PN0499-2
CYPS – Early Intervention and Safeguarding
Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council (the Council) is responsible for handling your personal information. Our address is Town Hall, Crossley Street, Halifax, HX1 1UJ. We are registered with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) and follow UK Data Protection laws to keep your information safe.
This privacy notice explains how your personal information will be processed by Calderdale Council’s Fostering service.
This notice applies to:
- Members of the public who are making enquiries as prospective foster carers.
- Foster carer applicants.
- Connected carer applicants.
- Special Guardianship Order applicants.
- Adults living in the same home as applicants.
- Members of the public who have been asked to provide references for applicants.
- Approved foster carers, connected carers and Special Guardians.
What information we collect
In the course of approving and supervising foster carers, we collect the following personal information when you provide it to us:
- Personal information (such as name, address, contact details, date of birth, gender, National Insurance number, language).
- Special category characteristics (such as ethnicity, disability, religion.
- Family network, regular contacts, and current and previous relationship information.
- Current and previous employment and education information.
- GP details and health information.
- Financial information.
- Housing information.
- Historic details of previous carer roles/voluntary work/life experiences.
- Details of cautions, convictions, and criminal enquiries.
- Information relating to references, assessments, and approvals for suitability to foster children.
Why we collect your information
- To assess potential foster carers and their suitability.
- To allow us to communicate relevant information which may be of interest to potential foster carers and foster carers.
- For the ongoing assessment of foster carers.
- To assist foster carers with using the service.
- To measure the effectiveness of the service.
- To match foster carers with children who require foster placements.
- To monitor the progress and stability of placements, to safeguard and support children.
- To provide ongoing support, advice, and training to foster carers.
- To ensure that foster carers receive the correct payments.
- To help us assess the effectiveness of the service and to plan and improve future services.
Who we share your information with
Your information may be obtained from, and shared with, the following types of organisations/services as appropriate:
- Other Calderdale Council services as necessary including Children’s and Young People’s services.
- Other Local Authorities, or Overseas agencies where applicable.
- Current and previous employers
- All fostering/adoption agencies/local authorities applied to.
- Checks in respect of Serving or ex-Service Army or Air Force Personnel.
- Ofsted.
- Police.
- The Probation service.
- Disclosure and Barring service (DBS).
- Housing providers.
- Health services.
- Schools and other educational establishments.
- Independent reviewing officers.
- Independent fostering panel members.
- Court as part of care/legal proceedings.
- Foster carer recruitment and support organisations and service providers e.g., Fostering Network, Kinship Charity, Foster Care Association.
Information provided within references will be shared with the named individual in the correspondence, the fostering team, and the independent fostering panel.
We will only ever share relevant information about you with third parties when they are involved in your support, or where there is a legal basis for us to do so.
Fostering information and newsletter information
Our newsletter service provider is Mailchimp who provide email marketing and automation software as a service.
Mailchimp process your personal information as a processor on behalf of Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council. Mailchimp may transfer and store your personal information securely outside the European Union. Where that is the case it will be subject to equivalent legal protection through the use of Model Contract Clauses and the Mailchimp’s membership of the Privacy Shield Scheme.
The legal basis for processing your data
The Fostering Service lawfully processes personal information as part of its legal obligations under legislation including:
- Children Acts 1989 and 2004.
- Children’s and Families Act 2014.
- Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011.
Please note that the legislation, regulations, and guidance are not limited to what is listed above.
We process personal information and special category data under the following GDPR lawful bases:
- Article 6(1)(c) – for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject as above.
- Article 6(1)(e) – for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.
- Article 9(2)(i) - processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest
- DPA 2018 Schedule 1 Part 2 (6) - statutory and government purposes.
Where you sign up for information about fostering, and / or to the fostering newsletter – we rely on Article 6(1)(a) – your consent to process the information, for processing your information.
The nature of our service means that we need to collect data about criminal offences. In order to collect this, we must comply with UK General Data Protection Regulation Article 10. The Council meets this requirement.
How long we keep your information
Your personal information will be kept for the following length of time:
- 3 years if an enquiry as a prospective foster carer is made but not progressed;
- 10 years from the date of withdrawal/ending of the assessment or from the date of panel if not approved, or approved but not subsequently ever having a child placed;
- 75 years from date no longer approved as a foster carer if a child is placed.
Your rights
Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:
- Know how we use your data.
- Access your personal data.
- Correct any inaccurate information.
- Ask us to delete your data.
- Restrict how we use your data.
- Get a copy of your data in a portable format.
- Object to how we use your data.
- Challenge automated decisions made about you.
How to contact us
To make a request or withdraw your consent, please contact fostering@calderdale.gov.uk. If you believe we have not handled your data properly, contact the Data Protection Officer at information.management@calderdale.gov.uk
You can also report concerns to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).