Guidance

Defra’s respectful customer behaviour: privacy notice

Published 24 February 2026

Applies to England and Wales

This privacy notice explains how the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will use your personal information when handling and managing customer behaviour.

Defra is committed to providing fair, inclusive and respectful services to all our customers.

To help us manage interactions and ensure the safety and wellbeing of our staff and service users, we may record and process personal data related to customer behaviour.

This may include written correspondence, phone calls, or in-person interactions where behaviour is considered unreasonable or unacceptable.

If you have any queries about the content of this privacy notice, please email service-standards.adjudicator@defra.gov.uk.

Who collects your personal data

Defra is the controller for the personal data we collect:

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Seacole Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

If you need further information about how Defra uses your personal data and your associated rights, you can contact the Defra data protection manager at data.protection@defra.gov.uk or at the above address.

The data protection officer for Defra is responsible for checking that Defra complies with legislation.

You can contact them at defragroupdataprotectionofficer@defra.gov.uk or at the above address.

What personal data we collect and how it is used

We may collect:

• your name and contact details

• a record of your interaction with us

• the time, date and location

• reasonable adjustments

We may use details already stored in our systems, together with your feedback, to understand more about your experiences as a customer. 

Why we collect this data

We collect this information to:

• protect staff and customer wellbeing and safety

• support fair and consistent service delivery

• apply and review communication measures where necessary

• meet legal and regulatory obligations

Lawful basis for processing your personal data

Article 6 (e) Public Task – Defra’s public task is primarily laid down by statute and includes policy and regulations on the following areas: 

• environmental protection: improving and protecting the environment through cleaner air and water, biodiversity conservation, chemical substance and pesticide regulation, and waste management

• climate change and flooding: adaptation to global warming, reducing greenhouse gas emissions in relevant sectors (including agriculture and waste) and reducing the likelihood and impact of flooding and coastal erosion

• food, farming and fisheries: supporting sustainable, productive, and resilient agriculture, fishing, food, and drink industries, including animal health and welfare, food standards, and biosecurity

• rural communities: sustaining thriving rural communities and addressing rural issues through development and land management policies

• marine policy: managing the marine environment and implementing related policies

As part of this work, we will be engaging with customers in all areas of these activities.

Ensuring that our customers and staff are treated with respect and the safety of all is an important part of our public duties.

For this reason, this processing falls under the public task lawful basis.

Article 6 (c) Legal Obligation – Equality Act 2010 to support provision of reasonable adjustments and inclusive service delivery to all customers.

Article 6 (d) Vital Interests – vital interests are intended to cover only interests that are essential for someone’s life.

This condition is likely to be most relevant where there is an urgent need to use a person’ personal data for medical care, but they are unconscious or otherwise incapable of giving consent.

Article 6 (a) Consent – this condition will only be relevant where there is an urgent need to use a person’ personal data for medical care and they are capable of giving their consent for their personal data to be used to obtain urgent medical assistance.

For example, where there is an assessment made that there is an immediate risk of harm to either the individual or others.

Article 9 (a) Explicit Consent – this condition will only be relevant where there is an urgent need to use a person’ personal data for medical care and they are capable of giving their consent for their personal data to be used to obtain urgent medical assistance.

For example, where there is an assessment made that there is an immediate risk of harm to either the individual or others.

Article 9 (c) Vital Interests – this condition is very limited in its scope and only applies to matters of life and death and if the individual is physically or legally incapable of giving consent.

Article 9 (g) Substantial public interest and Schedule 1 Part 2 – preventing or detecting unlawful acts 10(1) and Safeguarding of children and of individuals at risk 18(1).

Preventing or detecting unlawful acts 10(1)

The processing :

• is necessary for the purposes of the prevention or detection of an unlawful act

• will be carried out without the consent of the data subject so as not to prejudice those purposes, and

• is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest

Safeguarding of children and of individuals at risk 18(1)

Substantial public interest allows for disclosure of special category data in limited circumstances without the consent of a person, if that person is considered to be at risk of neglect, or physical, mental or emotional harm.

Consent to process your personal data

The processing of your personal data in certain circumstances is based on consent. You can withdraw consent at any time by emailing service-standards.adjudicator@defra.gov.uk.

Who we share your personal data with

We may share the personal data collected under this privacy notice with internal teams within Defra to manage customer relationships and ensure appropriate support.

We respect your personal privacy when responding to access to information requests.

We only share information when necessary to meet the statutory requirements of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or for safeguarding purposes.

How long we hold personal data

Where measures are applied, they are subject to review regularly. Your records will be updated and kept for up to 3 years after the removal of the final measure.

Your data records will be kept securely and handled in line with relevant UK data protection legislation.

Use of automated decision-making or profiling

The personal data you provide is not used for:

• automated decision making (making a decision by automated means without any human involvement)

• profiling (automated processing of personal data to evaluate certain things about an individual)

Your rights

Based on the lawful processing above, your individual rights are:

Public task

• the right to be informed

• the right of access

• the right to rectification

• the right to restrict processing

• the right to object

• rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling

Legal obligation

• the right to be informed

• the right of access

• the right to rectification

• the right to restrict processing

• rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling

Consent

• the right to be informed

• the right of access

• the right to rectification

• the right to erasure

• the right to restrict processing

• the right to data portability

• rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling

Vital interests

• the right to be informed

• the right of access

• the right to rectification

• the right to erasure

• the right to restrict processing

• rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling

Read more about your individual rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018).

Complaints

You have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office at any time.

Personal information charter

Our personal information charter explains more about your rights over your personal data.

February 2026