Data Protection Act 1998

The Data Protection Act 1998 aims to promote high standards in the handling of personal information and to protect the individual's right to privacy. The Act applies to anyone holding information about living individuals in electronic format and in some cases on paper.

Data protection laws protect your privacy and ensure that your personal data is processed fairly and lawfully. Personal data is information that can identify you, such as your name and address, and can cover information the Council may hold about you such as benefits information, for example.

Anyone holding personal information must follow the 8 data protection principles of good information handling, where it must be:

• Fairly and lawfully processed
• Processed for specified purposes
• Adequate, relevant and not excessive
• Accurate, and where necessary, kept up to date
• Not kept for longer than is necessary
• Processed in line with the rights of the individual
• Kept secure
• Not transferred to countries outside the European Economic Area unless there is adequate protection for the information

Further information on the Act can be found on the Information Commissioner's website.