Rough sleeping

Coventry City Council complies with the Data Protection Act and the GDPR and is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) as a Data Controller.

This Privacy Notice explains how personal information is going to be used, what for, who it will be shared with and why.

Why we collect and use personal data about you

We use your personal information so that we can provide advice and guidance, assessments, services, support and safeguarding for you if you are rough sleeping and meet your needs if you are roofless or in unstable housing, it enables us to provide the help that you require as early as possible.

We collect personal information about you so that we can provide:

• Services to, and monitoring of, services to you if you are currently rough sleeping, at risk of rough sleeping or have previously experienced rough sleeping.
• Early intervention services to understand what support you need to identify the right service at the right time to support you and provide help.
• Specialist services for you if you are rough sleeping and may be vulnerable or have higher levels of need.
• Complete statistical returns to Government departments

We process personal data because it is necessary to comply with our legal obligations and perform our public duty.

What information do we collect about you?

• Name
• Contact details
• Date of birth
• Family details if relevant – for example marital status, siblings and/or children
• Details about your occupation
• Your lifestyle and social circumstance
• Case File Information
• Gender
• Ethnicity
• NHS number and other identifiers
• Health information including disability
• Criminal convictions
• Educational
• Employment history
• Family history and social relationships generally
• Dealings with the Coventry City Council
• Financial details if necessary

Who we share your personal data with

Dependent on what service we are providing to you we will share data with:

• Salvation Army
• Coventry Cyrenians
• Emmaus
• St Basils
• YMCA
• Coventry Domestic Violence and Abuse Support Services
• Coventry Haven
• Valley House
• Coventry Independent Advice Service
• The Job Shop
• Christians Against Poverty
• Coventry Law Centre
• Coventry Citizens Advice
• Coventry Refuge and Migrant Centre
• Carriers of Hope
• Coventry Peace House
• Change, Grow, Live
• Open Hands
• Coventry Food Bank
• SPACES
• Once we were soldiers
• Coventry MIND
• Coventry and Warwickshire Relate
• Age UK
• Coventry Irish Society
• Private sector landlords with whom we are discharging duty

As part of rough sleeping outreach service, we may refer you to the above organisations so that they can give you necessary support. We will not share your information with any of the above organisations without your consent.

There may be some circumstance in which we can share information without your specific consent, when it is reasonable and necessary to do so to fulfil our public tasks or it is otherwise in the substantial public interest to do so. We can share with:

• Adult services within Coventry City Council
• Other public bodies
• NHS and other health agencies
• District councils
• Voluntary and charitable agencies providing services
• Police
• Courts and other judicial agencies
• Probation
• Youth Offending Team
• Housing department and housing providers
• Other central government agencies including government bodies responsible for providing funding for eligible services e.g. the Troubled Families Programme (payment by results)
• Other public authorities
• Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)

We may also receive personal information about you from others:

Depending on the service we need to provide to you we may have information about you shared with us by:

• Health agencies/professionals
• Mental Health services
• Probation Service
• Police
• Other Local Authorities
• Family Members
• Friends
• Your employer
• Housing department and housing providers

How long will we keep your information?

We will only keep your information for as long as we need to, so we can give you the service you need, unless we must keep it for legal reasons. The time can be different depending on the service you have asked for/are provided with.

But your personal information could be held for 6 years plus the current year.

Where information has been passed to Central Government/ MHCLG, it is not possible to recall this information.

Your rights

You have the right to:

• Ask to see the personal information we hold about you
• Withdraw consent (see below) this only applies to the sharing of your personal information
• Ask us to change information we hold about you if it is wrong

Ask us to delete the information we hold about you

• Ask us to limit the way we use your personal Information
• Ask for human intervention regarding decisions made about you by a computer
• Data portability (have your data transferred to another Authority)
• Complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office

To exercise any of these rights please contact the Rough Sleeping Co-ordinator and/or email nominationsandadvice@coventry.gov.uk.

Withdrawal of consent to share your personal Information

Where personal data is processed on the basis of consent, you will have the right to withdraw that consent. However, Coventry City Council process personal data that it is necessary to do so in order to comply with our legal obligations and to enable us to perform tasks carried out in the public interest. 

Complaints

You have the right to submit a complaint if you are unhappy with the way your request is handled or disagree with a decision made by the council regarding your data. In these circumstances, you can contact the Data Protection Team (DPO) and request a review of the decision. dpoteam@coventry.gov.uk

If you are not satisfied with any outcome from the DPO you may wish to apply to the Information Commissioner's Office at:

The Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF.