Coventry City Council complies with the Data Protection Act and the UK GDPR and is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as a Data Controller.

This Privacy Notice explains how personal information is going to be used, what for, who it will be shared with and why.

Why we collect and use Personal Data about you

We collect and hold personal information relating to all customer contact via telephones, emails and the online service. 

We use this information to:

  • Provide you with necessary and appropriate services
  • Deliver services for people of the City
  • Create and keep customer records and service requests in a Client Relationship Manager (CRM)
  • To administer and access official government systems and records for benefits
  • Retain applications for council tax and benefits
  • Understand your needs so that you are provided with the right services
  • Help us to develop employee training and recruitment exercises to improve delivery of your interaction
  • Make sure your records and contact details are correct
  • Help us to develop and improve our services – we may contact you to ask about your experience via telephone, email, or survey
  • To process customer requests for a Coventry City Council service
  • To process changes in circumstances in relation to benefits

We process personal data because it is necessary to comply with our legal obligations. Our lawful basis for processing will depend on the nature of your contact with us; if you are unsure which lawful basis applies to our processing you can contact us to confirm.

What information do we collect about you?

  • Name
  • Address
  • Telephone number
  • Email address
  • Details of your service request
  • Recordings of telephone calls

Who we share your Personal Data with

We will share data with:

  • Other internal Coventry City Council Departments
  • Emergency Services – if you have told us you are at risk of harm
  • Where appropriate, external organisations or individuals who can offer the support required. We will not do this without first getting your consent.

How long will we keep your information?

We will only keep your information for as long as we need to so we can give you the service(s) you need, unless we must keep it for legal reasons. The times may be different depending on the service you have asked for/are provided with.

  • Telephone call recordings are retained for eight weeks before being permanently deleted
  • The CRM account created when you contact us will remain permanently unless you request a deletion
  • Any service requests logged via online forms or customer contact are retained for three years before being deleted

Your Rights

You have the right to:

  1. Ask to see the personal information we hold about you
  2. Withdraw consent (see below)
  3. Ask us to change information we hold about you if it is wrong
  4. Ask us to delete the information we hold about you
  5. Ask us to limit the way we use your personal information
  6. Ask for human intervention regarding decisions made about you by a computer
  7. Data portability (have your data transferred to another Authority)
  8. Complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office

To exercise any of these rights please contact the Customer Services Team on 08085 834333 or email: customer.services@coventry.gov.uk

Withdrawal of Consent

Where personal data is processed on the basis of consent, you will have the right to withdraw that consent. However Coventry City Council process personal data that it is necessary to do so in order to comply with our legal obligations and to enable us to perform tasks carried out in the public interest. 

Complaints

You have the right to submit a complaint if you are unhappy with the way your request is handled or disagree with a decision made by the council regarding your data. In these circumstances, you can contact the Data Protection Team (DPO) and request a review of the decision.

If you are not satisfied with any outcome from the DPO you may wish to apply to the Information Commissioner’s Office at:

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

Date of last review: September 2022 (Last updated September 2022)