The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman processes any personal data we collect, in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.

We have divided our privacy notice into various sections, depending on the type of contact we have with you. Click on the headings below for more specific information about data processing for these instances.

Underneath those headings you can read about your rights and find contact details for making enquiries about your data.

We process information from the following people:

• Complainants as part of our statutory duties
• Job applicants as part of a recruitment exercise
• Those making information access requests
• Attendees at our training, webinars and other live events
• Those who respond to our surveys
• Subscribers to our email alerts
• Users of our website

Your rights

The right to access to your data

You can ask to see a copy of the personal data we hold on you. For more information on how to do this, see: Access to information

The right to rectification

If the personal data we hold about you is not accurate or not complete, you can ask us to put it right (this is called rectifying your data). Please bear in mind just because you disagree with information we have obtained from another source, it does not necessarily follow that it is not accurate. We aim to deal with any enquiries about rectifying your data within one month of receiving your request.

The right to object

You can object to our processing of your personal data, and we must comply with your objection unless we can demonstrate our grounds for processing override your interests, rights and freedoms. Your grounds for objection must be related to your situation. However, if we comply with your objection, we will not be able to continue to have involvement with you.

The right to restrict processing

We will restrict processing of your data if:

• you tell us the data we hold is not accurate, while we verify the accuracy
• you object to our processing, while we consider if our legitimate grounds for processing override your right to object
• we no longer need the data but you need it to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim.

The right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”)

The right to erasure or ‘the right to be forgotten’ does not apply when information is being processed for the performance of a public interest task or exercise of official authority or if we can demonstrate that we still need it for another reason e.g. Information Commissioner investigation.

The right to data portability

The right to data portability only applies to data that is processed by automated means. We do not make decisions about any of our work by automated means and therefore this right does not apply.

Please contact the Data Protection Officer if you have any queries about your rights.

Contact details

If you have any queries about the information given here, or how we handle personal data please contact the:

Data Protection Officer
Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
PO Box 4771
Coventry
CV4 0EH

Email: dataprotection@lgo.org.uk

To contact us about other matters, visit the contact us page.

The person who is ultimately responsible for the control of your data in our files is the Senior Information Risk Officer. The data controller is the Commission for Local Administration in England (the formal name of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman).

Complaints about how we have handled your data

If you have a complaint about how we have handled your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).  Details about how to contact the ICO is available on their website:

Contact us - public | ICO

Alternatively you can call their helpline on 0303 123 1113.

Changes to this privacy statement

If this privacy statement changes in any way, we will place an updated version on this page. Regularly reviewing this page ensures you are always aware of the information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we will share it with other parties.

Last updated: February 2024