Purpose for processing your information
The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham as Data Controller will be responsible for processing the majority of the Personal Data in relation to the government's Troubled Families Programme 2015-2020. This is a cross agency programme led by Children's Services and aims to identify and help families with complex needs.
In order to do this, we need to use personal data. The Data Protection Act states that we must have a lawful basis or reason before we can start to collect or process your personal data. There are only 6 permissible reasons under the act which allows us to use your personal data and we must have at least one of these reasons, for the Supporting Families Programme the lawful bases are as follows:
Article 6: (e) Public task: the processing is necessary for you to perform a task in the public interest or for your official functions, and the task or function has a clear basis in law.
Because we process special category personal data and criminal data we also need a basis under Article 9 & 10 of GDPR these are as follows:
Article 9: (g) processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest, on the basis of Union or Member State law which shall be proportionate to the aim pursued, respect the essence of the right to data protection and provide for suitable and specific measures to safeguard the fundamental rights and the interests of the data subject;
Article 10: The local authority will collect the personal data under the public task basis (to fulfil their functions, in this case deliver services to troubled families) and agree to share this data with MHCLG under the public task basis (to fulfil our functions as a Government Department, in this case to improve services for troubled families).
Any questions regarding our privacy practices should be sent by email the Data Protection Officer for London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham information.management@lbhf.gov.uk or in writing to
The Data Protection Officer
Hammersmith & Fulham Council
Town Hall, King Street
Hammersmith
London W6 9JU
Why we need your information and how we use it
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is responsible for supporting families and improving services they receive from local authorities. By carrying out this research, LBHF aims to find out:
- How well services for families with multiple problems are working across the borough
- How those families use public services and what benefits they get
- The costs of providing services to families with multiple problems
To do this, LBHF wants to link information about your family with past and future information on your use of public services and your benefits.
To be eligible for the programme a family must be experiencing at least two of the following:
- Children who have not been attending school regularly, i.e. with attendance levels of less than 90%
- Children of all ages who need help who are identified as in need or are subject to a Child Protection Plan.
- Adults out of work or at risk of financial exclusion and young people at risk of worklessness e.g:
- Parents who is receiving out of work benefits or universal credit because they are not earning
- Parents or families with unmanaged debt or considerable rent arrears
- a young person not in education, employment or training
- Families affected by domestic violence and abuse
- Parents and children with a range of health problems e.g:
- Parents, child or young person with mental health problems
- Parents receiving out of work benefits relating to a disability
- Parents or children involved in crime or antisocial behaviour e.g:
- a child or young person who has committed a proven offence within the last 12 months or has received a police caution
- a parent, child or young person who has received an ASB (anti-social behaviour) intervention within the last 12 months
You may or may not currently be receiving a service to help you deal with your problems.
What is the source of your personal data?
In most cases, we will get obtain your personal data directly from you or information that you have provided to another agency.
We collect the following information: We will use your personal information - name, date of birth, gender, last known address, National Insurance number (if known). Please note that any information you provide will not be used to make any decisions about what benefits you get, or services you use, now, or in future.
Who the information is shared with either internally or externally
We are working with partner organisations, including:
- The Metropolitan Police Service
- The National Probation Trust
- Community rehabilitation companies
- Registered housing providers
- The Department for Work and Pensions
- Public Health England
- Children's centres and schools
- private and voluntary sector partners
- our translation and interpretation service
- Office of National Statistics (ONS)
The idea is to share relevant personal information about education attendance and exclusion, health, crime and anti-social behaviour, adults out of work and children and adults receiving social care services.
This is so we can work together in a joined up way to help each family. This information will be used in line with data protection act 2018 and other relevant legislation.
We will strive to ensure that any personal data in our care will be kept safe and that where your information is disclosed to a third party, we will seek to ensure that the third party has sufficient systems, processes and procedures in place to prevent the loss or damage of personal data.
Government Evaluation and Research
The government wants to know if the Supporting Families Programme has helped improve the lives of families, whether it is a good use of public money and whether improvements in the service develop over time.
We are required as part of the scheme to share the personal information on individuals and families (such as names and dates of birth) who have been assessed as meeting criteria for the programme and those who have participated in the additional services with the government's nominated evaluation partner, the Office for National Statistics.
They will link this with information routinely collected by government departments to develop a wider picture of the needs and progress families have made. The results will be shared with the government and local authorities but in a de-personalised form to protect families' privacy.
There is a data agreement in place between us and the government to ensure that:
- The data can only be used for carrying out research
- The linked information is anonymised to reduce the risk of individuals being identified
- It will be impossible for any person or family to be identified from any published reports
- The linked personal information will not be shared with or made available to the local authority or any other public agency
- All information is transferred, handled and stored in accordance with the Data Protection Act
- Appropriate measures are in place to prevent the unauthorised use of information
- The information is securely destroyed after used.
How long do we keep your information?
All personal information held by ONS for this research will be securely destroyed by December 2022. The personal information held by DWP, MoJ and DfE for this research will be securely destroyed after a month and they will not keep records showing you were part of this research.
Your rights under the Data Protection Act 2018 and access to your information
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.
For more information on all of your rights, please see the ICO website
As part of your overall rights you have the right to request a copy of the information that we hold about you.
Information about how to submit a Subject Access Request can be found on our website or by searching for Hammersmith and Fulham Council Subject Access Requests
Please visit our web pages for further details on how the council complies with the Data Protection Act 2018
If you have any concerns
You have a right to complain to us if you think we have not complied with our obligation for handling your personal information; please visit our website or contact:
020 8753 2456
Or
Room 229, Hammersmith Town Hall,
King Street, London, W6 9JU
Or
If you would like to know more about your rights under the Data Protection law, and what you should expect from us, visit the Information Commissioner's website.
The Information Commissioner is the UK's independent body set up to uphold information rights.
If you have any concerns regarding our privacy practices or about exercising your Data Protection rights, you may contact the Information Commissioner's Office:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
0303 123 1113 or 01625 545 745
Changes in your circumstances
You must notify us immediately if there are any changes in your circumstances and personal details so we can maintain an accurate and up to date record of your information.