Data protection policy
Environmental Standards Scotland (ESS) seeks to ensure that the information published on its website is up to date and accurate. However, the information on the website does not constitute legal or professional advice and ESS cannot accept any liability for actions arising from its use. ESS cannot be held responsible for the contents of any pages referenced by an external link.
Introduction
The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UKGDPR) and the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018 impose obligations on the use of all personal data held by Environmental Standards Scotland, whether it relates to people and their families, employees, complainants, contractors or any other individual who comes into contact with the organisation, defined as data subjects.
This policy sets out how Environmental Standards Scotland meets its legal obligations and requirements under data protection law, and how it will protect special category and criminal convictions personal data, and processing for the purposes of law enforcement.
This policy will be reviewed annually, or as appropriate to take into account changes to legislation that may occur. Any breach of this policy may result in Environmental Standards Scotland being liable for the consequences of the breach.
The Data Protection Principles
Article 5 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation outlines the six data protection principles (detailed below) which must be adhered to when processing personal data
| Article: | Environmental Standards Scotland will: |
|---|---|
| 5(1)(a) – Lawfulness, fairness and transparency Processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to individuals | • ensure that personal data is only processed where a lawful basis applies • process personal data fairly, and inform data subjects about the purposes of any processing • ensure that data subjects receive full privacy information via a privacy notice, which will include the period for which personal data will be retained |
| 5(1)(b) – Purpose limitation Collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes; further processing for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes shall not be considered to be incompatible with the initial purposes | • collect personal data for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and inform data subjects what those purposes are via a privacy notice • not use personal data for purposes that are incompatible with the purposes for which it was collected. If we do use data for a new purpose which is compatible, we will inform the data subject first |
| 5(1)(c) – data minimisation Adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed | • only collect the minimum personal data that we need for the purpose for which is it collected. We will make sure that the data we collect is accurate and relevant |
| 5(1)(d) – accuracy Accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date; every reasonable step must be taken to ensure that personal data that are inaccurate, having regard to the purposes for which they are processed, are erased or rectified without delay | • ensure that personal data is accurate, and kept up to date where necessary. We will take particular care to do this where our use of the personal data has a significant impact on individuals |
| 5(1)(e) – storage limitation Kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed; personal data may be stored for longer periods insofar as the personal data will be processed solely for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes subject to implementation of the appropriate technical and organisational measures required by the GDPR in order to safeguard the rights and freedoms of individuals | • only keep personal data in an identifiable form as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it is collected, where we have a legal obligation to do so, or for archiving, scientific or historical research, or statistical purposes. Once we no longer need personal data it will be deleted, put beyond use or anonymised |
| 5(1)(f) – integrity and confidentiality (security) Processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures | • ensure that there are appropriate organisational and technical measures in place to protect personal data |
| 5(2) – accountability The controller shall be responsible for, and be able to demonstrate, compliance with the principles | • keep records of all personal data processing activities and provide these to the Information Commissioner on request • undertake a data protection impact assessment for all projects that involve personal data or privacy, with particular attention to high-risk processing activities • consult the Information Commissioner when preparing proposals for legislation which relates to processing of personal data |
To meet the overarching requirement of accountability we maintain adequate records of our data processing activities and keep evidence of how we comply with the data protection principles.
Roles and responsibilities
The Chief Executive Officer, as Accountable Officer (AO), has overall responsibility for data protection within Environmental Standards Scotland.
The Head of Corporate Services and Communications is designated as Environmental Standards Scotland’s Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO).
The Data Protection Officer (DPO) is responsible for data protection assurance and compliance, and reports key findings and recommendations to the Executive Team.
Information Asset Owners (IAO) are responsible for maintaining, registering and safeguarding information assets. IAOs also have a responsibility to ensure compliance with data protection law within their business area.
Information Management Support Officers (IMSO) are responsible for advising their business area on information management and complete specified information management tasks.
Measures
Privacy notice – we publish a privacy notice on our website which is reviewed on an annual basis.
Training – Our staff undertake mandatory training in data protection as part of their induction and are required to refresh their training every year to ensure all staff are up to date on best practice.
Breaches – We consider personal data breach incidents and have a reporting mechanism that is communicated with staff to ensure breaches are escalated appropriately. We also publicly report on whether and how many data breaches have occurred within our annual report and accounts.
Information rights – We have a dedicated Data Protection Officer and clear processes for handling subject access requests and other queries from data subjects.
Data protection impact assessments – Where processing of personal data is perceived to be high risk we will carry out a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) to identify and minimise data protection risks.
Policies and procedures – We produce policies and procedures relating to information management and data protection that we communicate to staff. This includes ensuring appropriate policy documents are in place for sensitive processing.
Law enforcement
Environmental Standards Scotland has no specific powers in terms of law enforcement, but can request a judicial review. When processing for judicial review, Environmental Standards Scotland will:
- ensure our systems comply with the data logging requirements
- classify data subjects appropriately
- ensure appropriate safeguards are in place
The legal bit
This policy meets the requirement at Schedule 1 to the Data Protection Act 2018 that an appropriate policy document is in place where the processing of special category data is necessary for the purposes of performing obligations or rights in connection with employment, social security or social protection.
It meets the requirement at Schedule 1 to the Data Protection Act 2018 that an appropriate policy document be in place where the processing of special category data is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest. The conditions under which data may be processed for reasons of substantial public interest are set out at paragraphs 6 to 28 of Schedule 1 to the Data Protection Act 2018.
Further information
For further information about Environmental Standards Scotland’s compliance with data protection law, please contact:
The Data Protection Officer DataProtection@ess.thegateedinburgh.com
This data protection Policy was last updated on15 November 2023.