Privacy notice: Parking permits

1. Introduction

It is necessary for the Council to collect and hold personal information about you. The information collected and held will vary and depend on the nature of the service used. Examples of the parking services in which personal information will be gathered are:

Enforcement of parking Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs)
Informal Challenges
Formal Representations and Parking Challenge related enquiries
Responding to correspondence
Parking permits and payments relating to permits

2. Who we are

For the purposes of Data Protection legislation, South Tyneside Council is the Data Controller.

3. What type of personal information do we collect?

Your personal information may include but is not limited to:

Basic details of your vehicle such as vehicle registration number, registered keeper enquiries, vehicle make and model, location of vehicle, parking contravention details.
Basic details about you such as name, DOB, address, telephone/mobile number, email address
Contact we have had with you - Any correspondence in relation to a Penalty Charge Notice, Permit, Parking Enquiry, General Enquiry, Request or Complaint.
Images of you if the enforcement officer has activated their body worn video camera.
Images captured by the Council's CCTV enforcement vehicle or those captured any other approved device.
Your financial details e.g., income and expenditure to help us decide whether repayment options are appropriate.
Call recordings and notes/transcripts of telephone calls made to the Council.
Emails, correspondence in relation to any dealings with you.
Information about you obtained from credit reference agencies, the electoral roll, Court records, and other publicly available sources.
Some transaction information if you have paid for a parking service by credit or debit card.

The GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 give you several rights to control what personal information is used by us and how it is used by us.

4. How do we collect personal information?

We may collect your personal information in several ways, for example:

In person
In writing - for example letter or email
Telephone calls
Online forms
Referrals from another department
Third parties Acting for you - Such as Citizens Advice
Contractors working for South Tyneside Council - Such as recovery agencies.

5. Why do we collect your personal information?

We may also need to collect personal information to allow for us to carry out necessary investigations and processes in relation to Penalty Charge Notices, Permit Applications, and other Parking related requests.

The Council and its partner organisations may use your data, among other things, to:

Carry out enforcement action of unpaid Penalty Charge Notices and other fines, and to respond to any queries and challenges you may raise when we seek payment from you.
Process applications for parking permits.
Investigate and prosecute Blue Badge misuse with the relevant authorities
Ensure that the service you receive is efficient and effective.
Account for our decisions and investigate complaints.
Conduct research and analysis, including the preparation of statistics for use in reports. Your personal data may be converted ('anonymised') into statistical data in such a way that ensures that you cannot be identified from it.

Furthermore, we may need to keep addresses to comply with our statutory duties under the Traffic Management Act 2004.

6. Who might we share your personal information with?

We will not share your personal information with any other third parties unless you have specifically asked us to, or if we have a legal obligation to do so.

7. How long will we keep your personal information?

There is often a legal reason for keeping your personal information for a set period of time. We will only keep your information for the minimum period necessary as detailed within our retention schedule.

8. What is our legal basis for using your personal information?

To use your personal information there must be a lawful basis to do this, such as, through a contract, performing a public task or where there is a legal obligation. Most of the Council's services will be processed as a public task set out in Article 6 (1) (e) of the General Data Protection Regulation:

processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller

Some services may require your consent to process your personal information and where necessary, services will contact you about your consent.

The GDPR sets a high standard for consent to use people's information. Consent requires a positive opt-in. Pre-ticked boxes or any other consent method by default is no longer allowed.

Whilst the majority of information you provide to us is a mandatory requirement for us to provide services to you, some of it is provided to us on a voluntary basis. In order to comply with data protection legislation, we will inform you whether you are required to provide certain information to us or if you have a choice about whether you need to provide the information and how your data is used. However, if you choose not to share your personal data with us in these circumstances, this may affect our ability to improve our services and our service offer to you as a customer.

If consent is the only legal basis used to process your personal information, you can withdraw your consent at any time. Consent can be withdrawn online, by email, telephone or face-to-face.

Performance and Compliance of Parking. Such as Permits issued by Parking Services.
Compliance with our legal obligations under relevant legislation and associated statutory guidance.
Law enforcement, prosecutions, and Court proceedings
If we need to establish, exercise, or defend our legal rights, including protecting public interests or in the exercise of official authority.

9. How do we keep your personal information secure?

All information provided will be stored securely on our network. Access to this information only held by those in Parking Services and system administrators.

10. Is your personal information used overseas?

We will not process your personal information outside of the United Kingdom.

11. What are your rights?

Your individual rights are set out in law. Subject to some legal exemptions, you have the following rights:

Right to be informed
Right of access
Right to rectification
Right to erasure
Right to restrict processing
Right to data portability
Right to object
Rights in relating to automated decision making and profiling

12. Contact us

If you would like to exercise your rights in relation to your personal information, or you feel that something has gone wrong with your personal information, you can contact us in either of the following ways:

By email: data.protection@southtyneside.gov.uk

By telephone: 0191 424 6539

In writing:

South Tyneside Council,
Information Governance,
Town Hall and Civic Offices,
South Shields
NE33 2RL

If you feel that the Council has not handled your information correctly you can contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). The ICO is the Government's Independent Body responsible for overseeing data protection. In most cases the ICO will only review cases that have exhausted the Council's internal procedures.

The ICO's contact details are as follows: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF. More information can be found on the ICO's website at www.ico.org.uk.

Give us your feedback

Bin collections