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Privacy notice

Your Electoral Registration Office (ERO) is the Data Controller for the service “Reply to your Electoral Registration Office about your voting rights”.

The purpose of this privacy notice is to tell you how the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) will process your personal data provided as part of the service “Reply to your Electoral Registration Office about your voting rights”.

MHCLG are only allowed to use, gather, and share personal information where we have an appropriate legal basis to do so. We only collect and process personal information to fulfil our legal and official functions. We will only use personal information when the law allows us to and where it is necessary and proportionate to do so.

What personal data MHCLG are collecting and why

We will receive the following personal data about you from your Electoral Registration Office, when they invite you to use the service:

  • Your full name
  • Your address
  • Your postcode

Your Electoral Registration Office will send us this data so that you can use this service to respond to the question about your voting rights. This is part of a process called the Eligibility Confirmation Review, which your Electoral Registration Office is running to determine what level of voting rights EU citizens will retain following the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union.

When you use the service, we will ask you to confirm that the above data are correct, and will collect the following additional data from you:

  • your historical residency status since 31 December 2020
  • if you have chosen to provide them, your email address and telephone number

If you agree to our use of “cookies” (see below) on the website, we will also collect information about your website activity (e.g. number of visits, time spent on pages).

How we use your personal data

We will use your data to process your response to the question about your voting rights. This will require us to share your data with certain partners and service providers, which we explain below.

With whom we will be sharing the data

We will share your data with your Electoral Registration Office in England or Wales. Each ERO maintains the register of electors for their area, and is a separate data controller. How they use your data will be set out in their Privacy Notice. Click here to find your Electoral Registration Office and their Privacy Notice. In England, your ERO will use the data to determine whether you should remain on the electoral register, and in Wales your ERO will use the data to determine what level of voting rights you will retain.

Your personal data will also be processed by our IT infrastructure, and thus will be shared with our IT service providers who are sub-processors. This includes if you contact the “Reply to your Electoral Registration Office about your voting rights” service with a query or send feedback about the service.

How long we will keep your personal data

We will retain your data in accordance with our legal obligations, which means your data can be held for the duration of the Eligibility Confirmation Review period ending on 31 January 2025, and will then be deleted within 6 weeks.

Your rights

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) you have rights relating to how your personal can be used. These are explained here:

  • You have the right to request information about how your personal data is processed, and to request a copy of that personal data.
  • You have the right to request that any inaccuracies in your personal data are rectified without delay.
  • You have the right to request that any incomplete personal data are completed, including by means of a supplementary statement.
  • You have the right to request that your personal data are erased if there is no longer a justification for them to be processed.
  • You have the right in certain circumstances (for example, where accuracy is contested) to request that the processing of your personal data is restricted.
  • You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights – for example, request personal data that we hold about you – please contact us at the details provided below.

In relation to data collected by website cookies: You have the right to withdraw your consent by using the “cookie banner” that will appear when using our website for the first time.

Lawful basis for processing the data

We are using the following lawful basis under UK GDPR to process personal data:

  • Article 6(1)(e) of the UK GDPR – processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority. The legislation relating to this is set out in Part 2 of the Representation of the People (Franchise Amendment and Eligibility Review) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/1150).

If you consent to your data being collected by website cookies, our lawful basis for processing this data is:

  • Article 6(1)(a) of the UK GDPR — the data subject has given consent to the processing of his or her personal data for one or more specific purposes.

Is any personal data sent overseas?

We will not be sending your personal data outside of the UK.

Automated decision making and profiling

No decision will be made about you solely based on automated decision making (that’s where a decision is taken about you using an electronic system without human involvement), and which has a significant impact on you.

Storage, security, and data management

Your ERO has a duty to safeguard and ensure the security of your personal data where we process this. We do that by having systems and policies in place to limit access to your information and prevent unauthorised disclosure, accidental loss, or alteration of your data. We also have procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breachwhere we are legally required to do so.

Contact details and more information

The data controller for personal data used in the “Reply to your Electoral Registration Office about your voting rights” is your Electoral Registration Office (ERO).

To contact your ERO’s Data Protection Officer, contact your Electoral Registration Office.

Complaints

If you consider that your personal data has been misused or mishandled, you may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner, who is an independent regulator. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
SK9 5AF
casework@ico.org.uk
0303 123 1113

Any complaint to the Information Commissioner is without prejudice to your right to seek redress through the courts.