This privacy notice tells you about what information we collect about you, how we use that information and who we share it with.
Who we are and what we do
Adopt Coast to Coast is a regional adoption agency and a partnership between the following local adoption agencies:
Adopt Coast to Coast provides a central hub for the recruitment and oversight of each adopters journey from enquiry to adopting a child. It allows the above authorities to work together to widen the pool of prospective adopters who can provide a loving and stable home and to use the network to match children with the right families much more quickly. It also provides support for adoptive families going through the process and for those considering adopting.
For the purposes of data protection, Durham County Council and Sunderland City Council are joint data controllers.
The Privacy Notices for each adoption agency are available on their website:
- Durham County Council fostering and adoption privacy notice.pdf
- Together for Children on behalf of Sunderland City Council privacy notice
What type of personal information do we collect and how do we collect it?
The following information may be collected from the enquirer:
- Full name of enquirer including middle names
- Any other name known by
- Date of birth
- Full postal address
- Email address
- Preferred contact telephone number
- Other phone number (optional)
- Dates of key stages in the adoption process
- Reasons for not proceeding to the next stage
If applying with a partner or spouse
- Partners full name including middle names
- Any other name known partner is known by
- Partners date of birth
The data will be collected through an on-line enquiry form and from enquiries received over the phone. Monthly updates about stages of the journey will be provided by professionals.
What is our lawful basis to obtain and use your personal information?
The lawful basis for Coast to Coast to process your data is provided under Article 6 of the UK GDPR:
1(c) processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject
1(e) 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
The relevant regulations are The Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005 and the National Minimum Standards 2011 set out the requirements of Adoption Agencies.
What is your personal information used for?
Information you provide will be used for the following purposes:
- To respond to your enquiry to the adoption service and commence your application to adopt.
- To provide an oversight of each adopters journey from enquiry to adoption
- To provide communications such as advice, guidance and newsletters about the adoption service. You can opt out of receiving these communications by contacting adoptcoasttocoast@durham.gov.uk
We will not share your personal data with other organisations without a legitimate lawful reason to do so
Will your personal information be shared?
In order to provide services to you it may be necessary to share personal data about prospective adopters with:
- Social workers and others in the adoption service who need data on enquiries and applications in order to support the application process.
Your application will be processed by the local adoption agency you have applied to, and the relevant agency will process all subsequent information provided by you and received from others in respect of your application to adopt. Information collected after your initial enquiry will not be routinely shared between the three adoption agencies.
How do we keep your information secure?
The information you provide is held safely and securely and in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018.
Information provided to the Coast to Coast hub is held on a secure database hosted by Durham County Council and can only be accessed by authorised members of staff through secure password controls.
Information transferred between the hub and the local adoption agency will be through secure encrypted email.
Each of the Regional Agencies have range of procedures, policies and systems to ensure that access to your records are controlled appropriately.
Anyone who receives information from us is also under a legal duty to only use the information for the purposes agreed and keep the information secure and confidential.
How long will we keep your personal information?
After we deliver a service to you, we will keep your information as a business record of what was delivered. Enquiry related data will be held by Adopt Coast to Coast for a period of three years after the last contact with the Hub.
Information passed to the Local Authority will be held in accordance with each adoption agencies retention and destruction schedule.
Is personal information processed outside of the UK?
Information and backup information is held in the UK. We do not process your date outside of the UK.
Marketing
At no time will your information be used or passed to others for marketing or sales purposes, or for any commercial use without your express consent.
What are your information rights?
Your Information Rights are set out in the law. Subject to some legal exceptions, you have the right to:
- request a copy of the personal information held about you
- have any inaccuracies corrected;
- have your personal data erased;
- place a restriction on our processing of your data;
- object to processing;
To learn more about these rights please see the ICO website.
To exercise your rights, please contact the relevant adoption agency:
| Durham County Council | Sunderland Council | |
|---|---|---|
| Apply online | Application portal | |
| inforights@durham.gov.uk | ||
| Write to | Information Management Team, Durham County Council, Floor 4 Room 143-148, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UF | Access to Files Team, Sunderland City Council, City Hall, Plater Way, Sunderland, SR1 3AA |
Further Information
The Data Protection Officer (DPO) provides help and guidance to make sure we apply the best standards to protecting your personal information. If something goes wrong with your personal information, or you have questions or wish to complain about how we process your data, please contact the relevant DPO as follows:
| Durham County Council | Sunderland Council | |
|---|---|---|
| DPO@durham.gov.uk | dataprotection@sunderland.gov.uk | |
| Write to | Data Protection Officer, Durham County Council, Floor 4 Room 143-148, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UF | Data Protection Officer, Sunderland City Council, City Hall, Plater Way, Sunderland, SR1 3AA |
If we have not been able to deal with your query, you can also contact the Information Commissioner’s Office:
Information Commissioner’s Office,
Wycliffe House,
Water Lane Wilmslow,
Cheshire,
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745