Family Support Service Privacy Notice
The Family Support Service is here for families with children aged up to 19 years (or up to 25 years for those with a special educational need or a disability) who need help to prevent problems from getting worse.
The service will record your information in our electronic system.
The information we collect about families who receive help from the Family Support Service will be shared with the national programme (called ‘Supporting Families’) which is aimed at improving the lives of families with complex needs.
Information from other services including social care, housing, health, police and other Local Authority departments may also be shared with the programme where families meet the criteria.
Besides information about family support, we collect information about young people and learning. Go to the section 'Information about young people and learning' to find out more about this. You should also read 'Where is my information stored' first.
Where is my personal information stored?
Buckinghamshire Council holds your personal information in order to provide services to you. This will include facts about you like your name, date of birth, address and details about the work we do with you.
This information about you and your family will be held on Buckinghamshire Council’s electronic systems or, in some cases, on paper documents, all of which will be stored securely and confidentially and can only be accessed by people who have the authority to do so.
Personal information shared securely from other departments and agencies will be stored securely on Buckinghamshire Council’s internal system where access is restricted.
Information on school attendance and attainment, criminal offences, benefits and employment is collected routinely by Government Departments.
Data we hold is also used for monitoring and reporting on progress and may contribute to national evaluations. In these circumstances, your identity will be protected and data will be used for statistical purposes only.
Who is my information being shared with?
Your information may be shared with partners and organisations to help you achieve outcomes where this is in your best interest and with your consent, for example, police, GPs, CAMHS, hospitals, Early Years settings, schools, colleges, Social Care, Government departments.
Partners such as schools, health and so on will need your information to provide you with a service and will not share your information except in instances of safeguarding and its responsibilities in law.
We may commission a partner organisation to take on some of the statutory work and in these cases, your data will be shared securely with the commissioned organisation and processed in accordance with data protection law.
Your information will also be shared with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for research purposes.
ONS will ask Government departments to match identifiers such as names and dates of birth to the data they routinely collect to measure your progress. The data will be transferred, handled and stored by the ONS and securely destroyed after the completion of the research project in accordance with data protection law.
After you have received help from the Family Support Service, your information may be shared with Thames Valley Police. They will return information to us which will help us report on your family’s progress under the national Supporting Families programme.
Anonymised information about the support you receive and the outcomes you achieve will be shared with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Information is shared for research purposes to help the Government and local service providers understand whether or not the programme has been effective in turning around the lives of families. Each party signs an Agreement to ensure that your personal information is stored, managed, processed and destroyed properly.
How will this affect me?
The services that are provided to you will be based on the needs of your family to provide support and help you make improvements in the areas where you have said you need some help.
The data used for the research will be anonymised so no one will be able to identify you and results about the success of the programme will be reported at group level.
For example, any reports would include statements such as: “Over 50% of families on the programme were successful in reducing their offending behaviour for 6 months after receiving treatment as part of the programme.”
The results will not be used to make any decisions about the service you currently receive and will not affect any benefits, services or treatment you may be entitled to.
Information about young people and learning
The law says we must find out if young people are in education, employment or training after year 11. We also have to report our findings to the Department for Education (DfE). Schools, colleges and other public services share information to help us do this. The relevant laws are the Education Act 1996 and the Education and Skills Act 2008.
We may contact you to find out your current activity if you live or learn in Buckinghamshire. We can also offer you help to find education or training. Sometimes our partner agency, Adviza, will get in touch with you on our behalf. We share information with Adviza in a secure way and process it under data protection law.
We may also share information about you with your home local authority. This could happen if you move to another area. It could also be if you are learning in Buckinghamshire but live somewhere else.
If you went to a Buckinghamshire school in Year 11, we will share information about you with your school. We give schools a summary of what their students do after Year 11. This is so they can improve their courses for future students. We will not include your name in this summary unless you have given us your permission.
How do I access my information?
To ask for a copy of your own personal data, you can make the request by:
Email: [email protected]
Writing to the Data Protection Officer at:
Buckinghamshire Council
Walton Street Offices
Walton Street
Aylesbury
Buckinghamshire
HP20 1UY
This is known as a data subject access request. In some circumstances, you may also be able to request a copy of someone else’s data if you have responsibility for that person.
To request any other information
Email: [email protected]
Writing to the Freedom of Information Officer at:
Buckinghamshire Council
Walton Street Offices
Walton Street
Aylesbury
Buckinghamshire
HP20 1UY
Who is the Data Controller and Data Protection Officer?
Buckinghamshire Council is the Data Controller and the address is:
Buckinghamshire Council
Walton Street Offices
Walton Street
Aylesbury
Buckinghamshire
HP20 1UY
The Council’s Data Protection Officer can be contacted at [email protected] or at the address above.
Why does the Family Support Service collect your information?
Your personal information will be collected when the law says we must, or with your consent so that a service can be provided to you.
The lawful basis for this is Article 6 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The personal information we collect about you includes things like your name, address, and also what the law calls ‘special category data’ which includes more sensitive details such as your gender, ethnic origin and religion.
Complaints
Complaints can be addressed to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at www.ico.org.uk