Jonathan Stephenson is formally appointed as the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) and the data controller for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 2018. As data controller she registered with the Information Commissioners Officer (ICO) and the registration reference is Z8532553.
The Data Protection Officer for the ERO can be contacted on DPO@Rochford.gov.uk
Why do we need your information? (The purpose and lawful basis for processing data)
To comply with a statutory duty to compile and maintain:
- a register of Parliamentary and Local Government electors (Section 9 of the Representation of the People Act 1983) and
- a register of relevant citizens of the European Union entitled to vote at European Parliamentary elections (Regulation 5(2) European Parliamentary Elections (Franchise of Relevant Citizens of the Union) Regulations 2001).
- The Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001 (as amended) In accordance with Article 6 of the GDPR, the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest and exercise of official authority vested in the ERO as set out in the Representation of the People Act 1983 and associated regulations.
The ERO also processes Nationality information which is ‘Special Category Data’. This information is processed in order to determine whether someone is eligible to register to vote and, if so, which elections they may be entitled to vote at.
Additionally, the ERO may also deal with special categories of personal data through: documents received as part of the documentary exceptions process in connection with applications to register and documents received as part of an application for anonymous registration.
In accordance with Article 9, of the GDPR, the processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest, with a basis in UK law (Regulation 26 of the Representation of the People Act 2001).
What information we are collecting?
- Name
- Address
- DOB
- NI number
- Contact Details – email or phone nos. (if provided)
- Signature
- We may collect on occasion special category data which is sensitive in nature such as racial
- or ethnic origin, Health.
- Name
- Address
- DOB
- NI number
- Gender etc
How is it being collected?
It is a legal requirement for you to provide information to the ERO for inclusion on the Electoral Register. You are sent a Household Enquiry Form to complete on an annual basis.
How will it be used?
Your records are used to help ensure that we provide you with the service that you need. We will include your name on the Electoral Register so that you are able to vote by your chosen method.
The Electoral Register is a public document which can be viewed by appointment and under strict control.
You have a right to opt out of the Open Register at any time or your have an opportunity to do so annually as part of the Canvass where you are sent a Household Enquiry Form. If you
request to opt out. we must remove your from this version and tell the statutory recipients in the next update. Removing your details from the open register will not affect your right to vote.
If you wish to remain anonymous on the Electoral Register you will need to contact the Elections Offices who will provide you with advice and guidance.
Who will the information be shared with?
The information you provide is held in electoral registers which are managed by electoral registration officers who, using information received, keep two registers – the full electoral
register and the open (edited) register.
The full register is published once a year and is updated every month and can only be supplied to the following people and organisations:
- British Library
- UK Statistics Authority
- Electoral Commission
- Boundary Commission for England
- Jury Summoning Bureau
- Elected Representatives (MP, MEPS, Local Councillors)
- Police and Crime Commissioner Candidates standing for elections Local and National Political Parties
- The Council Parish and Community Councils
- Police Forces, National Crime Agency
- Public Library or local authority archive services
- Government departments or bodies
- Credit Reference Agencies
- National Fraud Initiative
- Electoral Registration and Returning Officers
We also need to disclose (share) your information with our Software providers and contracted printers. It is a crime for anyone who has a copy of the full register to pass information from this register on to others, if they do not have a lawful reason to see it.
We may share some of your personal information with third parties to:
- help prevent fraud. We may share your information with credit reference agencies and other companies for use in credit decisions. Credit agencies may record these searches, but that will not affect your credit standing.
- pursue people or companies who owe us money. We may share your information with debt collection agencies.
- help business partners, suppliers and sub-contractors to deliver any contract we enter with them or you.
- help us if we are need additional professional or legal advice on a matter relating to you.
- to improve and optimise the performance of our websites and social media accounts. Analytics and search engine providers that we use can collect your data when you interact with us online. However, they will aggregate and anonymise the information, meaning we can’t identify any individual personally.
- work out if a grant we have spent was successful in achieving its aims. This could be funding from a Government or a grant from a local, regional or national organisation such as Sport England and National/Heritage Lottery Fund. However, they will aggregate and anonymise the information, meaning we can’t identify any individual personally.
Anyone can inspect the full electoral register
- Inspection of the register will be under strict supervision
- They can take extracts from the register, but only by hand written notes
- Information taken must not be used for direct marketing purposes, in accordance with data protection legislation, unless it has been published in the open version
- Anyone who fails to observe these conditions is committing a criminal offence and will be charged a penalty of up to £5,000.
If your details are in the Open Version of the Electoral Register, your name and address can be sold to third parties who may use it for any purpose.
Retention Period of the data
The ERO is obliged to process your personal data in relation to preparing for and conduction Elections.
Your detail will be kept update and in accordance with our legal obligations and in line with statutory retention periods.The GDPR/Data Protection Act 2018 allows you to find out what information is held about you on paper and electronic records. In order to do this you can submit a subject access request to the ERO’s Data Protection Officer. This service is free of charge.In some circumstance where the information provided may be restricted, for example, where it contains confidential information about another person, where it will cause serious harm to your or someone else’s physical or mental well-being or if the information we give you may stop us from preventing or detecting crime.In addition, you have the following rights:
- Ask for information to be changed if it is factually inaccurate
- Ask for information to be deleted in certain circumstances such as the purpose for which the information was provided in the first place is no longer relevant, where you withdraw you consent (unless there is no other legal reason for us to use it), we are legally required to deleted information.
- Ask for the information to be transferred back to yourself or another service provider. This only applies if we are using your information with consent and not if we are required by law to do so or if a decision was made by a computer and not a human being