We aim to comply with the guidelines of the UK General Data Protection Regulation; and Data Protection Act 2018. We will use your information appropriately in line with data protection law.

In 2018, the government introduced a ‘national opt-out policy’ to enable NHS patients and those in CQC registered adult care services to choose whether their confidential patient information is used for anything beyond their individual care and treatment, for example for research and planning purposes.

Some of Look Ahead’s services are registered with the CQC but Look Ahead does not currently use any data for planning or research purposes covered by the national data opt-out. We review all the confidential patient information we process on an annual basis to check whether it is used for research and planning purposes. If it is, then individuals can decide to stop their information being shared for this purpose. You can find out more information at https://www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters/.

Why we need your information

Data Protection law allows us to get and use information about you if we have a lawful basis to do so. This can include sharing your information with other relevant organisations. We need your personal information to provide you with social housing accommodation and/or services to fulfil your tenancy agreement.

There are six lawful bases for processing personal data and the ones we rely on vary depending on our purpose in using your information.

If you have a tenancy agreement with us, our lawful basis for processing information about you is our contract with you. When we provide care and support our lawful basis is largely either a legal obligation to provide this service or a ‘public task’ that has a basis in law. In some situations, where we cannot rely on another lawful basis, we will seek your consent to get, use or share your personal data. We will explain this to you, and provide you with a consent form to sign if you agree. In an emergency we are allowed to share your personal data without your consent to protect your life or somebody else’s life.

The law allows us to process your personal data if it is in our legitimate interests, which includes ensuring that:

our services meet the needs of our customers
we make use of our resources for our customers and understand how we are performing.
we provide a safe service
we understand our customer’s experiences through feedback and surveys.

For more information about the type of data we collect and why, please read our privacy notice.

Our commitment to you

We will make sure that we:

Keep you informed about how we are using your information
Use your information for specific, legitimate purposes
Only collect and use information we need about you
Capture your information accurately and update it where necessary
Keep it for no longer than we need to
Store and handle your information securely; and only allow access to those who need to see it.

Your rights as a customer

You have several data protection rights. If you contact us about any of them, we expect to respond within one month. In certain circumstances we can extend this timeframe by a further two months. If we refuse your request, we will do this within the first month and explain why.

You can read more about your rights and when they apply in our Privacy Notice and on the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) site: https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/.

If you have any queries or concerns about the way in which we are handling your personal data, please contact us via IG@lookahead.org.uk. You can also make complaints directly to the ICO if you consider we are not complying with the law.

Your rights are:

Right to Access

You have the right to request a copy of the data we hold about you. We may refuse or charge for requests that are manifestly unfounded or excessive.

Rectification

You can ask us to correct inaccurate information; or update your information when it is incomplete.

Right to erasure (to be forgotten)

You can ask us to erase your information, but this right does not often apply to customer records. You can see the circumstances when the right applies here: https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/your-right-to-get-your-data-deleted/.

Right to restriction

You can ask us to temporarily limit the use of your data while we consider:

a challenge you have made to the accuracy of your data, or
an objection you have made to the use of your data.

You may also ask us to limit the use of your data rather than delete it if:

we processed your data unlawfully, but you do not want it deleted, or
we no longer need your data but you want us to keep it so you can establish, exercise or defend legal claims
Right to data portability

You have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format if:

we are relying on your consent or a contract we have with you as our lawful basis for processing, and
we are processing your information electronically

If you ask us to, we will transfer this data to another organisation as long as we have the technical ability to do this.

Right to object

You can always object to direct marketing, and we will respect your decision. You can also object when we are relying either on our ‘public task’ or our ‘legitimate interests’ to process your information. You should explain how it is affecting you, and we will weigh up whether our reasons for using your personal data override your interests, rights and freedoms.

Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling

Automated decision-making is where a decision is made about you without human involvement, for example, if you applied on-line for a loan. Profiling means your personal data is used to analyse or predict such things as your health, personal preferences, and interests. It is sometimes used to personalise the advertisements you see on-line. You have the right:

not to accept a decision that is based solely on automated processing if it affects your legal rights or other equally important matters (eg automatic refusal of an on-line credit application)
to understand the reasons behind decisions made about you by automated processing and the possible consequences of the decisions, and
to object to profiling in certain situations, including for direct marketing.

Rights to complain

You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you think there is a problem with the way in which Look Ahead are handling your information. To contact the ICO, please call 0303 123 1113 or visit their website at https://ico.org.uk.