Business owners and operators
Members of the public
Visitors to our area
Individuals being investigated
Witnesses
Members of the public
Visitors to our area
Individuals being investigated
Witnesses
Health and Safety, Food Safety and Trading Standards Privacy Notice
The purpose of processing
We use your data to help protect the health and safety of the residents, workers and visitors to Bath & North East Somerset Council by ensuring that:
- food and animal feed produced, handled, or sold within Bath and North East Somerset is safe to eat, of the right composition and correctly labelled
- that our businesses and retail premises are safe and the goods they sell are safe, correctly labelled and compliant with the law
- the health and welfare of animals farmed in our area is protected
We use your personal information to perform our statutory and discretionary services and comply with our statutory obligations which include, but are not limited to:
- registering food and feed businesses
- inspecting food and feed businesses and farms
- inspecting manufacturers of food and other retail goods
- inspection of hospitality, retail, service sector and leisure businesses investigating complaints about food and food premises
- investigating complaints about breaches of consumer protection laws
- investigating complaints about farmed animal welfare
- investigating complaints about food businesses
- investigating health and safety complaints and investigation of serious reportable accidents
- sampling food and feed to ensure it is safe to eat
- testing goods to ensure they are safe
- providing advice and guidance to businesses
- investigating cases of infectious disease
- investigating complaints concerning food premises
- food and animal feed produced, handled, or sold within Bath and North East Somerset is safe to eat, of the right composition and correctly labelled
- that our businesses and retail premises are safe and the goods they sell are safe, correctly labelled and compliant with the law
- the health and welfare of animals farmed in our area is protected
We use your personal information to perform our statutory and discretionary services and comply with our statutory obligations which include, but are not limited to:
- registering food and feed businesses
- inspecting food and feed businesses and farms
- inspecting manufacturers of food and other retail goods
- inspection of hospitality, retail, service sector and leisure businesses investigating complaints about food and food premises
- investigating complaints about breaches of consumer protection laws
- investigating complaints about farmed animal welfare
- investigating complaints about food businesses
- investigating health and safety complaints and investigation of serious reportable accidents
- sampling food and feed to ensure it is safe to eat
- testing goods to ensure they are safe
- providing advice and guidance to businesses
- investigating cases of infectious disease
- investigating complaints concerning food premises
Data subjects
Personal data
If you are a business operator, we register, approve or record your business, we collect the following information:
- Name of proprietor
- Business name, address, telephone number and email address (we will also require the contact details of the owner or proprieter, if different from the business details)
If we are investigating your business, we may also collect the following information:
- Facebook or other social media data
- DVLA enquiries
- Evidence of personal and financial data acquired through investigation
- PACE interview audio/video
- Companies House data
If you are making a complaint about a business or if you are requesting advice, we collect the following information:
- Your name
- Your address
- Your business name and address (if different)
- Your telephone number
- Your email address (if applicable)
- Details of the business you are complaining about and the nature of the incident, which may include private health information
Special Category data
We may also collect, store and use the following "special categories" of more sensitive personal information:
- Information about your health, including any medical condition, health and sickness records (where we are dealing with infectious diseases)
- Information about criminal convictions and offences (where we are dealing with food safety related prosecutions)
- Name of proprietor
- Business name, address, telephone number and email address (we will also require the contact details of the owner or proprieter, if different from the business details)
If we are investigating your business, we may also collect the following information:
- Facebook or other social media data
- DVLA enquiries
- Evidence of personal and financial data acquired through investigation
- PACE interview audio/video
- Companies House data
If you are making a complaint about a business or if you are requesting advice, we collect the following information:
- Your name
- Your address
- Your business name and address (if different)
- Your telephone number
- Your email address (if applicable)
- Details of the business you are complaining about and the nature of the incident, which may include private health information
Special Category data
We may also collect, store and use the following "special categories" of more sensitive personal information:
- Information about your health, including any medical condition, health and sickness records (where we are dealing with infectious diseases)
- Information about criminal convictions and offences (where we are dealing with food safety related prosecutions)
Name
Contact details
Contact preferences
How is it used?
1 For businesses under investigation
We need to use the personal information we collect about you because:
- It is necessary for us to comply with our legal obligations and pursuant to the law
- It is necessary for us to perform our official functions
We may use data for any of the following reasons:
• To process registrations and record details of your business on our database
• To confirm your identity
• To contact you
• To investigate complaints
• Criminal investigations
• To contact you in relation to Food, Trading Standards and or Occupational Health and Safety inspections, the investigation of complaints about your business and to keep you informed on new guidance or legal requirements
• To send you communications that you have requested and that may be of interest to you (such as changes in legislative requirements)
• Sharing intelligence with other authorities and agencies
• DVLA vehicle checks
2 For people making a complaint or reporting a business
We understand that when you report an issue to us, you may be worried about your personal safety or wellbeing, or about getting in trouble with your employer. When you make a report, we will ask for a name, direct contact phone number and email address when you make a report, and ask about how you would prefer us to contact you. This is so the officer dealing with your report can get in touch with you directly for more information, and update you on any action we take.
If your message relates to an existing issue, the officer who is responsible will respond to you in due course. If you are reporting an issue for someone else, we will want to speak to the other person if possible, before taking any action.
How we protect your identity
We treat all personal information confidentially, and will not tell any business or person who has made the report, unless you give us permission. When investigating an issue with the business or person, we will refer back to the information you have given us. If you have already spoken with them directly, they may be able to identify you as the reporter.
If we don't think we can take action without identifying you as a potential reporter, we will be in contact to discuss this, and how we could still investigate. If we choose to take formal action in court, you may get a request to be a witness. In this case, it may be impossible to keep your identity secret. We will always speak to you about this before progressing to this stage of an investigation.
If you make an anonymous complaint
If you want to withhold your name and contact details, you can still make a report. Please make sure you still identify the business or person you are reporting. We always read anonymous complaints and reports, and record them on our systems, as they may contain important information about serious issues.
However, if we can’t confirm the information with you directly, or ask for further details, it may make it difficult for us to take action.
It's possible that we may not take action following an anonymous complaint, or if we can’t get in contact with you again. We will base our decision on the information you have provided to us, as well as information we already hold about the business or person. We can still take action if, based on this information, we feel that one or more of the following could apply:
- There is serious legal non-compliance.
- There is a significant risk to public health.
- There is serious risk to people working with, or for, the business or person
We need to use the personal information we collect about you because:
- It is necessary for us to comply with our legal obligations and pursuant to the law
- It is necessary for us to perform our official functions
We may use data for any of the following reasons:
• To process registrations and record details of your business on our database
• To confirm your identity
• To contact you
• To investigate complaints
• Criminal investigations
• To contact you in relation to Food, Trading Standards and or Occupational Health and Safety inspections, the investigation of complaints about your business and to keep you informed on new guidance or legal requirements
• To send you communications that you have requested and that may be of interest to you (such as changes in legislative requirements)
• Sharing intelligence with other authorities and agencies
• DVLA vehicle checks
2 For people making a complaint or reporting a business
We understand that when you report an issue to us, you may be worried about your personal safety or wellbeing, or about getting in trouble with your employer. When you make a report, we will ask for a name, direct contact phone number and email address when you make a report, and ask about how you would prefer us to contact you. This is so the officer dealing with your report can get in touch with you directly for more information, and update you on any action we take.
If your message relates to an existing issue, the officer who is responsible will respond to you in due course. If you are reporting an issue for someone else, we will want to speak to the other person if possible, before taking any action.
How we protect your identity
We treat all personal information confidentially, and will not tell any business or person who has made the report, unless you give us permission. When investigating an issue with the business or person, we will refer back to the information you have given us. If you have already spoken with them directly, they may be able to identify you as the reporter.
If we don't think we can take action without identifying you as a potential reporter, we will be in contact to discuss this, and how we could still investigate. If we choose to take formal action in court, you may get a request to be a witness. In this case, it may be impossible to keep your identity secret. We will always speak to you about this before progressing to this stage of an investigation.
If you make an anonymous complaint
If you want to withhold your name and contact details, you can still make a report. Please make sure you still identify the business or person you are reporting. We always read anonymous complaints and reports, and record them on our systems, as they may contain important information about serious issues.
However, if we can’t confirm the information with you directly, or ask for further details, it may make it difficult for us to take action.
It's possible that we may not take action following an anonymous complaint, or if we can’t get in contact with you again. We will base our decision on the information you have provided to us, as well as information we already hold about the business or person. We can still take action if, based on this information, we feel that one or more of the following could apply:
- There is serious legal non-compliance.
- There is a significant risk to public health.
- There is serious risk to people working with, or for, the business or person
contact
verification of details
updating on action taken
Profiling and automated decision making
We may use these techniques in accordance with Government Guidance to determine potential risk, and therefore inspection frequency.
You have the right to request that automated decision making be reviewed and replaced by non-automated means (i.e. decisions taken by one of our expert Council officers). To exercise this right please email data_protection@bathnes.gov.uk
You have the right to request that automated decision making be reviewed and replaced by non-automated means (i.e. decisions taken by one of our expert Council officers). To exercise this right please email data_protection@bathnes.gov.uk
Legal basis for using your data
GDPR condition relied upon for processing personal data:
Article 6.1 a - Consent
Article 6.1 c - legal obligation
Article 6.1 e - Exercise of official authority
We are the local statutory authority for monitoring and enforcing Consumer Protection, Food Safety and workplace Health and Safety.
The services enforces a wide range of legislation, the most significant being the following Acts and the regulations made under these.
The services enforces a wide range of legislation, the most significant being the following Acts and the regulations made under these.
Food Safety Act 1990
Food Standards Act 1999
Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
Public Health ( Control of Disease) Act 1984
Consumer Rights Act 2015
Enterprise Act 2016
GDPR condition relied upon for processing special category data
Article 9.2 a - Explicit consent
Article 9.2 i - Public health
Sharing of personal data with external recipients
As a complainant, we may share your name and contact details with other teams in the council, if issues that you report fall outside of the work of the Public Protection Team.
If we bring a case to court , we may share your name and contact details with the court, so that you can act as a witness. In this case, will discuss this with you first.
As a business owner or operator, your personal information may be shared with internal Council departments, such as:
- Housing
- Trading Standards
- Legal Services
- Licensing
Where necessary to fulfil our legal duties, we may also share data with external partners and agencies. These will be primarily:
- Food Standards Agency (FSA)
- Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
- Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) which is part of DEFRA
- Other Local Authorities
- Police and Fire Service
If we bring a case to court , we may share your name and contact details with the court, so that you can act as a witness. In this case, will discuss this with you first.
As a business owner or operator, your personal information may be shared with internal Council departments, such as:
- Housing
- Trading Standards
- Legal Services
- Licensing
Where necessary to fulfil our legal duties, we may also share data with external partners and agencies. These will be primarily:
- Food Standards Agency (FSA)
- Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
- Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) which is part of DEFRA
- Other Local Authorities
- Police and Fire Service
How long is the personal data retained by the Council?
We will keep your information for as long as it is required by us or other regulatory bodies in order to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, or for other operational reasons. This will often be 6 years (Limitation Act 1980) from the date of the expiry of the information.
Please contact data_protection@bathnes.gov.uk or our team (Public_protection@bathnes.gov.uk) with any questions or concerns regarding your personal data.
Please contact data_protection@bathnes.gov.uk or our team (Public_protection@bathnes.gov.uk) with any questions or concerns regarding your personal data.