Strategic Partnerships Team - Internal Armed Forces privacy notice
We keep this privacy notice under regular review and it was last updated on 13 November 2025.
We (Kent County Council) 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
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. The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise from the nation that those who serve or have served, and their families, are treated fairly. We have signed its own Covenant alongside Medway Council with the armed forces showing commitment to supporting serving, reservist, ex-armed forces personnel, veterans and dependents.
Our Data Protection Officer is Benjamin Watts.
Personal information we collect and use
Information collected by us
In the course of the internal Member and Officer Armed Forces Survey, we collect the following personal information when you provide it to us:
- Electoral Ward representation
- KCC directorate
- KCC team or service
- KCC email address
- Name
- Connection with the Armed Forces.
The purpose of the Armed Forces survey does not require the collection of special category information and therefore we do not request it.
We do not obtain personal information from other sources.
How we use your personal information
We use your personal information to:
- help us understand how many people within KCC have an Armed Forces connection and what KCC may be able to do to connect with Members and Officer or support them better
- keep Members and Officers up-to-date on KCC’s work in this area and with other information that might be useful to them. This will be done via email
- undertake surveys and focus groups. We do this to help us to understand the needs of our service users and how they feel about the services that we provide.
Reasons we can collect and use your personal information
We rely on Article 6(1)(a) consent when you complete the Armed Forces survey as the lawful basis on which we collect and use your personal data.
How long your personal data will be kept
Your personal details will be kept for as long as you are an Elected Member or Officer at KCC, or until you ask us not to contact you.
Your details will remain on the list for up to two years, after which time there will be a review to ensure details are up to date.
Who we share your personal information with
We share your name and KCC email address with other KCC officers where appropriate, for example when we are sending you invitations to events that they are hosting.
We will share personal information with law enforcement or other authorities if required by applicable law.
Your rights
Under GDPR you have rights which you can exercise 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 (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 your GP’s reason for using your information you may also be entitled to:
- object to how your GP is using your information
- ask your GP to delete information they hold about you
- have your information transferred electronically to yourself or to another organisation
- object to decisions being made that significantly affect you
- stop your GP 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.
To exercise a right, contact the Information Resilience and Transparency Team at data.protection@kent.gov.uk .
Your right to withdraw your consent
Where we rely on your consent to process your personal information, you can withdraw your consent to our use of your data at any time. You can do this by emailing armedforces@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.
Contact our Data Protection Officer, Benjamin Watts, at dpo@kent.gov.uk, or write to: Data Protection Officer, Sessions House, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1XQ.
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.
Read our corporate privacy statement.