Privacy and customer services

This Privacy Notice explains how the Customer Services team at Buckinghamshire Council (the data controller) will use the personal information we collect about you when you register for an online account on our website.

It allows you to make informed choices about the personal information you provide to us via the website www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk (or its replacement or successor URL or otherwise in relation to the services offered to us via that website (the ‘Website’).

Please read this Privacy Notice carefully before you start to use the Website.

When you register for an online account, we will ask you to provide the following information:

• your name
• your email address
• a password of your choice
• your postcode

We may also collect information about your use of our online services, such as the pages you visit, the transactions you make, and the feedback you give. We will let you know if the provision of certain information is optional. If you provide information on another person, you confirm that they have appointed you to act for them.

We need your information to:

• create and manage your online account
• provide you with access to our online services, such as reporting issues, making requests, making applications, booking appointments, and requesting information
• communicate with you about your online account and our online services
• improve our online services and customer experience
• prevent and detect fraud and misuse of our online services
• for other purposes for which you have given your consent

The lawful basis for processing your personal information under the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR is:

• Article 6(1)(a) Your Consent. You can withdraw your consent at any time by deleting your online account or contacting us at [email protected]
• Article 6(1)(b) We have a Contractual obligation to provide you with the online services you request
• Article 6(1)(c) We have a Legal Obligation to prevent and detect fraud and misuse of our online services
• Article 6(1)(e) We need it to perform a Public Task to deliver our online services and improve our customer experience

We will share your information, if appropriate, with:

• third parties (data processors) contracted by Buckinghamshire Council to work on our behalf to support the online services - such third parties include:
• our website provider
• our customer relationship management tools provider
• our payment provider
• our email provider
• our customer feedback provider
• other bodies in connection with the prevention of crime, criminal or legal investigations or proceedings including fraud (and the National Fraud Initiative) or regulatory functions (such as the Local Government Ombudsman)
• other relevant services within the council that you may access or interact with through your online account

We will securely hold your information and only keep it for as long as is necessary. We will delete your online account and all associated information if you do not use it for more than two years, unless the withdrawal has an impact on any ongoing service delivery to you as an individual. Where information is no longer needed it will be confidentially disposed of.

The council does not transfer personal data that is processed for the purposes of this Privacy Notice to countries outside of the territorial scope of UK data protection laws.

We do not carry out any automated decision making in relation to this information.

You have legal rights over your information. For details of those rights, see our corporate Privacy Policy. Your rights will differ depending on our lawful basis for processing your personal information.

Our Data Protection Officer can be contacted at:

Buckinghamshire Council,
The Gateway,
Gatehouse Road,
Aylesbury,
HP19 8FF

Alternatively, you can email [email protected] or phone 0300 131 6000.

If you have any concerns about our use of your personal information, you can make a complaint to the Data Protection Officer. You can also then complain to the ICO if you remain unhappy with how we have used your personal information.