Somer Community Housing Trust logo

Confidentiality and data protection

Why we need to hold information about you

The Trust holds a range of information on all of its tenants because:

It enables us to fulfil our contract with you - in order to provide you with housing which meets your needs we need certain information about you and your family.
We may need more information if you live in a sheltered or supported scheme.
In order for us to help you claim benefits or to apply for grants, we may need further information about your circumstances.
We may hold information as a result of any investigations we follow when a tenant has breached the terms of their tenancy.
Regulatory bodies, like the Tenant Services Authority, require us to keep certain information.
From the transfer applications that we receive, it helps identify the need for more family accommodation.

How we collect information?

Most of the information that we have comes from you. We receive it in the form of housing application forms, transfer requests, letters, where necessary, notes of conversations or meetings we may have had.

We make every effort to ensure that any information is accurate and up to date so if any of your details change please let us know.

Confidentiality

The information that we hold can be personal and sensitive so it is very important that it’s secure and we treat any information we have as confidential.

Any information we have is held securely in locked desks or filing cabinets. It is not left unattended.

Our staff are careful not to discuss confidential matters where others may overhear. If you need to discuss any private matters with us we can arrange to meet somewhere where this can be respected. Information is held only as long as it is needed. Once it is no longer needed it is destroyed using secure methods. If the information is held on a tenant’s file and they leave the Trust, then the information is archived for a limited period then destroyed securely.

Any breaches of confidentiality by our staff are viewed very seriously.

Passing on information

We will only pass on information about you if we have your permission, but there are some exceptions. By law, we are obliged to pass on details if:

There are child protection concerns.
There are concerns about the abuse of the elderly or any other vulnerable person(s).
To prevent terrorism.
In cases of crime prevention or when the police are investigating a crime.
There are concerns that an individual is a danger to themselves or others.
There is clear evidence of fraud.
It is essential to allow the Trust to carry out its duties.
It is used anonymously for statistical or research purposes. This might be basic information such as name, gender, date of birth and ethnicity.

Generally only Trust staff are entitled to see and process data.

Your rights under the Data Protection Act 1998

We are registered with the Data Protection Commissioner and follow approved codes of practice on the holding of personal information.

Under the law on Data Protection you have the following rights:

To know why information is being collected and/or processed.
To have a description of the information being collected and/or processed.
To have access to the information the Trust holds on you except in special circumstances.
To know who else may see information and for what purpose.
Information must be accurate and relevant and not excessive.
Information must only be kept as long as is necessary.
Information must be protected against accidental loss, unauthorised use or processing.
If any information we hold on you is not accurate we will correct it or put a note on your file noting your concern(s).

Page last updated: 7/30/2010