Privacy Notice

This privacy notice explains how Swale Borough Council collects, uses and protects personal information when you use the services covered by this page. It also outlines your rights under data protection Legislation.

This notice is intended to provide fuller information to support the shorter privacy statements you may see when you provide your information to us, for example on application forms or through online services.

We may update this privacy notice from time to time to reflect changes in our services or the law. Any changes will apply from the date they are published on this page. We recommend that you check this page regularly to stay informed about how we use your information. This notice should be read alongside the Council’s main privacy notice.

Who we are

Swale Borough Council is the data controller for the personal information processed in connection with the services described in this notice. This means we are responsible for determining how and why your personal information is used.

We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as a data controller.
Our registration number is Z7353758 - Information Commissioner’s register.

You can find our contact details, including our address and telephone number, on our Contact Us page:  Contact us - Contact a Swale Borough Council service

What Service is being provided?

This privacy notice applies to Pride in Place activities, including:

• Pride in place mailing list
• Pride in place questionnaire

How we collect information from you

We collect personal information in a number of ways, including when you:

• complete online or paper forms
• contact us by telephone, email or in writing
• attend appointments or speak to Council officers in person
• use our website or other digital services

In some circumstances, we may also receive information from other Council services or external organisations, where this is lawful and necessary in order to provide the service.

What personal information do we collect from you

For the services covered by this notice, we collect and use personal information relating to individuals who use, or are affected by, those services.

Pride in place questionnaire: Information is collected as part of the Pride in Place project to help identify community needs, priorities and opportunities. The questionnaire is not designed to collect information that directly identifies individuals and respondents are asked not to provide personal information within their responses. The Council does not seek to identify respondents from the information collected. Responses will be used to inform future funding, community investment and community projects.

Pride in place mailing list: Email address only
Mailing list information is collected separately from questionnaire responses and is not used to identify or link questionnaire responses to individuals.

We only collect and use personal information that is relevant and necessary for the purposes of delivering the service.

Special category and criminal offence data

For some of the services covered by this notice, we process personal data that the law recognises as more sensitive.

This may include information relating to health, disability, ethnicity, religion, or other similar matters, where this is necessary in order to provide the service.

For the Pride in Place questionnaire, demographic information may include special category data such as ethnicity, disability, religion, sexual orientation or belief where this is necessary to understand whether different groups within the community experience different needs, barriers, priorities or opportunities.

Where this information is processed, we do so in accordance with Article 9 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, and we apply additional legal safeguards to protect individuals’ rights and interests.

Where relevant to the service, we may also process information relating to criminal offences or allegations. This information is processed in accordance with Article 10 of the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.This information is subject to further restrictions and safeguards under data protection law.

If the processing of special category or criminal offence data is not required for the services covered by this notice, this section will not apply.

Why do we collect this information

We use your personal data to provide and manage the services referenced above.

In addition to the service specific purposes detailed above, we also use personal information where necessary to:

• meet our legal, statutory and regulatory obligations
• maintain accurate records for governance, audit and accountability purposes
• respond to enquiries, complaints and requests for information
• support service planning, monitoring and improvement
• prevent and detect fraud, error or misuse of public funds
• support the safety and security of staff, visitors and Council premises, including through the use of CCTV

Where you access our services online, we also use cookies and similar technologies to improve website functionality and user experience. Further information is available in our Cookie Notice.

How the law allows us to use your personal information

Under UK data protection law, there are several lawful bases that allow us to process personal data. The lawful basis (or bases) we rely on for processing your personal information for the purposes outlined above depends on the specific service being provided and is set out below.

Mailing list: Article 6(1)(a) UK GDPR – Consent

Questionnaire – The questionnaire is not intended to collect information that identifies individuals and the Council does not seek to identify respondents from their responses. However, as demographic information is collected and there remains a limited possibility that information could relate to an identifiable individual in certain circumstances, the Council processes this information under Article 6(1)(e) UK GDPR – Public Task. Where demographic information includes special category data, processing is undertaken under Article 9(2)(g) UK GDPR – Substantial Public Interest, with reliance on Schedule 1, Part 2, Paragraph 8 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (Equality of Opportunity or Treatment).

Where required, additional legal conditions apply to the use of special category personal data and criminal offence data, as described above.

We use CCTV at our premises to help keep visitors and staff safe, prevent and detect crime, and protect our property. Our lawful basis is Public task (Article 6(1)(e)), carried out in the public interest under our statutory powers.

Who we share personal information with

We may share personal information where this is lawful and necessary in order to deliver the service:

• other Council services
• other local authorities
• central government departments or agencies
• law enforcement or regulatory bodies
• organisations that provide services to us on our behalf

We only share personal information that is necessary for the relevant purpose and ensure appropriate safeguards are in place.

Pride in place questionnaire: The information collected will be combined with other responses and used to inform future funding, investment and community projects. Findings may be published and shared in an aggregated format to help inform future community projects, funding opportunities and decision-making. Published information will be aggregated and will not be used to identify individual respondents.

How long will we keep your information for

We retain personal information only for as long as it is necessary for the purpose it was collected, in accordance with the Council’s retention schedule and legal requirements.

Retention periods vary depending on the service:

Pride in place Mailing list: 1 year from the end of the project
Pride in place questionnaire:  The aggregated findings may be published and retained as part of the project record. The questionnaire responses used to produce those findings will be retained for 1 year and then securely deleted in accordance with the Council's retention arrangements

Storing your personal data

The Council uses external organisations to support the delivery of its services. These organisations act on the Council’s behalf as data processors, and personal information is shared with them where this is necessary to provide the service.

Personal information is primarily stored and processed within the United Kingdom. However, some organisations that support Council services process personal information outside the UK, for example where systems or support services are hosted overseas.

Where personal information is processed outside the UK, the Council ensures that appropriate legal safeguards are in place in accordance with UK data protection law. These organisations are required to process personal information only in line with the Council’s instructions and to have appropriate security measures in place.

Further information about this processing and the safeguards used can be obtained by contacting the Data Protection Officer. Additional information about how these organisations process personal information may also be available in their own privacy notices.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

The Council may use approved Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to support staff in drafting responses, summarising information and improving administrative efficiency. AI tools are used to assist staff and do not make decisions about individuals. All outputs are reviewed by an appropriately authorised officer before they are relied upon or used.

Your rights

You have rights under data protection law in relation to your personal information, including:

• Right to be informed – You have the right to be informed about the collection and use of their personal information.
• Right of Access – you can request copies of any of your personal information that is held by the Council.
• Right to Rectification – you can ask us to correct any incorrect information.
• Right to Erasure – you can ask us to delete your personal information. The Council can refuse to delete information if we have a lawful reason to keep this.
• Right to object or restrict processing – you have the right to object to how your information is being used and how it is going to be used in the future.
• Right to Portability – you can ask us to transfer your personal information to different services or to you.
• Right relating to automated decision-making – you have the right to challenge certain decisions made solely by automated means where those decisions have a legal or similarly significant effect on you.

These rights are not absolute and may not apply where we are required to process personal information in order to perform our statutory functions.

How to exercise your rights or make a complaint

By law, you have rights in relation to your personal information, including the rights set out above. These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal limitations.

If you wish to exercise your data protection rights, or if you have a concern or complaint about how your personal information has been handled, you can contact the Council's Data Protection Officer or submit a complaint through the Council's website. Depending on the nature of the complaint, it may be referred to the relevant service area so that it can be investigated and responded to appropriately.

We will acknowledge complaints about the handling of personal information within 30 days of receipt. We will investigate the issues raised, make appropriate enquiries and keep you informed of progress. We will provide the outcome of our investigation without undue delay.

Email: DataProtectionOfficer@Swale.gov.uk

There is no charge to exercise your data protection rights. We may refuse a request or charge a reasonable fee if a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive.

If you are dissatisfied with our response, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent regulator for data protection

For independent advice about data protection, privacy and data sharing issues you can contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)

Information Commissioners Officer
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Phone: 0303 123 1113
Email: casework@ico.org.uk
Website: https://ico.org.uk/

Your Obligations

It is important that you tell us if your personal data changes while you are using our services. This will mean that the data we hold about you is kept up to date and accurate.

Version Information

Last updated: July 2026

This privacy notice is reviewed at least annually and updated sooner where changes occur to the way personal information is processed.

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