Under the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulations (UK GDPR) DCC is the Data Controller.

Our ICO registration number is Z6475582.

This notice explains what information we collect, why we collect it and how we will keep it secure. It also explains your rights and our legal obligations. Should you wish to find out more about Devon County Council’s data protection policies please contact our Data Protection Officer.

We will notify you of any changes to this privacy notice

This privacy notice was last updated on 24th September 2025. If we use your personal data for any new purposes, we will let you know. If you have any queries relating to this privacy notice, please contact the Data Protection Officer.

How we will use your personal data

DCC will collect personal data from you so that we can better understand our service users’ needs, and help optimise our services to make life easier and more convenient for everyone we contact with.

What information do we collect

Information that we collect from you will be obtained via the following methods:

surveys,
interviews,
video and photographic images
information collected from online or in person workshops.

The council only uses IT systems for these purposes which are supplied under a contract and where the security has been assessed. Details about the council’s security arrangements.

We will collect and store records about you which will include your:

name
contact details
employment information
personal information including but not limited to age, ethnicity, education, any disability you may have
thoughts and experiences of using Devon County Council Adult Social Care services.

If you would like to remain anonymous in any communications with the research team, please request this from your main point of contact or contact the Data Protection Officer.

Why we collect and use your personal data

We will collect and use personal data to better understand our users’ needs and make informed choices on the development of services. We will produce videos and photographic material on the experiences of our users. We will only collect personal data where it is necessary.

Personal data that is collected for any of the purposes outlined in this notice is never used for direct marketing purposes and is not sold on to any other third parties.

How we will store your personal information

Information that is collected for the purposes of this will be held for 7 years and in line with our organisation’s record retention schedules.

The information we collect from you will be stored securely in our IT systems and in line with our Information Security Policy.

The legal basis for us collecting your personal data

We rely upon your consent when processing your personal data for the purposes of this project.

As the information we are collecting includes details about your ethnicity, disabilities that you may have, and any associated support needs the UK GDPR stipulates that we need to have second legal basis as this information is sensitive. Therefore, when we are processing this information, we rely upon your explicit consent.

If we feel that it is necessary to share your personal data with professionals to ensure you or someone you work with is safeguarded from harm, we rely upon the provisions of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 and Children Act 1989 & 2004. Where it is necessary to share medical or social care information for these purposes, we rely upon article 9(2)(h) of the General Data Protection Regulation (information necessary for medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems).
We may also need to share some personal data about you, so that we can support third party organisations to discharge their regulatory requirements. This includes organisations such as:

The data protection regulator (the Information Commissioner’s Office)
The Care Quality Commission

We may also share information to enable us to comply with court orders and other legal obligations. If this is necessary, we will only share the minimum amount of personal data needed for this purpose.

How long will we hold your personal data?

Devon County Council will retain your personal data for only as long as is necessary, and in line with our organisation’s record retention schedules [AN1] .

Your data protection rights

Under Data Protection Legislation, you have the right to obtain a copy of their personal records held by us, this is called a Subject Access Request (SAR).

Details of how to make a request can be found here

Further details on your rights under data protection legislation and how to exercise them.

Complaints

If you have any comments, queries or complaints about this privacy notice or the processing of your personal data please contact our Data Protection Officer.

Alternatively, if you are not happy with the way that DCC is handling your personal data, you are entitled to appeal to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO). The Information Commissioners Office enforces and oversees the Data Protection Regulations.

Contact details are below:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF Email: casework@ico.org.uk