Kent Integrated Domestic Abuse Service (KIDAS) privacy notice
We keep this privacy notice under regular review and it was last updated on 14 September 2026.
We respect 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
We collect, use and are 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. Our Data Protection Officer is Benjamin Watts.
Under the Domestic Abuse Act (2021), we have a statutory duty to provide support within safe accommodation and must offer support to survivors, both adults and children, residing in safe accommodation. This means anyone residing in a property under a sanctuary scheme will be offered a package of specialist domestic abuse support. Additionally, we have a duty to assess local need, develop strategies and commission appropriate support.
The data evidences the scale and nature of domestic abuse in local areas including demographics, risk levels, types of abuse, barriers to access and ensures resources are utilised to target areas and people with the greatest need.
The data also allows tracking of outcomes such as reduction in risk, engagement with services and supports continuous improvement.
We commission the following organisations to deliver a support service to victims and survivors of domestic abuse. For more information read their privacy notices:
The personal information we collect and use
Information collected by us
In order to manage the KIDAS service, Clarion Housing Group, Oasis Domestic Abuse Service, Look Ahead Care, Support and Housing, and Victim Support process data on our behalf. They collect your:
- name
- date of birth
- contact details (such as your full address, email address and telephone number)
- information about your household, children or dependents.
They also collect ‘special category data’ (personal data which is more sensitive and is treated with extra care and protection) when you provide it to them. They collect:
- information about your racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, physical or mental health, sexual orientation or sex life or other protected characteristics (where you choose to share this)
- information about your health and wellbeing including mental health, if relevant to your support.
They also collect data which is not classed as special category data but will be treated with extra care, when you provide it to them. They collect:
- abuse and details (such as type of abuse, perpetrator relationship, presence of children) to understand prevalence, inform service design, and ensure support is proportionate to need and risk
- financial information.
How we use your personal information
We use your personal information to:
- assess local needs for domestic abuse services and improve how we deliver them
- monitor the quality and performance of services we fund through contract monitoring
- meet statutory duties under the Domestic Abuse Act (2021)
- service access and usage (referral source, service type accessed, length and frequency of engagement) to monitor referral pathways, capacity, and reach
- monitor outcomes (such as changes in safety, housing stability, wellbeing, outcomes, victim feedback) to evaluate service effectiveness and meet reporting requirements
- investigate and process complaints and compliments regarding the services we have provided
- analyse information you give us in response to a survey request from us about your views on the service
- create reports for equality monitoring, statistical research, analysis and evaluation of the service. Any reports will be anonymised, and individuals will not be identifiable.
Reasons we can collect and use your personal information
When we collect and use your personal data, we rely on the following lawful bases:
- Article 6(1)(c) - Processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject.
- Article 6(1)(e) - Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.
When we collect or share your special category personal data (such as health information) we rely upon the following lawful bases:
- Article 9(2)(g) - Processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest.
We rely on the ‘statutory and government purposes’, and ’safeguarding of children and individuals at risk’ conditions in the Data Protection Act 2018 when relying on Article 9(2)(g) to process your special category data.
We rely on the ‘safeguarding of children and individuals at risk’ condition in the Data Protection Act 2018 to process your criminal convictions data.
We take the following appropriate safeguards in respect of your special category and/or criminal convictions data when relying on the conditions above:
- We have a Special Category and Criminal Records Appropriate Policy (Adult Social Care and Health) in place when using your special category data. This policy is retained throughout the time we use your data and for 6 months after we cease to use it.
- We maintain a record of our processing in our ‘Record of Processing Activities’ and record in it any reasons for deviating from the periods in our retention schedule.
How long your personal data will be kept
Clarion Housing Group, Look Ahead Care, Support and Housing, Oasis Domestic Abuse Service, and Victim Support will hold your personal data in line with their retention periods. Please see their privacy notices for further information:
We will receive anonymised data from Clarion Housing Group, Look Ahead Care, Support and Housing, Oasis Domestic Abuse Service, and Victim Support for equality monitoring, statistical research, analysis and evaluation of the service. We will hold this information for the current year plus 5 years, after which the data will be permanently deleted. Please see record AS6.1.5 in our retention schedule for further information.
Who we share your personal information with
Personal information may be shared with partner agencies involved in your support or protection, such as the police or the NHS.
We have a statutory duty to report de-personalised information to relevant government departments. Aggregated data helps identify trends enabling early intervention. Anonymised data is submitted to national bodies such as the Office of Police and Crime Commissioner, Housing, and Home Office.
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 access free of charge which allow you to:
- know what we are doing with your information and why we are doing it
- ask to see what information we hold about you
- 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:
- object to how we are using your information
- 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
- 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. 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 the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation.
If you would like to exercise a right, 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
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.
UK GDPR also gives you right to lodge a complaint with Information Commissioner, who may be contacted via the Information Commissioner's website or call 03031 231113.
For further information read our privacy statement.