Home Choice Plus is a partnership of 3 local authorities – Bromsgrove District Council, Stratford Upon Avon District Council and Wyre Forest District Council - and the Registered Providers operating within the partnership area.
The Local Authorities jointly manage the housing register and are responsible for ensuring that your personal information is kept secure. For the purposes of Data Protection, the three Local Authorities are acting as joint Data Controllers for the information obtained and processed for the purpose of applying for registration and rehousing purposes.
This privacy notice applies to the personal and sensitive personal data obtained through the Home Choice Plus system. The Registered Providers may request further information from you for verification purposes if they are offering you one of their properties. The Registered Provider will be the data controller for any information which you give to them and may provide further privacy information in relation to any further information they collect.
The data we will collect from you includes your name and contact details, your date of birth along with those of anyone in your household and your national insurance number to ensure we dont duplicate applications. We will also collect information about your personal circumstances to be able to band your application correctly.
Why we use personal data?
The information you provide will be used by the partner Local Authorities and the registered providers to:
• Maintain the housing register;
• Send you information about possible accommodation or support services which may be of interest to you;
• Assess your eligibility for accommodation; and
• Provide accommodation or housing-related support.
Where it is proposed to use your information for any other purpose we will ensure that we notify you first, unless there is a valid exemption. For example where a person is under investigation for fraud and by bringing this to their attention it may obstruct the investigation.
The personal data we collect enables us to perform our legislative functions under the Housing Act 1996, Homelessness Act 2002 and Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.
With whom will your personal information be shared?
The personal information, including sensitive information, which you supply to Home Choice Plus will be held on a computerised database, managed for the partnership, under contract by Civica. Civica will access the system and therefore your personal data for the purpose of maintaining the system. The partner Local Authorities requires Civica to comply with its instructions and they are forbidden to use your information for their own business purposes, unless you have expressly consented to the use of your personal information in this way.
Information may be shared with third parties including other Councils, current or former landlords, government agencies, and other relevant agencies and organisations to ensure your application is accurate. If you would like a list of the specific third parties with whom your data has been shared with, please contact the Local Authority dealing with your application.
The Registered Providers may also share your information, where necessary, with data/credit reference agencies to check your credit worthiness, please note that these checks do not affect your credit rating.
How can you exercise your rights over your personal data?
You have the right to see what information is being held about you by an organisation and then request that any mistakes are corrected. If you would like to find out more about how you exercise these rights please contact the Local Authority dealing with your application.
How to contact us
If you are not happy with the way in which the partnership has processed and dealt with your personal information please contact the Local Authority dealing with your application.
Further information regarding data protection may be obtained from each council's website.