Trading Standards Primary Authority privacy notice
We keep this privacy notice under regular review and was last updated on 1 July 2022.
Kent County Council (KCC) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy notice will inform you as to how we look after your personal data and tell you about your privacy rights and how the law protects you.
Who we are
Kent County Council collects, uses and is responsible for certain personal information about you.
When we do so we are regulated under the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (‘UK GDPR’) and the Data Protection Act 2018. We are responsible as ‘controller’ of that personal information.
KCC Trading Standards service is responsible for creating and maintaining a safe and fair-trading environment where Kent businesses can operate and grow and Kent consumers can engage in their economic activity with confidence. Under section 25 of the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008 the Secretary of State has nominated Kent County Council to be a Primary Authority provider, and that under sections 27-32 of the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008 KCC can provide business with robust and reliable regulatory advice.
Our Data Protection Officer is Benjamin Watts.
Personal information we collect and use
Information collected by us
In order for us to enter into a Primary Authority partnership with you/your business, we collect the following personal information when you provide it to us:
- name
- telephone numbers
- email address
How we use your personal information
We use your personal information to set up and deliver the Primary Authority partnership to you, and to provide you with the robust and reliable regulatory business advice that you request from us.
How long your personal data will be kept
We will hold your personal information whilst the Primary Authority partnership agreement is in place, and we will securely delete this personal data 6 years after the cessation of the partnership.
Reasons we can collect and use your personal information
We rely on Article 6(1)(e) as the lawful basis on which we collect and use your personal data ie that ‘processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller’.
Who we share your personal information with
Information including personal data which is supplied to the Secretary of State, primary authorities, national regulators and supporting regulators, including through the Primary Authority Register, will be shared with local authorities, national regulators and supporting regulators to facilitate the operation of Primary Authority.
We will share personal information with law enforcement or other authorities if required by applicable law or in connection with legal proceedings.
We will share personal information with our legal and professional advisers in the event of a dispute, complaint or claim. We rely on Article 9(2)(f) where the processing of special category data is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims or whenever courts are acting in their judicial capacity.
Your rights
Under the UK GDPR you have a number of rights which you can exercise free of charge which allow you to:
- withdraw your consent for us to use your personal data at any time
- know what we are doing with your information and why we are doing it
- ask to see what information we hold about you (subject access request)
- ask us to correct any mistakes in the information we hold about you
- object to direct marketing
- make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office
Depending on our reason for using your information you may also be entitled to:
- ask us to delete information we hold about you
- have your information transferred electronically to yourself or to another organisation
- object to decisions being made that significantly affect you
- object to how we are using your information
- stop us using your information in certain ways
We will always seek to comply with your request however we may be required to hold or use your information to comply with legal duties. Please note, your request may delay or prevent us delivering a service to you.
For further information about your rights, including the circumstances in which they apply, see the guidance from the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) on individuals’ rights under GDPR.
If you would like to exercise a right, please contact the Information Resilience and Transparency Team at data.protection@kent.gov.uk.
Keeping your personal information secure
We have appropriate security measures in place to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost, or used or accessed in an unauthorised way. We limit access to your personal information to those who have a genuine business need to know it. Those processing your information will do so only in an authorised manner and are subject to a duty of confidentiality.
We also have procedures in place to deal with any suspected data security breach. We will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected data security breach where we are legally required to do so.
Who to contact
Please contact the Information Resilience and Transparency Team at data.protection@kent.gov.uk to exercise any of your rights, or if you have a complaint about why your information has been collected, how it has been used or how long we have kept it for.
You can contact our Data Protection Officer, Benjamin Watts, at dpo@kent.gov.uk, or write to: Data Protection Officer, Sessions House, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1XQ.
GDPR also gives you right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. The supervisory authority in the UK is the Information Commissioner who may be contacted on 03031 231113.
Read our corporate privacy statement.