibility against the grant terms and conditions and ensure the conditions are maintained.
For the administration of the Landlord Accreditation Scheme – if you are accredited we will need to hold relevant data in order to fulfil our responsibilities under the scheme. The relevant privacy notice will be displayed on the website.
For the improvement of the private rented sector – if you are a private landlord but are not accredited we will ask for your consent to keep your contact details so that we can send you details that are relevant to your housing management function.

What allows you to use my information?

Strategic Housing will collect and use your data under the:

Local Government Act 1972
Housing Act 1996 (including amendments)
Homelessness Act 2002
Regulatory Reform Order 2002

In all cases you will be required to give your consent to the data being held and can withdraw at any time.

However, if you refuse or withdraw your consent we will be unable to complete the function you are requesting, for example, relieving your homelessness or providing you with a Housing Assistance grant.

Who will my information be shared with?

Depending on the exact situation we may share your data with different agencies. The agencies are diverse and the nature of your contact with Strategic Housing will determine which agencies we may share your data with.

Adult Social Care
Care and Repair Service
Children's Social Care
Contractors involved in the delivery of Housing Assistance
Environmental Health and Consumer Protection
Exchequer Services (council tax and housing benefit)
Fire and Rescue Service
Health Services
Housing Options Service
Knowsley Works
Legal Services
Police forces
Probation Services
Providers of supported accommodation
Registered providers of social housing
Safer Communities

Do I have to provide this information and what will happen if I don't?

If you have approached Strategic Housing or one of our commissioned services (Property Pool Plus or Housing Options Service) you will need to provide information in order for your query or application to be progressed.

Some of our functions are statutory – this means we have to do them even without consent. If you do not provide the information we require we will still fulfil our statutory duties but we will unable to offer you additional services.

Should you withdraw your consent we will inform you which statutory duties we have to perform, if we are able to provide you with our full support and service, and/or which services are thereafter no longer available to you.

How long will you keep this data for and why?

Property Pool Plus – your data will be stored for six years after closure of your account. This is explained on the Property Pool Plus Privacy Notice.

Housing Options Service – your data will be stored for a maximum of six years. This is explained on the Knowsley Housing Options Privacy Notice.

Housing Assistance Grants – grants have time conditions attached. Your data will be kept for:

six years following the end of the grant conditions or
six years following the identification of a breach of these conditions or
until the grant is fully repaid, whichever is the shorter.

Landlord Accreditation Scheme – your data will be stored for as long as you have accredited status. If you choose to leave, or are removed from, the scheme we will ask you again if we may use your contact details to send you relevant information. If you are not accredited but you have given permission for us to have your contact details we will keep them until you retract this permission. You can do this by emailing [email protected].

How will my information be stored?

Property Pool Plus - your information will be stored on the web based Civica system and held on their secure server. There is limited paperwork but where any paper records do exist these will be held securely in the Knowsley Housing Trust office.

Housing Options Service – your information will be stored on the web based Civica system and held on their secure server. We will also store some information in Microsoft packages on the Jigsaw Homes secure server. Any paper records are kept securely at the Housing Options Service office.

Temporary accommodation - SHAP and Local Solutions – your information will be stored on their individual IT systems held on their secure servers. Paper records will be stored securely in their offices.

All other services under Strategic Housing will store your data on Knowsley Council’s secure server in Microsoft packages. Any paper records are kept securely on Council premises.

Will this information be used to take automated decisions about me?

No.

Will my data be transferred abroad and why?

No.

What rights do I have when it comes to my data?

Under the General Data Protection Regulation, you have the following rights with regards to your personal data:

The right to subject access – you have the right to see a copy of the personal data that the Council holds about you and find out what it is used for.
The right to rectification – you have the right to ask the Council to correct or remove any inaccurate data that we hold about you.
The right to erasure (right to be forgotten) you have the right to ask the Council to remove data that we hold about you.
The right to restriction – you have the right to ask for your information to be restricted (locked down) on Council systems.
The right to data portability – you have the right to ask for your data to be transferred back to you or to a new provider at your request.
The right to object – you have the right to ask the Council to stop using your personal data or to stop sending you marketing information, or complain about how your data is used.
The right to prevent automated decision making – you have the right to ask the Council to stop using your data to make automated decisions about you or to stop profiling your behaviour. (where applicable)

To find out more about your rights under the GDPR, please read the Information Commissioner's Office Guide to General Data Protection Regulation.

To request a copy of your data or ask questions about how it is used, contact:

Data Protection Officer

Knowsley Council

Westmorland Road

Huyton

L36 9GL

Or email: [email protected]