Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

Data Protection Act & Personal Information

Data Protection

The Data Protection Act 1998 came into force on 1 March 2000 and sets out rules for processing personal information (Personal Data) and applies to many paper records as well as those held on computer. Many people and organisations hold details about individuals. The Act requires people and organisations to comply with the rules of good information handling practices, known as the data protection principles The eight principles say that data must be:

· fairly and lawfully processed;
· processed for limited purposes;
· adequate, relevant and not excessive;
· accurate;
· not kept for longer than is necessary;
· processed in line with your rights;
· secure; and,
· not transferred to countries without adequate protection.

The Act gives rights to individuals in respect of personal data held about them by others and allows individuals to request a copy of the information that is held about them. In order to request access to data, the requester must apply in writing (this includes via electronic means), providing details in order to assist in locating the information. This is known as a Data Subject Access Request.

If you wish to receive a copy of the personal data that Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council holds about you, please download and complete the Data Subject Access Request Form which is located within Online Services or contact the service your request relates to (see Who to Contact on this page).

You are entitled to receive this information under the Data Protection Act 1998.

For more information refer to the leaflet 'Data Protection Guidance for the Public' which can be located within Downloads.

If you would like to know more about Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council's 'Data Protection Policy', this can be located within Downloads.

Copies of these documents are available, on request, in other languages and formats and we have also made special arrangements to access interpreters to meet the language needs of ethnic minority communities.

CCTV Policy
Stockton Council has a policy of not allowing footage captured by its CCTV network to be sold to media companies.