Trading Standards Explosive Licence Emergency Contact privacy notice

We keep this privacy notice under regular review and it 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.

The 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.

Our Data Protection Officer is Benjamin Watts.

Personal information we collect and use

Information collected by us

In the course of processing applications to store explosives, we are provided with the following personal information about you:

  • Name
  • Contact details (address, email address and telephone numbers).

This personal information is provided to us for use in an emergency by the applying person/business.

How we use your personal information

We will only use your personal information to contact you should an emergency occur.

Reasons we can collect and use your personal information

We rely Article 6(1)(c) as the lawful basis on which we collect and use your personal data ie that ‘processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation’, specifically the Explosives Regulations 2014. Under these Regulations, Kent County Council is the licensing authority.

How long your personal data will be kept

We will hold your personal information for:

  • the duration of the licence plus six years, after which time it will be securely destroyed.
  • if the application for an explosives licence is unsuccessful, the complete application is stored on file for three years, after which time, it will be securely destroyed.

Who we share your personal information with

We routinely share emergency contact details for premises that are licensed to store explosives with the Kent Fire and Rescue service for use in an emergency, to protect life.  Kent Fire and Rescue are a signatory to a documented protocol which sets out how public services in Kent share information whilst respecting the privacy and confidentiality of individuals and protecting their personal information whilst ensuring they receive effective and efficient services.

We will share personal information with law enforcement or other authorities if required by applicable law or in connection with legal proceedings.

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.

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, 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.

The United Kingdom 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.

Read our corporate privacy statement.