Privacy notice: Taxi licences

Introduction

This Privacy Notice explains types of personal information we may collect about you when you interact with us. It also explains how we will store and handle that information, as well as keep it safe and secure.

We will keep our privacy notice under regular review and will advise you of any updates on our website.

This Notice was last reviewed in November 2019.

Who we are

For the purposes of Data Protection legislation, South Tyneside Council is the Data Controller.

What type of personal information do we collect?

We may collect the following types of personal information:

Name
Address and contact details
Nationality
Date of birth
National Insurance number
DVLA licence number
Criminal history
Medical information
Vehicle details
Complaints history

We will collect information categorised as special category data in order to carry out our legal obligations and in line with our data protection policy. This may include information such as:

Ethnic origin
Health

When we collect special category data we rely on one of the following grounds:

The data subject has given explicit consent to the processing of those personal data for one or more specified purposes
Processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims or whenever courts are acting in their judicial capacity

We will only collect information about criminal convictions if it is appropriate. Where appropriate we will collect information about criminal convictions as part of the application process. We will only use information about criminal convictions and offences if needed to carry out our legal obligations.

How do we collect personal information?

We may collect your personal information in a number of ways, for example:

by letter
by e-mail
by telephone
application form
online
through face to face contact with you
via an agreed representative appointed by you

Why do we collect your personal information?

We will collect your personal information for the purposes of administering and enforcing the Council's taxi licensing roles and responsibilities

Who might we share your personal information with?

In accordance with the Council's Taxi Licensing Policy, any decision to revoke or refuse your application will be entered onto the National Register of Taxi Licence Refusals and Revocations (NR3). The information entered onto NR3 will be limited to your:

Name
Date of birth
Address and contact details
National insurance number
Driving licence number
Decision taken (but not the reason for it)
Date of decision
The date the decision took effect

We may need to share your personal information with other organisations to protect the public or if we are legally obliged to do so. Such organisations may include the Police, DVLA, HMRC, Home Office, DWP, DEFRA and other local authorities.

We will not share your personal information with any other third parties unless you have specifically asked us to do so.

How long will we keep your personal information?

Most information about you will be retained for 6 years following the expiry of your licence unless your licence is either refused or revoked in which case information will be retained for 25 years.

What is our legal basis for using your personal information?

We have a statutory duty to ensure that those we licence are fit and proper persons. To do so the Council will use your personal information under the following legislation:

Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976
Town and Police Clauses Act 1847
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
Equality Act 2010
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FoIA)
Data Protection Act 2018
The Air Quality (Taxi and Private Hire Vehicles database) (England and Wales) Regulations 2019

How do we keep your personal information secure?

Information provided to the Licensing Section is held securely on our network. Only officers working within the Licensing Section and system administrators have access to these records.

Is your personal information used overseas?

We will not process your personal information outside of the European Economic Area (EEA).

What are your rights?

Your individual rights are set out in law. Subject to some legal exemptions, you have the following rights:

Right to be informed
Right of access
Right to rectification
Right to erasure
Right to restrict processing
Right to data portability
Right to object
Rights in relating to automated decision making and profiling

Contact us

If you would like to exercise your rights in relation to your personal information, or you feel that something has gone wrong with your personal information, you can contact us in either of the following ways:

By email: data.protection@southtyneside.gov.uk
By telephone: 0191 424 6539
In writing: South Tyneside Council, Information Governance, Town Hall and Civic Offices, South Shields, NE33 2RL

If you feel that the Council has not handled your information correctly you can contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). The ICO is the Government's Independent Body responsible for overseeing data protection. In most cases the ICO will only review cases that have exhausted the Council's internal procedures.

The ICO's contact details are as follows:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
SK9 5AF

More information can be found at Information Commissioner Office.

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