The Data Protection Act 1998
A1 Housing needs to collect and use information about the people it deals with including service users, employees, contractors and others. A1 Housing is in some cases required by law to process personal information. If you wish to see information held about you please complete this form and return it to the address below. Alternatively you can hand it in to any A1 Housing Local Housing Office.
All the personal information A1 Housing holds must be dealt with properly no matter how it is collected, recorded or used. This applies whether or not the information is held on paper, electronically or recorded by some other means. The Data Protection Act 1998 and other law require that information is properly handled at all times.
A1 Housing will make sure that it:
- Complies with the law about personal information and adopts the best practice in handling it at all times
- Complies with the Data Protection principles in the Data Protection Act 1998
- Processes personal information fairly and lawfully
- Clearly specifies the purposes for which the personal information is to be used
- Processes personal information only to the extent needed to fulfil its legal obligations and responsibilities
- Checks (where possible) the quality of the personal information it handles
- Keeps personal information for the minimum necessary time
- Respects the rights of people about whom information is held (for example the right of access to personal information; the right to have it corrected, etc, in the appropriate cases)
- Takes appropriate security measures to safeguard personal information
- Does not transfer personal information abroad inappropriately
- Only withholds personal information form the person it is about when this is allowed by law and is justified in the circumstances
What is the Data Protection Act?
The 1998 Act and the Regulations made under it cover service user's rights of access to their personal information that we hold. This policy gives detailed guidance about how to deal with a request for access to information and related issues.
Your rights are
- To ask A1 Housing if it holds personal information about you and to be given access to that information
- To be given details about purposes for which A1 Housing uses information and other organisations to whom it is disclosed
- To ask for incorrect data to be corrected
- To ask A1 Housing to stop processing personal data that is likely to cause damage or distress
Our commitment
We will only collect information that is necessary for what we do. We will be fair in the way we collect information and tell you who we are and what we will use your information for. Where possible, we will collect information directly from you, but if we do collect information about you from someone else, we will tell you about it.
Keeping Information
We will keep your information secure and will keep it only as long as the law says we can. After this we will dispose of it securely and properly. While we are holding your information we will protect it against unauthorized change, damage, loss or theft.
Is my Information kept safe?
Information gathered will only be seen by staff with authorised access.
All our systems are password protected and access strictly restricted.
Where we use agency staff or consultants that require access to personal information to carry out their duties, we ensure that they meet the same standards of data protection as our own staff. Only relevant information will be shared. All information will be held securely and in compliance with the principles of the Data Protection Act 1998. Where you provide Bank Account details for payments via Direct Debit your details will be securely held in compliance with financial regulations.
Warning Codes
In order to ensure the safety of A1 Housing and those of its Partners, A1 Housing will record any act of violence, threat of violence, abuse or anti-social behaviour towards its staff or partners (Where such information is held it will be reviewed on a regular basis).
Sharing information with others
Sometimes we have to confirm or share information with other organisations. If we need to do this, we will make it clear to you on the forms you fill in, when you give us your information.
We will draw up an agreement with the organisation that we need to share the information with. This is so that both sides understand why the information is being passed on, and what it can be used for.
How do I make a request to A1 Housing?
The Data Protection Act gives you the right to see a copy of personal information held about you. A1 Housing holds information about those who live in, or wish to live in properties managed through A1 Housing.
If you wish to see information held about you please download and complete the form at the bottom of the page and return it to the address below. Alternatively you can hand it in to any A1 Housing offices.
When making a request you must include:
1. Your name and a contact address
2. The information you would like (please be as specific as possible)
3. The format you would like the information in - for example, Braille, large print, hard copy or an alternative language. There may be an additional charge for some other formats such as CD-Rom.
The timescale to provide this information is 20 working days from receipt of a clear and concise request.
Our Responsibilities are:
- To acknowledge your request
- To inform you if we have any personal data about you
- To reply within 20 days
A1 Housing may charge a £10.00 fee for Subject Access Requests
The1998 Data Protection Act is administered in the UK by:
The Information Commissioner,
Wycliffe House,
Water Lane,
Wilmslow,
SK9 5AF.
Tel: 01625 545745
Email: mail@dataprotection.gov.uk
How will you be given the Information?
You will be given a copy to keep and check for accuracy. This will either be a printout from the computer or a photocopy of your manual records. You can ask for a different format if you wish.
If you find that the information is incorrect you can write to A1 Housing telling them what information is incorrect and ask for it to be corrected. You can also appeal to the Information Commissioner if A1 Housing does not correct the information.
