Privacy notices

This Privacy Notice is designed to help you understand how and why Electoral Registration Officer and the Returning Officer at Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, processes your personal data. This notice should be read in conjunction with the Council’s Corporate Privacy Notice.

Who are we?

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, the Council’s Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) and the Returning Officer (RO) are ‘Data Controllers’ as defined by Article 4(7) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).

The duties of the Electoral Registration Officer are administered by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council. The ERO is responsible for compiling and maintaining the register of electors in accordance with their duties. The Returning Officer is responsible for the administration of local government elections in the area

Data Protection Officer

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council

Redcar and Cleveland House

Kirkleatham Street

Redcar

TS10 1RT

InformationGovernance@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk

01642 774774

What personal information do we collect?

For elections and electoral registration, the Council, the ERO and the RO, will collect the following categories of personal information:

• Your name, address, nationality, and date of birth
• Contact details (email address and telephone number)
• Details of any change in circumstance such as change of name or address
• National Insurance Number
• Signatures including for the purposes of absent voting
• Documentary evidence and copies of correspondence received
• Information relating to the other occupants in your home
• Your opt in/out preference for the open electoral register
• Details of postal vote arrangements including address where postal vote is to be sent to, reason to apply for a waiver of signature requirement, permanent, one off or set period
• Details of proxy voting arrangements including proxy’s details, their relationship, supporter’s declaration in respect of employment/disability
• Special declarations you have made or relevant circumstances/arrangements you have told Council about such as anonymous registrations

The Returning Officer will process the following categories of personal information:

• Election staff – name, address, nationality, date of birth, national insurance number, bank account details, contact details, eligibility to work in the UK status,
• Candidates – name, address, date of birth, consent to nomination details, nomination description, contact details, signature, name and signature of proposer, seconder and assentors,
• Polling venues – venue details, name, address, contact details of booking agent, keyholder(s), account payee, bank account details, any notes.

As part of our duties, we are required to collect sensitive personal information or certain types of special category information. Special category information may be processed though the documentary exceptions process, the anonymous registration process or in relation to elections staff and candidates.

Why do we collect your personal information?

The ERO is legally obliged to collect the personal data specified above to produce an Electoral Register. The Electoral Register is then used by the Returning Officer to facilitate the running of elections and to ensure effective conduct of the elections process.

If you do not provide the ERO with the requested information then you may not be able to vote and you may be breaking the law (as it is a legal obligation to register). The ERO will include your name on the Electoral Register so that you are able to vote by your chosen method. The Electoral Register is a public document that can be viewed by appointment and under strict control.

Who do we obtain your information from?

The ERO has a statutory right to inspect and obtain copies of data held by any department of the Council, any registrar of births, dead and marriages and any person or organisation who provides services to, or on behalf of the Council.  

Who do we share this information with?

Throughout the elections process, we will share your information as below:

• The ERO will share the collected information with the Council’s RO, who is responsible for running the elections, and the Council, who support the administration of the election.

• We will share information with our printers and software providers, to compile and manage the register, to print your poll cards, postal vote packs and other electoral material.
• With registered political parties, elected representatives, candidates and their agents, and other permitted participants who are able to use it for electoral purposes only.
• With organisations such as credit reference agencies, the British Library, UK Statistics Authority, the Electoral Commission and any other recipients who are legally entitled to receive a copy of the electoral register. Further details of who can receive the register can be found here.
• Details of whether you have voted (but not how you have voted) with those who are entitled in law to receive this information after an election.
• To the Jury Central Summoning Bureau indicating those persons who are aged 76 or over and are no longer eligible for jury service.

• To verify your identity when you register and to check whether you may still be resident at the start of the annual canvass of households, the data you provide will be processed by the Individual Electoral Registration Digital Service (IERDS) managed by the Cabinet Office. As part of this process your data will be shared with the Department of Work and Pensions and the Cabinet Office suppliers that are data processors for the Individual Electoral Registration Digital Service. You can find more information about this here: https://www.registertovote.service.gov.uk/register-tovote/privacy. The Cabinet Office will also inform local authorities when someone has moved out of their area and registered in a different area.
• We may also collect and have records of email addresses and phone numbers collected through previous household enquiry forms or applications to register. We will only use this information in pursuit of statutory registration duties and will not disclose it to any third party unless required to by law.
• The Returning Officer will share information relating to Polling Station Staff with the relevant payroll provider and Government departments such as HMRC throughout their employment.

The information you provide is held in electoral registers which are managed by electoral registration officers who, using information received, keep two registers – the full electoral register and the open (edited) register. The full register is published once a year and is updated every month (January to September).

There are two registers as follows:

• The full electoral register – this contains the names and addresses of everyone who is registered to vote in public elections. The register is used for electoral purposes, such as making sure only eligible people can vote. Access to the full electoral register is specified in law.
• The open register – this is an extract of the full electoral register but is not used for elections. It can be bought by any person, company or organisation. Your name and address will be included in the open register unless you ask for them to be removed. Removing your details from the open register does not affect your right to vote or other factors such as your credit score.

You can opt out of having your details included on the open register at any time by emailing the Electoral Services Department at electoralregistration@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk or by telephone on 01642 774774.

If you are concerned that having your name and address on the electoral register may affect your safety, there could be other options available to you. In certain circumstances you can register anonymously which means your name and address won’t be shown on the register. To find out more information about this, please contact us via one of the methods listed above.

How long do we keep your information for?

The ERO, the Returning Officer, and the Council will keep your data for as long as is required by various legislation that governs the Elections process, in line with statutory retention periods. This will differ depending on the type of information and the type of election.

What is our lawful basis for processing your information?

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council relies on the following lawful basis to process your personal data:

• UK GDPR Article 6 (1) (c) - processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject
• UK GDPR Article 6 (1) (e) - processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest.

The legislations, policies and guidance that relate to this service includes, but is not limited to:

• Electoral Administration Act 2006
• Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013
• Local Elections (Parishes and Communities) (England and Wales) Rules 2006
• Local Elections (Principal Areas) (England and Wales) Rules 2006
• Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000
• Representation of the Peoples Act 1983, 1985 and 2000
• Equality Act 2010
• Representation of the Peoples Regulations 2001, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
• The Representation of the People (Annual Canvass) (Amendment) Regulations 2019
• Electoral Registration (Disclosure of Electoral Registers) Regulations 2013
• UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)

For more information about how the Council uses your data, including your privacy rights and the complaints process, please see our Corporate Privacy Notice.