Emergency Management and Resilience Privacy Notice

What is the purpose of this document?

This privacy notice explains how the Council uses information about you and how we protect your privacy when dealing with an emergency response.  As a Category 1 Responders have a legal duty under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004) to maintain plans (and arrangements) to ensure that in an emergency, they can perform their functions so far as necessary or desirable for the purpose of preventing the emergency, reducing or mitigating its effects or taking other action in connection with it. Category 1 (and 2) Responders also have a legal duty to share information with one another and to co-operate with each other.

The Emergency Management and Resilience function of Epsom & Ewell Borough Council, which is a data controller.  We are also a data processor under a multi-agency response.

This privacy notice explains how the Council (as a Data Controller) will collect, use and protect personal data specifically with regard facilitate planning, facilitate response and recovery during incidents, and other activities in relation to Civil Contingencies work.

You can view our Privacy and Cookies page which contains more information on how we collect, use and protect personal data generally, as well as your rights as a data subject.

We have a Data Protection Officer who makes sure we respect your rights and follow the law.  If you have any concerns or questions about how we look after your personal information please contact the Data Protection Officer at foidpa@epsom-ewell.gov.uk or by calling 01372 732000 and asking to speak to the Data Protection Officer.

What we will use your personal data for?

We use your personal information primarily to manage and coordinate our response either individually or as part of a multi agency response:

• In some instances, the data we collect will be shared with other Surrey Local Resilience Forum partners (e.g. emergency services, local authorities, health trusts, voluntary organisations/charities, utility companies, transport companies, government agencies).
• Coordinating borough wide emergency response and recovery in a potential major emergency, including helping people evacuate their home/area
• Working with partners in the development of local plans to enhance community resilience
• Planning for incidents by producing or supporting the implementation of business continuity and emergency plans and testing them in training and exercises
• Managing emergency contacts for local and national response, either in preparation for, or during, an incident
• Managing volunteers for local and national response, either in preparation for, or during, an incident. This includes previously unknown volunteers who assist during an incident.

We may use the data for the purpose of providing additional support to residents who receive a service from the Council and may require a higher level of support because of disability, frailty or poor heath

We also use this information to assess the quality of our services and evaluate and improve our policies and procedures.

We may also use information in other ways compatible with the above.

What personal data we will be processing

The information we may collect and use may include your:

• Personal details
• Contact details – your address, email address and phone number
• Current employment details if you are a member of another organisation or business
• Contractual information if you are contracted to provide a service or assistance in an emergency
• We also may collect health information including any disabilities and medical conditions you may have. 

We may also process other information where necessary and proportionate.

What is our power to obtain and use the personal data?

We are allowed to use personal data for the purposes of carrying out activity in relation to legal duties under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004) and also during incidents, to protect the vital interests of individuals.

If we are processing your data because you have consented to us doing so you can withdraw that consent at any time by getting in touch with us.  Unless there is another legal basis for us to process your data we must stop processing your data when you withdraw consent.  This may mean that we can no longer provides services to you.

Will your personal information be shared?

We may also share your personal information with other organisations and public bodies, in particular:

• Emergency services, armed forces, organisations, businesses and other key responders responding to a local or national incident or emergency
• Statutory bodies (Environment Agency, police)
• Surrey County Council and other relevant Council and government departments
• Epsom & Ewell Borough Council councillors
• Third parties involved the emergency response (which we will request your consent before passing on your details)
• The Health & Safety Executive.

We share this information without your specific consent as it is reasonable and necessary to do so to fulfil our public tasks or it is otherwise in the substantial public interest to do so.  The law imposes safeguards to protect your privacy in these circumstances.  

Finally, we may also share your information across different departments of Epsom & Ewell Borough Council, where it is necessary for our public tasks or functions to do so.

How long will we keep your personal information?

We will only keep your personal data for as long as is necessary for the purpose for which we are processing it, unless we have a legitimate reason for keeping it, for example, any legal requirement to keep the data for a set time period. 

What are your Information Rights?

For full details on your rights as a data subject please see our Privacy and Cookies Page.