Family Help Privacy Policy

Introduction

This notice provides privacy information regarding accessing Family Help activities and/or services including Family Hub spaces.

We will keep our privacy notice under regular review and will advise you of any updates on our website.

This Notice was last reviewed in December 2025.

Who we are

For the purposes of Data Protection legislation, South Tyneside Council is the Data Processor.

What type of personal information do we collect?

We may collect the following types of personal information:

Name
Address
Telephone number
Email address
Date of Birth
Sex
Ethnicity

In Family Hub buildings, Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) will also capture

Images of individuals captured on camera
Date and time of recording
Location data where applicable

How do we collect personal information?

We may collect your personal information in a number of ways, for example:
In person
In writing – for example letter or email Telephone calls
Digital forms (including web-based forms and digital sign-in)
Referrals from another department
Magic Notes – an AI tool that records, transcribes and summarises meetings in a
secure web app. We review, edit and transfer this summary into our case
management system

Why do we collect your personal information?

We use information about children and families aged 0-19 years to enable us to carry out specific functions for which we are responsible and to provide you with a service.

We keep records about children and families. These may be written down (manual records) or kept on a computer (electronic records).

These records may include:

basic details about you, for example, name, address, date of birth
contact we have had with you, for example, appointments & letters of correspondence
notes and reports about your relevant circumstances
details and records about the service you have received
relevant information from other people that we have been in contact with, in relation to the service that you have received.

Use of CCTV will also be used to help ensure the safety of individuals in Family Hub spaces which may include;

Crime prevention and anti-social behaviour
Emergency response – to assist emergency services in responding to incidents
Environmental issues impacting public spaces

It is important that your records are accurate and up to date as they will help make sure that our staff are able to provide you with the help, advice or support you need.

If you do not provide us with this information, then we will not be able to contact you to inform you of services.

Who might we share your personal information with?

Your records are used to help ensure that we provide you with the service that you need.
We share information to help us to improve future services. We use your information to find out how support can help families.

We may share your personal information for research purposes. These are used by the government to evaluate the effectiveness of the support.

When other agencies are involved in supporting your family, such as health or education, we may need to share details about you to enable us to work together for your benefit. Information will only be shared with third parties if they have genuine and lawful need for it.

Occasions when your information needs to be disclosed (shared) include:

where the health and safety of others is at risk
safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults
when the law requires us to pass on information under special circumstances
crime prevention or the detection of fraud as part of the National Fraud Initiative

Anyone who receives information from us has a legal duty to keep it confidential. We are required by law to report certain information to appropriate authorities – for example:

where we encounter infectious diseases which may be a public health concern
where a formal court order has been issued

In relation to CCTV, if applicable data could be shared for the purposes of

Judicial agencies, e.g. courts
Police
Solicitors
Insurance companies
CCTV operators
Fire and rescue services
Regulators, investigatory bodies and other council departments
To members of the public – under very strict data protection and/or subject access requests under DPIA and FOI conditions

We will not share your personal information with any other third parties unless you have
specifically asked us to, or if we have a legal obligation to do so.

How long will we keep your personal information?

Your details will be kept for 6 years in general and 75 years for children who have been looked after or subject to child protection plans. Processing is kept to a minimum and will only be processed in accordance with the law.

Personal data in Magic Notes is kept for up to 90 days before deletion. Once the data is moved to our case management system, the retention policy explained above would apply.

CCTV is kept for a period of 30 days, after this it will be securely destroyed unless it needs to be held for any specific purpose

What is our legal basis for using your personal information?

Personal data in Magic Notes is kept for up to 90 days before deletion. Once the data is moved to our case management system, the retention policy explained above would apply.

CCTV is kept for a period of 30 days, after this it will be securely destroyed unless it
needs to be held for any specific purpose.

What is our legal basis for using your personal information?

To use your personal information there must be a lawful basis to do this, such as, through a contract, performing a public task or where there is a legal obligation. Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the lawful bases we rely on for processing this information are:

Article 6 (e) Public task: the processing is necessary to perform a task in the public
interest or for our official functions, and the task or function has a clear basis in law.

Article 6 (f) Legitimate interests: the processing is necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of a third party, unless there is a good reason to protect the individual’s personal data which overrides those legitimate interests. When processing any special category data, the Council will on the following lawful basis:

Article 9 (g): Reasons of substantial public interest (with a basis in law)

How do we keep your personal information secure?

Information provided to Family Help is held securely on our network. The Council’s IT security and confidentiality policies ensure that your information is protected, and available only to staff directly involved in your care.

Access to public space CCTV footage is restricted to authorised personnel who require access for the purposes outlined in this notice. Access controls and procedures are in place to ensure that access is granted only to authorized individuals, or those exercising their right to access

Is your personal information used overseas?

We will not process your personal information outside of the European Economic Area (EEA).

What are your rights?

Your individual rights are set out in law. Subject to some legal exemptions, you have the following rights:

Right to be informed
Right of access
Right to rectification
Right to erasure
Right to restrict processing
Right to data portability
Right to object
Rights in relating to automated decision making and profiling

Contact us

If you would like to exercise your rights in relation to your personal information, or you feel that something has gone wrong with your personal information, you can contact us in either of the following ways:

By email: [email protected]

By telephone: 0191 424 6539

In writing: South Tyneside Council

Information Governance

Town Hall and Civic Offices

South Shields

NE33 2RL

If you feel that the Council has not handled your information correctly you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO is the Government’s Independent Body responsible for overseeing data protection. In most cases the ICO will only review cases that have exhausted the Council’s internal procedures.

The ICO’s contact details are as follows: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF. More information can be found on the ICO’s website at www.ico.org.uk.