Local Social Work is committed to preserving the privacy and confidentiality of everybody we work with. Inevitably and necessarily when carrying out our work we are likely to collect a wide variety of information, some of which may be personally identifiable and/or sensitive. This Privacy Notice outlines how we manage that information.

 

Our contact details

Local Social Work is a trading name of SSW Independents Ltd (referred to as “we” or “us” in this Policy).  Company Number 09824810. The office address is:

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40-42 Castleford Road
Normanton
West Yorkshire
WF6 2EE

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We are also contactable at admin@localsocialwork.com

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Allan Stelmach is the Director and point of contact for any data protection matters, contactable as above.

 

What type of information we have

In carrying out our business, we necessarily request and collect personally identifiable information relating to the people we are working with. This typically includes contact information such as names, addresses, email addresses and telephone numbers, and this may also be similarly requested from those in an individual’s close personal network. In relation to the individual we are working with directly, we are likely to additionally collect more sensitive information, such as:

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- Date of birth
- Qualifications and employment history
- Demographic information such as the person’s race, sexuality, or nationality
- Basic information about the individual’s health conditions and history
- Information about the individual’s support network and services accessed
- Contact information for other professionals working with the individual
- Financial circumstances information

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This list is not exhaustive and, in specific instances, we may need to collect other information for the purposes set out in this Privacy Notice.

 

How we get the information and why we do we have it

Information about individuals may be sent to us securely by commissioning bodies, such as Local Authorities, Clinical Commissioning Groups or Solicitors. This is done in accordance with their own data protection policies, and only information necessary for the completion of work being commissioned is shared with us.

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Information is also gathered directly from individuals we work with, professionals working with that individual, and others in their support network. This may be shared verbally, or by the sharing of paper or electronic documents. Consent to gather this information will always be sought directly from the individual concerned. In cases where the individual to whom the information relates may be considered unable to give consent due to some form of cognitive impairment, consent may be sought on their behalf from others close to that person, in line with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act. If anyone we hold information on wishes to withdraw their consent for us to store that information, that request would need to be sent in writing via the contact details at the top of this Privacy Notice. We will respond within 30 days.

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There may be exceptional instances when information must be collected and/or stored without explicitly seeking consent from the individual concerned, for instance in relation to adult or children safeguarding matters, or in order to comply with legal obligations.

 

What we do with the information

The privacy and confidentiality of the people we work with is central to our practice. We only routinely share information where essential for the completion of work commissioned, such as returning completed work to the commissioning body. This is done via secure electronic information sharing pathways.

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The law does not allow us to share your information without your permission, unless there is evidence that someone is at risk. If we are worried about your physical safety or we feel that we need to take action to protect you from being harmed in other ways, we will discuss this with you. We will seek your permission to tell others about your situation. However, if we deem that the situation is so serious that we believe there is a significant risk of harm to yourself or others, we have a professional duty to share the relevant information with the appropriate authorities.

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We will only share your personal details when it is unavoidable under our duty of care. Examples of circumstances when we would have to share information include:

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- if there are serious risks to the public, ourselves or other professionals

- to protect a child

- to protect adults who are thought to be at risk

- for the detection and prevention of crime or fraudulent activity

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There may be rare occasions when the risk to you or others is so great that we need to share the information straight away. We will record the information we have shared and our reasons for doing so.

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How we store your information

Paper records are stored securely for up to two years, depending on the likelihood of such information being needed for future enquiries or legal proceedings, before being securely destroyed. In exceptional circumstances, information may be stored for longer, though only electronically and in accordance with international standard ISO 27001.

 

Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have rights including:

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Your right of access - You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information.

Your right to rectification - You have the right to ask us to rectify information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete.

Your right to erasure - You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.

Your right to restriction of processing - You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your information in certain circumstances.

Your right to object to processing - You have the the right to object to the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances.

Your right to data portability - You have the right to ask that we transfer the information you gave us to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances.

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You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you. Please contact us at admin@localsocialwork.com or the address at the top of this Privacy Notice if you wish to make a request.

 

How to complain

You can make a complaint directly to us, by writing or emailing at the addresses at the start of this Privcay Notice. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) [www.ico.org.uk] directly if you feel there is a problem with the way we are handling your data.

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The ICO’s address:           

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

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Helpline number: 0303 123 1113

Updates to this Privacy Notice

This Privacy Notice is subject to review at any time; any changes will be updated on the website at www.localsocialwork.com. This Privacy Notice was last reviewed on 18/01/2020.