Guidance

Information sharing with the Home Office for unpaid NHS patient debts: privacy notice

Published 5 April 2019

© Crown copyright 2019

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/information-sharing-with-the-home-office-for-unpaid-nhs-patient-debts-privacy-notice/information-sharing-with-the-home-office-for-unpaid-nhs-patient-debts-privacy-notice

Introduction

The Home Office holds information on people living, working, visiting or studying in the UK and who are subject to visa control.

The NHS is legally obliged - through the Department of Health and Social Care - to inform the Home Office of a relevant unpaid debt for NHS care. Debts may be a ground to refuse an application for a new visa, or extension of stay for a person subject to immigration control.

The Overseas Visitor Manager (or equivalent) at this NHS provider may share information about you, through the Department of Health and Social Care, if you have an unpaid debt for NHS care.

The guidance Immigration status checks by the NHS: guidance for overseas patients and What happens to your data: guidance for overseas patients explains why, and what will happen with the information.

This privacy notice explains your rights and gives you the information to which you are entitled under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/279.

Lawful basis for processing your personal data

The lawful basis (under Article 6(1)(c) of the General Data Protection Regulation 2018) for processing your personal data is the legal obligation on behalf of the NHS to provide information to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (and therefore the Department of Health and Social Care) (under the National Health Service Act 2006).

Under powers in the same Act, and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (and therefore the Department for Health and Social Care) can pass on that information to the Home Office (under the National Health Service Act 2006).

Data retention

The Home Office retains personal information. More information can be found in the borders, immigration and citizenship privacy information notice.

The Department of Health and Social Care collate the data every month and delete it after 3 months.

Your rights

The data we are collecting is your personal information, and you have considerable say over what happens to it.

As such, you have the right:

  • to be informed
  • to see what data we hold about you (this is known as a ‘Right of Access Request’)
  • to ask us to stop using your data, but keep it on record
  • to have some of your data corrected if what we hold on you is inaccurate
  • to data portability
  • to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you think we are not handling your data fairly or in accordance with the law

Subject access requests

Data Protection legislation allows you to find out the personal information we hold about you. We do not normally charge a fee for this service.

This has been the position in legislation for a significant period of time - although the timescales in which we should respond have been reduced to 30 days rather than the previous 40.

In the event we are unable to meet this timescale (for example due to a large volume of information to be assessed), we will keep you informed of progress towards fulfilling your request.

To request access to personal data the Department of Health and Social Care holds about you, please write to:

The Data Protection Officer
Department of Health and Social Care
1st Floor North
39 Victoria Street
London, SW1H 0EU

To request access to personal data the Home Office holds about you, please write to:

Office of the DPO
Home Office
Peel Building
2 Marsham Street
London, SW1P 4DF

You can also read the full Department of Health and Social Care privacy notice and Home Office personal information notice.

Contacting the Information Commissioner’s Office

For independent advice about data protection, privacy and data sharing issues you can contact the independent Information Commissioner’s Office at:

Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Tel: 0303 123 1113

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