Consul digital community engagement tool
Read the privacy notice for Consul digital community engagement tool
When you choose to get involved with one of the Council's Community Engagement events, and register to use our Consul Community Engagement Tool, we will need to collect some personal data from you. This Privacy Notice explains what personal data we need, how we will use and share it, and your data rights.
Your personal data - what is it?
Personal data is information relating to a living person who can be identified from that data. Identification can be based on the information alone, or in conjunction with any other information. The processing of personal data is governed by the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and supplemented by the Data Protection Act 2018.
What personal data will we collect from you?
When you choose to engage with a Council consultation, we will need to collect some personal information from you. This personal information is shared with the Council from your registered My South Ayrshire Account, which is hosted by the Scottish Improvement Service. You need a My South Ayrshire Account to allow you access to the Consul community engagement tool. The information we will collect will be your:
- User-name,
- Email address;
- Local authority code (which identifies which council area your home postcode is located. It does not identify your address)
Further information on your data rights when you sign up to My South Ayrshire Account is available at myaccount for Scotland | Smart. Simple. Secure | mygovscot
How will we use your information?
When you make a comment through the Consul Community Engagement Tool, it will be attributed to your username for everyone to view online, i.e. it will be in the public domain. Your email address, local authority code and username may be used by the Council to contact you to follow up on any comment you may make, and/or to relay feedback about a topic you have expressed an opinion about.
What is the legal basis for using/sharing your information?
The Council has an obligation to engage with the public and collect views for the provision of consultation, research, openness and transparency. As such, the processing of personal information is carried out under the terms of Article 6(1)(e) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the Data Protection Act 2018 for the performance of a public task carried out in the public interest. The legislation underpinning the provision of this service is within Part 10 'Participation in Public Decision-Making - Participation in decisions of certain persons exercising public functions of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2015/6/part/10/enacted)
Who will we share your information with?
We will not share your information with any third parties. However, when you make a comment through the Consul Community Engagement Tool, it will be attributed to your username for everyone to view online, i.e. it will be in the public domain.
How long do we keep hold of your information?
We keep your personal data for no longer than reasonably necessary. When the consultation/survey is finalised, we retain our records of that consultation for approximately 2 years. Comments made by you as part of the consultation process may be used in other reports and published online. However, your actual membership to Consul will carry on until we are advised otherwise by yourself or by persons with appropriate authority that you no longer wish to be a registered member or you move out of the South Ayrshire area. Your MyAccount membership would expect to continue so you retain the benefits of MyAccount from elsewhere in Scotland.
What are your rights?
The lawful basis for processing/using your personal data directly impacts which rights are available to you. You can ask us to:
- correct your personal data if it is inaccurate;
- complete your personal data if it is incomplete;
- restrict the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances; and
- erase your personal data in certain circumstances.
You may also have the right to object to the processing of your personal information.
What are the consequences of failing to provide personal data?
You will not be able to actively add to the content and engage with the Council using the Consul Engagement Tool until you register with the MyAccount service. You will however be able to view comments made by others as they are hosted online in the public domain.
What about Automated Decision-making?
At this stage the Council's community engagement platform does not use profiling or automated decision-making. However be aware, that to provide a better more focused engagement service for the wider community and for more localised communities, there is the possibility that future development phases of this Consul platform may request sharing of additional personal data to enable intuitive processing to ensure that a fair representation is being expressed by e.g. all age groups and that some are not being unintentionally left out.
Do you require this statement in a different format?
Please contact us if you require this information in an alternative format.
How can you get in touch with us?
If you wish to obtain any records held by the Council relating to you, or if you have any general data protection queries, please contact the Council's Data Protection Service at:
Data Protection Officer South Ayrshire Council
County Buildings Wellington Square
Ayr KA7 1DR
Email: DataProtection@south-ayrshire.gov.uk
Telephone: 01292 612223
Are you dissatisfied with the way your personal information has been handled?
If you are unhappy with the way we have dealt with your personal information, you can complain to the Council's Data Protection Officer using the contact details noted above. If you remain dissatisfied after contacting us, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner (https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/)
Information Commissioner's Office - Scotland 45 Melville Street
Edinburgh EH3 7HL
Email: Scotland@ico.org.uk
Telephone: 0303 123 1115