Data Protection at Sheffield Homes

Sheffield Homes needs to collect and use information about the people it deals with including service users, employees, contractors and others. Sheffield Homes is in some cases required by law to process personal information

All the personal information Sheffield Homes holds must be dealt with properly no matter how it is collected, recorded or used. This applies whether or not the information is held on paper, electronically or recorded by some other means. The Data Protection Act 1998 and other law require that information is properly handled at all times.

Sheffield Homes will make sure that it:

• Complies with the law about personal information and adopts the best practice in handling it at all times
• Complies with the Data Protection principles in the Data Protection Act 1998
• Processes personal information fairly and lawfully
• Clearly specifies the purposes for which the personal information is to be used
• Processes personal information only to the extent needed to fulfil it's legal obligations and responsibilities
• Checks (where possible) the quality of the personal information it handles
• Keeps personal information for the minimum necessary time
• Respects the rights of people about whom information is held (for example the right of access to personal information; the right to have it corrected, etc, in the appropriate cases)
• Takes appropriate security measures to safeguard personal information
• Does not transfer personal information abroad inappropriately
• Only withholds personal information form the person it is about when this is allowed by law and is justified in the circumstances

What is the Data Protection Act?

The 1998 Act and the Regulations made under it cover service user’s rights of access to their personal information that we hold.  This policy gives detailed guidance about how to deal with a request for access to information and related issues. It is in line with Sheffield City Council Policy on the handling of personal information.

Your rights are

• To ask Sheffield Homes if it holds personal information about you and to be given access to that information
• To be given details about purposes for which Sheffield Homes uses information and other organisations to whom it is disclosed
• To ask for incorrect data to be corrected
• To ask Sheffield Homes not to use personal information about you for direct marketing
• To ask Sheffield Homes to stop processing personal data that is likely to cause damage or distress

What information is held by Sheffield Homes?

Sheffield Homes has taken out a Notification under the Data Protection Act 1998 which lists all of the information it processes.  Sheffield Homes will provide information in the catagories shown below.

• Property management
• Research
• Staff, agent and contractor administration
• Associated welfare services, advice and support
• Accounts and records
• Crime prevention and prosecution of offenders
• Advertising, marketing and public relations
• Benefits, grants and loans administration
• Consultancy and advisory services

For more information on Data Protection you can visit www.dataprotection.gov.uk