10 Downing Street privacy notice for children
Updated 26 February 2019
© Crown copyright 2019
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/10-downing-street-privacy-notice-for-children/10-downing-street-privacy-notice-for-children
Your information
Why we hold your information
The reason we store your information is:
- to help reply to the large number of letters and emails that the Prime Minister receives from members of the public, Parliament and other organisations such as businesses and charities.
- manage requests for information which can be made under laws – for example, the Freedom of Information Act, Environmental Information Regulations and Subject Access Requests. For further information on these, you may wish to visit the Gov.uk website or speak with a parent, guardian or teacher who could help you learn more about them
- to help handle and respond to the large number of phone calls received by the Prime Minister’s office.
- to keep a record of gifts and hospitality which the Prime Minister and her staff give and receive from people around the world.
The information
In order to do this, we will keep different bits of information about you. This might include:
- your name
- the date that you contacted us
- your home address
- your email address
- your phone number
- your school or the organisation you are writing from
- if you are sending or receiving a gift, what the gift is.
- the concerns that you raise and any more information about yourself which you include
Some information about you is treated as being particularly personal. It can include things like your religious beliefs, information about your health or your origin.
How are we allowed to use data?
The law allows the government to hold and use information given to it so that it can provide the public with services, including replying to letters and emails.
In terms of replying to letters and emails, the law allows the government to handle your information so that people receive helpful replies which explain what it is doing in different areas (like education or health) clearly. This is also true when the government holds particularly personal information you may have provided, such as your religion or political beliefs.
When a Member of Parliament writes to the Prime Minister’s office on your behalf, we will also keep some information about you to make sure we can provide a response to you.
The law allows your Member of Parliament to write on your behalf and the government to reply to them with your information so that you can receive a response.
The law allows people to ask us about some kinds of information we may hold so if you write to us we keep a note of it, but we only share anything you tell us in certain circumstances.
Who do we share your information with?
We may share your information with other parts of government. This is normally because they lead on the area you have written about. For example, if you have written about the National Health Service, we may pass your letter or email to the Department of Health and Social Care who would be able to provide you with a reply.
The Prime Minister is also the leader of the Conservative Party and represents her constituents as a Member of Parliament. We may share your information with these groups if your letter is about something that they are able reply to you about.
If you send a gift to the Prime Minister, or meet her or her staff, we may also release that information publicly. This is because it is important that the public can see what the Prime Minister and her staff are being given and who they talk to so that the government is seen to act in everyone’s best interests. We may also share information with the police or doctors if any letters or emails show that someone may not be well.
How long will you keep my information?
We will keep your information for no more than 3 years, although there may be some cases where we will keep it longer. This could be because your letter, email or gift is of historical importance and we will keep it for our records.
Where do we get your information from?
If we did not get your information from you, it will have been provided by your Member of Parliament, or another person writing on your behalf. This would likely be a parent, guardian, member of family or teacher. It is also possible that another member of the public may provide information about you in their own letters or emails.
Your rights
Because it is your information, you are able to ask a number of questions about how we handle and use it as well as ask for it not to be used. These questions are listed below and you may wish to discuss these with an adult so that you understand them fully.
You have the right:
- to ask for information about how your information is recorded and used, and you can also ask for a copy of the information that we hold
- to ask that any inaccuracies in your information are corrected quickly
- to ask that any incomplete information is completed
- to ask that your information is erased if there is no longer any reason for it to be held by No10
- in certain circumstances (for example, where you do not think the information held is accurate), to ask for the use of your information to be limited
- to say that you do not want your information used for marketing purposes
- to say that you do not want your information to be handled or recorded
Complaints
If you are unhappy about how your information is held or used, you can complain about this. There is a special organisation which deals with these complaints called the Information Commissioner’s Office. They can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
casework@ico.org.uk
Making a complaint to the Information Commissioner does not mean that you cannot seek a resolution through the court system. If you are unsure about this, you should speak with an adult to understand your rights fully.
Contact details
The data controller for your personal data is the Cabinet Office. The contact details for the data controller are:
Cabinet Office
70 Whitehall
London
SW1A 2AS
Public Enquiries: Online Contact Form
The Data Protection Officer provides independent advice and monitoring of Cabinet Office’s use of personal information.
The contact details for the data controller’s Data Protection Officer are: dpo@cabinetoffice.gov.uk