This privacy notice tells you what to expect us to do with your personal information. It should be read in conjunction with our overarching privacy notice.
Contact details for our Data Protection Officer
Data Protection Officer
Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service
Five Rivers Health and Wellbeing Centre
Salisbury
Wiltshire
SP1 3NR
01722 691000
What information we collect, use, and why
Safeguarding is the activity taken to protect a person’s right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect.
It involves people and organisations working together to prevent and stop both the risks and experience of abuse or neglect, while at the same time making sure that a child or adult’s health, safety and wellbeing is promoted. We have a responsibility to safeguard vulnerable adults and children at risk, which we identify through our operations as a fire and rescue service.
We collect or use the following personal information for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children:
- Contact Details (name, address, phone number)
- Age or Date of Birth
- GP details
- Type of property (Private, Housing Association, Supported Accommodation)
- Third Party Details (Next of kin, other agencies supporting you)
- Risk information such as high-level hoarding
- Relevant characteristic of the vulnerable adult or child (such as special educational needs, behavioural information)
- What the concerns are and what outcome the person would like from the referral.
The special category data, we may process in relation to our safeguarding activities will be on a case-by-case basis, this may include the following:
- Health Information (medical conditions, information about your mental health, physical or cognitive impairment, disabilities)
- Racial or ethnic origin
- Personal data revealing political opinions
- Data concerning a person’s sexual orientation
- Criminal offence data (Criminal activity, allegations, investigations and proceedings)
Lawful bases and data protection rights
Under UK data protection law, we must have a “lawful basis” for collecting and using your personal information. There is a list of possible lawful bases in the UK GDPR. You can find out more about lawful bases on the ICO’s website.
Which lawful basis we rely on may affect your data protection rights which are set out in brief in the Your data, Your rights section of our web site. You can find out more about your data protection rights and the exemptions which may apply on the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) website.
Our lawful basis for the collection and use of your personal information
Our lawful basis for collecting or using personal information for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children is:
(c) Compliance with a legal obligation – we must collect or use the information so we can comply with the law.
The requisite basis in law for the legal obligation, condition comes from our compliance with:
- The Care Act 2014
- Children’s Act 1989 and 2004
- Children and Social Work Act 2017
- Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004
- United Nations Human Rights Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 (Article 12)
- The Mental Capacity Act 2005
- Mental Health Act 2007
- Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006
- Working Together to Safeguard children 2023
- The counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015
- Modern Slavery Act 2015
- Human rights Act 1998
- Police & Crime Act 2017
- Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998
- Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions Order) 1975
- The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012
Our lawful basis for the collection and use of your special category information
Our lawful basis for collecting or using special category information for safeguarding vulnerable adults and children is:
(g) Substantial public interest conditions (with a basis in law) – processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest, on the basis of Domestic Law which shall be proportionate to the aim pursued, respect the essence of the right to data protection and provide for suitable and specific measures to safeguard the fundamental rights and the interests of the data subject.
Please see the Acts above for the requisite basis in law for the (g) substantial public interest conditions.
The associated public interest condition, set out in Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018 is:
- Part 2 of Schedule 1: Section 18 – Safeguarding of Children and individuals at risk
Where we get your personal information from
We get this information from a variety of sources, these include:
- you (the data subject),
- other public bodies such as the police, ambulance service, local councils and the NHS
- other organisations who have a concern about your welfare
- our staff who are concerned for your welfare
How we store your information
We keep this information within a database which is subject to strict security controls to ensure that access is limited to those who need to see it.
How long we keep your personal information for
After completion of the safeguarding visit/concern we will keep your information for 7 years. after which time it will be destroyed.
Who we share your personal information with and why
There are several reasons why we may share your information outside of our Service. This can be due to:
- Our obligations to comply with current legislation
- Our duty to comply with a Court Order
- You have consented to the sharing / disclosure
- When the concerns are outside the scope and capabilities of our Service
We may disclose information to other agencies without consent where it is necessary, either to comply with a legal obligation, or where permitted under the General Data Protection Regulation, e.g. where the disclosure is necessary for the purposes of the prevention and/or detection of crime or to protect individuals from significant harm or abuse. We work closely with other agencies, such as councils, health services, adult and children’s services and may, for the purpose of preventing risk of harm to yourself or another individual, share your personal information.
How to complain
If you have any concerns about our use of your personal information, you can make a complaint to us using the contact details at the top of this privacy notice.
If you remain unhappy with how we’ve used your data after raising a complaint with us, you can also complain to the ICO.
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
0303 123 1113
www.ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint
Last updated
November 2024