Migration support privacy notice

Our contact details

Name: Data Protection Officer

Address: Time Square, Market Street, Bracknell, RG12 1JD

Phone Number: 01344 352000

Email: dpo@bracknell-forest.gov.uk

Bracknell Forest Council is registered as a controller with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

You can find us on the ICO website - our registration number is Z4971654.

The type of personal information we collect

We currently collect and process the following information for the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

• sponsor information:
  • name
  • address and postcode
  • email 
  • date of birth
  • gender
  • phone numbers
  • financial details
• guest information:
  • name
  • accommodation address and postcode
  • email
  • date of birth
  • phone numbers
  • nationality

We also receive personal information for Afghan, Syrian, Hong Kong and other refugee and asylum seekers through:

• referrals from early help
• other council services
• Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
• other Local Authorities which include

The information we receive includes name, address, date of birth, email, phone numbers, gender and nationality. 

We also collect the following special category information: 

• sponsor special category information
  • criminal allegations convictions or offences
• guest special category information
  • racial or ethnic origin
  • health information

Criminal offence data will be processed under the 28 conditions of Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018 which are available for the processing of criminal offence data. These are set out in paragraphs 1 to 37. This information is processed as part of suitability checks.

How we get the personal information and why we have it

We will receive, from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, details of Bracknell Forest residents who have applied to become a sponsor through the Homes for Ukraine scheme and where already matched, details of the guests.

The data received will be used to conduct suitability checks and for the administration of payments associated with the scheme.

The council will undertake the following checks:

• pre-arrival and post-arrival checks
• accommodation checks
• address validation checks
• Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks
• any other checks required by to assess your suitability as a host

In addition to the checks above the council will also:

• provide support to Ukrainian guests and hosts (for example safeguarding, assistance in accessing public services, assistance in accessing education, employment and training and community integration)
• administer funds associated with the scheme (for example sponsor and guest financial payments)

We receive information directly, or indirectly, from the following sources:

• you as an individual by
  • our online form
  • email
  • telephone
  • in person
  • surveys
• Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
• Disclosure and Barring Service
• Public Protection Partnership
• Home Office
• Other Local Authorities

How the law allows us to use your personal information

Lawful basis for processing

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the lawful basis we rely on for processing the information is Article 6 UK GDPR:

• (a) your consent
• (c) we have a legal obligation
• (e) we need it to perform a public task

Special category data 

Special category data is being processed under Article 9 UK GDPR:

• (a) your consent
• (g) processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest
• (h) processing is necessary for provision of health or social care treatment

You can read the guide to lawful basis for processing special category data on the Information Commissioner's Office website.

Your consent

Where we use consent to process your personal data, we will explain to you what we are asking you to agree to and why.

If we have consent to use your personal data, you have the right to remove it at any time.

If you want to remove your consent, please contact migration@bracknell-forest.gov.uk and we will deal with your request.

If you remove your consent, we are unlikely to be able to provide continued services to you.

Legal obligation and public tasks

The public tasks we carry out, and the legal obligations we are subject to, are found in the:

• Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016
• Children and Families Act 2014
• Children and Social Work Act 2017
• Children Act 1989
• Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act
• Health and Social Care Act 2012

Who we share your information with

Information held by the council may be shared with the following organisations:

• Adult social care
• Children’s social care
• Disclosure and Barring Service
• Welfare and housing
• other council departments, such as the payments teams, as necessary to provide the services outlined as part of the scheme
• Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
• Home Office
• Thames Valley Police
• Public Protection Partnership
• Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service, where consent is provided
• other hosts where consent is provided
• The Ark
• Kerith Church
• Vsi Razom
• charities, where consent is provided
• other organisations as necessary to provide the services outlined as part of the scheme

We share the information in order to provide the services outlined above as part of the scheme:

• safeguarding purposes including accommodation checks and doorstep visits
• welfare support including the provision of initial essentials to the guest
• host support network
• general administration including support payments

How we store your personal information

Your information is stored at the point of initial application on the government Palantir Foundry portal. It is securely stored by Bracknell Forest Council on:

• Microsoft SharePoint
• appropriate case management systems as required
• related revenues, benefits and finance systems

For information transferred from central government, the retention period will be up to 2 years after closure of the scheme, as per Memorandum of Understanding (published by DLUHC).

For personal data held by the council for its own functions, the retention period will be as set out in our retention and disposal schedule.

We will then delete or destroy your personal data. SharePoint data will be manually deleted in line with agreed retention period where information is not required to be retained as part of our statutory obligations. Our access to the government portal will be removed.

Retention periods are laid out in the council’s retention and disposal schedule.

Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have rights we need to make you aware of. The rights available to you depend on our reason for processing your information.

Your right of access

You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information. This right always applies. There are some exemptions, which means you may not always receive all the information we process.

Find out more about your right of access from the ICO.

Your right to get your data corrected

You have the right to ask us to correct information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete. This right always applies.

Find out more about your right to get your data corrected from the ICO.

Your right to get your data deleted

You have the right to ask us to delete your personal information in certain circumstances.

Find out more about your right to get your data deleted from the ICO.

Your right to limit how organisations use your data

You have the right to ask us to limit the processing of your information in certain circumstances.

Find out more about your right to limit how organisations use your data from the ICO.

Your right to object to the use of your data

You have the right to object to processing if we are able to process your information because the process forms part of our public tasks.

Find out more about your right to object to the use of your data from the ICO.

Your right to data portability

This only applies to information you have given us. You have the right to ask that we transfer the information you gave us from one organisation to another, or give it to you.

The right only applies if we are processing information based on your consent or for the performance of a contract, and the processing is automated.

Find out more about your right to data portability from the ICO.

Service adjustments

As a public authority and a provider of services to the public, we have a legal duty to comply with the Equality Act 2010.

This means we need to make service adjustments for anyone with a disability who contacts us in any capacity, to eliminate any barriers to accessing our services.

Our lawful basis for processing this information is article 6(1)(c) of the UK GDPR as we have a legal obligation to provide this. Our processing of special category data, such as health information you give us, will be based on article 9(2)(a), which means we need your consent.

We will create a record of your adjustment requirements. These will give your name, contact details and type of adjustment required, along with a brief description of why it is required. Relevant staff can access this to make sure they are communicating with you in the required way.

Please contact migration@bracknell-forest.gov.uk should you require service adjustments.

How to complain

If you have any concerns about our use of your personal information, you can make a complaint to us at dpo@bracknell-forest.gov.uk

You can also complain to the ICO if you are unhappy with how we have used your data by:

• visiting the ICO website
• phoning the ICO helpline on 0303 123 1113
• writing to:
  • Information Commissioner’s Office
    Wycliffe House
    Water Lane
    Wilmslow
    Cheshire
    SK9 5AF