Last updated: 10/08/23
Home Data protection and privacy Privacy notices Privacy notice - Bereavement Services
Privacy notice - Bereavement Services
Who are we and what do we do?
Middlesbrough Council has a statutory duty to provide advice and services on all aspects of burial, cremation, and memorials.
What type of personal data do we collect and how do we collect it?
We collect personal data including name, address, contact details, relatives, next of kin, and payment details. We receive this directly from our customers and from third parties such as funeral directors.
How the Law allows us to use your personal data
For most of our services, we use personal data where we have a ‘legal obligation’ or ‘public task’ based on our legal powers. Some of the laws that require or allow us to process personal data for our services include the Burial Act 1857, Cremation Act 1902, Crematorium Act 1952, Local Authorities Crematories Order 1977, and Registration of Burials Act 1864. We ask for your ‘consent’ to use your data for online condolence message services.
What is your personal data used for?
We use your personal data in applications for cremations, burials, and memorials, the transfer of exclusive rights of burial, exhumations, payments, general correspondence, live streaming and recording of funerals and visual tributes, and provision of online condolence message services.
Will your personal data be shared?
We share information, where the requires or permits it, with third parties including funeral directors, Ministry of Justice, coroners, police, and medical referees.
Where our customers have requested funeral streaming and recording services, they are provided with an online link. If customers chose to share that link with any other person or otherwise publish it, we consider this to be ‘domestic purposes’ of the customer and separate to our use of personal data.
How do we keep your personal data secure?
We use the following measures to ensure that your personal data is secure: data protection and security policies, information security incident reporting, data and device encryption, system and data access controls, user accounts and passwords, physical and environmental security, staff vetting practices, staff training and awareness, data back-ups, ICT network penetration testing, and business continuity and disaster recovery plans.
How long will we keep your personal data?
We only keep your data for as long as the Law requires it and this is set out in our ‘records management retention schedules’ on our website.
Is your personal data processed overseas?
We do not send your personal information outside of the United Kingdom.
Marketing
We will never use your information for direct marketing purposes.
What are your information rights?
Your Information Rights are set out in law and, subject to some exceptions, you have the:
- Right to rectification - to ask for information to be corrected
- Right to erasure - to have your personal data deleted
- Right to object - to how your data is used
- Right to restriction - to request limits on how your data is used
- Right to portability - to request that we move your data to another organisation
- Right of subject access - to request a copy of data the Council holds about you
Making a complaint
If you have any concerns about the way we are collecting or using your personal data, you should raise your concern with us in the first instance or directly to the Information Commissioner's Office. Visit the website of the Information Commissioner's Office.
Contact
If you would like to discuss anything in this privacy notice or your information rights, please contact:
The Data Protection Officer
Middlesbrough Council
PO Box 500, Middlesbrough, TS1 9FT
Phone: 01642 245432
Email: dataprotection@middlesbrough.gov.uk