Overview
Our core data protection obligations and commitments are set out in the council’s Primary Privacy Notice.
Customer Services processes personal data to carry out its functions and services. This privacy statement explains some important information about how we use your personal information.
Using CeCe, our conversational AI assistant
When you contact the council by phone or use CeCe on our website, some information about your interaction may be collected, including conversation transcripts and technical information needed to provide the service. Information may also be used to monitor and improve the service.
For full details about how personal information is processed when using CeCe and other AI-enabled services, see our Artificial Intelligence (AI) Privacy Notice.
Using your personal information
We collect or obtain your personal information for the following purposes:
- Redirect you to the appropriate officer
- Provide a first point of contact for customers by telephone and email
- Give advice and assistance on a range of council services
- Process service requests, queries, complaints, compliments, or suggestions
- Process payments (e.g., council tax)
- Process Blue Badge applications
- Record telephone calls for quality monitoring, auditing, training, and complaint resolution
We may contact you for feedback via email surveys. You can opt out using the unsubscribe link.
Calls requiring action are logged through the appropriate system.
The personal information collected may include:
- Name, address, contact details
- Date of birth
- National Insurance number or proof of identity
- Statistical data (age, gender, disability)
- Photographs and CCTV footage
- Telephone recordings
- Health condition details (for Blue Badge)
- Credit/debit card details (not retained)
- Details of your service request or complaint
- Documents, images, and other files shared
Why we are allowed to use your information
We must have a lawful basis for processing personal data. As a public authority, most processing is necessary to perform a task in the public interest or exercise statutory duties under Article 6(1)(e) of GDPR.
Examples include:
- Registering for council tax
- Assessing housing benefit eligibility
- Processing voting rights
- Investigating complaints
Functions are governed by legislation such as the Local Government Act 1972.
Where special category data is processed, it is done under Article 9 UK GDPR. Refer to individual department privacy notices for more details.
Who we will share your information with
Customer Services shares information with other council departments and approved contractors (e.g., Ringway Jacobs).
We participate in the National Fraud Initiative to protect public funds. This involves data matching to prevent and detect fraud. See our National Fraud Initiative page for more details.
Where we get your information from
Usually from you or someone acting on your behalf. It may also be:
- Provided by other council services or officers
- Provided by another member of the public
- Provided by other organisations
How long we will keep your personal information
Contact Centre call recordings: 6 months (stored in CXone).
Customer Relationship Management records: up to 7 years (Microsoft Dynamics 365).
Complaints, compliments, suggestions: 7 years (iCaseWork).
Other retention periods are listed in our Information Asset Register.
How your information is stored
All data is stored electronically on secure council-operated IT systems with password protection and individual logins. Data is held on secure servers.
What happens if you don’t provide your information
We may not be able to log your request, query, or complaint.
Will your information be used to make automated decisions
Yes, in some cases (e.g., Waste and Recycling, Blue Badge). Automated systems use scoring matrices to determine eligibility. These can be overridden if necessary. No profiling is carried out.
Your rights
You have rights regarding your personal data, including withdrawing consent, accessing your data, and requesting corrections.
For full details, see our privacy notice.