Elected Members – enquiries and correspondence privacy statement

We keep this privacy notice under regular review and it was last updated in April 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.

My role in managing your information

As a Kent County Council (KCC) Elected Member, I collect, use and am responsible for certain personal information about you. When I do so I am regulated under the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018). I am the responsible ‘controller’ of that personal information for the purposes of those laws. KCC’s Data Protection Officer is Benjamin Watts.

Depending on the nature of your enquiry or contact with me, I may work with KCC Officers or partner agencies to progress the matter on your behalf.  This will involve sharing some of your information with them.  Whenever I do share your information, these agencies will be required to manage your data appropriately under the GDPR and will have their own arrangements in place to confirm this.

Personal information I collect and use

Information I collect

In the course of handling enquiries and correspondence from members of the public, I collect the following personal information when you provide it to me:

• name and contact information of the person contacting me
• details of your complaint, concern or enquiry
• any other relevant personal information supplied as part of the enquiry (such as your address, date of birth and your family, lifestyle and social circumstances).

I also collect ‘special category data’ (personal data which is more sensitive and is treated with extra care and protection) when you provide it to me. I collect:

• race
• ethnicity
• religious or philosophical beliefs
• sex life
• sexual orientation
• political opinions and trade union membership
• information about health
• genetic/biometric data.

How I use your personal information

• respond to the enquiry or correspondence.
• investigate relevant issues raised as part of the enquiry.
• maintain a record of public and external organisation enquiries
• monitor outcomes arising from issues raised via correspondence and public enquiries.

How long your personal data will be kept

For as long as is necessary to allow me to effectively address the issues raised in your correspondence or enquiry but not longer than 3 months after the end of my term of elected office.  This is to allow me to build up case history and to return to your records when further matters arise.  All information will be held securely and disposed of confidentially.

When information is shared with KCC departments or partner agencies, it will be held by them in line with their own retention schedules. When your personal data is provided to me as part of a complaint or customer feedback about KCC services, it will be recorded on KCC’s Customer Feedback System and retained under their terms. For more information, read the Customer Feedback privacy notice.

Reasons I can collect and use your personal information

The processing is necessary for the completion of a task in the public interest. This means that your personal data is needed to allow me to deal with your enquiry as part of my duties as an Elected Member of KCC.  If you do not provide the necessary personal data, I may not be able to address your enquiry.

I rely on the following lawful bases under UK GDPR:

• 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 I collect or using special category personal data, I rely upon the following lawful bases under UK GDPR:
• Article 9(2)(g) – Substantial public interest

I rely on DPA 2018 Schedule 1,Part 2, Paragraph 23 (Elected representatives responding to requests) and Schedule 1,Part 2, Paragraph 24 ( Disclosure to Elected Representatives) when relying on the Article 9(2) (g) lawful basis to process your special category data.

The provision of additional special category demographic information (race, ethnic origin, politics, religion, trade union membership, genetics, biometrics, health, sex life, or sexual orientation) is not required from you unless it is relevant to your enquiry.  If you feel it is relevant and have supplied it as part of your enquiry, the processing of this data will be used to investigate and address your enquiry.

With whom I share your information

I may share your name, contact details and any personal data relevant to your enquiry with the relevant service within KCC in order to address your issue. This may involve referring the matter to another Elected Member and, if they have a Cabinet position, their staff.

Your details may also be shared with relevant partner agencies if relevant to your enquiry, such as:

• district or town councillors and officers
• other public sector organisations
• MPs.

I will share personal information with law enforcement or other authorities if required to do so by applicable law.

Your rights

Under GDPR you have rights which you can exercise free of charge which allow you to:

• know what I am doing with your information and why I am doing it
• ask to see what information I hold about you (subject access request)
• ask me to correct any mistakes in the information I hold about you
• object to direct marketing
• make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office

Depending on my reason for using your information you may also be entitled to:

• ask us to delete information I 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 I am using your information
• stop me using your information in certain ways

I 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, contact the Information  Governance Team at data.protection@kent.gov.uk .

Keeping your personal information secure

I have appropriate security measures in place to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost or used or accessed in an unauthorised way. I 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.

I also have procedures in place to deal with any suspected data security breach. KCC 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 Governance 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, through email or post at:

The General Data Protection Regulation 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.