Adult Social Care privacy notice

Last updated: March 2026 

What this notice is about 

Adult Social Care is here to help you live safely and independently for as long as possible and to improve your well-being. We work with a range of organisations – including public, private and voluntary partners – to make sure you get the right care and support. 

By working together, we can offer care that is personalised to your needs, giving you flexibility, choice and control. 

To provide these services, we need to collect and use some information about you. This helps us to: 

• plan and deliver the right care and support 
• work with you and other professionals to provide high-quality services 
• make sure the care you receive is safe and effective. 

We treat your information with care – keeping it confidential and secure at all times. 

You should also read our main privacy notice, which gives more details about your rights and how to contact us. 

What information we collect, hold and use

We may need to collect and use information about you to provide care and support. This can include: 

• basic details: name, date of birth, address, contact details (phone, email), NHS number 
• personal circumstances: family and household details, next of kin, carers, relationships 
• health and care needs: medical history, diagnoses, physical and mental health conditions, assessments, support plans, risks, services you receive 
• lifestyle and preferences: cultural, spiritual or religious beliefs, language needs, whether you need an interpreter 
• accommodation and living arrangements: housing type, accessibility, alarms or adaptations 
• legal and official information: immigration status, power of attorney, legal documents 
• financial details: income or benefits information (where relevant to your care) 
• equality and diversity information: ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, marital status 
• other details: employment or education history, goals you want to achieve, reports and documents about your care 
• information from others: what family, carers or other organisations (such as health services) tell us to help co-ordinate your care 
• records of contact: notes from phone calls or meetings about your care. 

We only collect what is necessary and appropriate for your care and support. 

Where we get your information from 

We get your information from:

• most of the information comes directly from you or your family
• we usually collect information directly from you, but if we receive details from someone else (like an NHS professional or family member), we will tell you as soon as possible. 

If you choose not to share information we need, we may not be able to provide some services. 

How we use this information 

Most of the time, we need your information by law or to carry out our duties and to provide you with safe, effective care and support. If we ever need to use your information for a purpose that isn’t required by law – in other words, if it’s your choice – we will ask for your consent. Even if you give consent, you can change your mind later. 

We may also use your information to: 

• keep your records accurate and up to date 
• support day-to-day administration and customer service 
• invite you to take part in surveys or research to help us improve our services 
• produce anonymised reports to help us manage contracts and plan services 
• protect you or others from harm (safeguarding) 
• carry out audits and monitor how well our services are performing 
• keeping track of spending on your services. 

We only use the minimum information needed for each purpose, and we make sure you cannot be identified in any reports or statistics. 

Health and Social Care data linkage

We sometimes link information from the health services and social care services you use. By combining data in this way, we can provide you better coordinated care and also plan improvements in our services by seeing what works well.

Find about each specific project that uses linked data by clicking the links that follow:  

• London Care Record (a secure shared health and care database) 
• HealtheIntent

How to opt-out 

For more information on your right to opt-out of having your information shared for purposes beyond your individual care, please see our NHS national data opt-out privacy notice. 

Our legal reasons (under GDPR) for processing (using) your data 

We use your data because:

• it’s our legal obligation (the law says we must)
• it is in your vital interest (to protect your life or safety)
• we are doing something in the public interest or as part of our official duties
• in other circumstances where you give your consent (you said that we can). 

For special category (sensitive) data, such as information about your health, religious beliefs, or SEND status, we rely on: 

• Article 9(2)(h) – Provision of health or social care: where the data is needed to manage care needs. 
• Article 9(2)(h) - substantial public interest (safeguarding). 

Other laws that apply to our services 

We follow these laws: 

• Care Act 2014 
• Health & Social Care Act 2012 and Health and Social Care (Safety and Quality) Act 2015 
• Care Quality Registration Regulations 2009 
• Mental Capacity Act 2005 
• Mental Health Act 1983 (2007 amendments) 
• Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 
• The Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009.

Who we share your information with 

We may share your information with:

• other teams within the council such as the benefits service
• service providers working to deliver services on our behalf
• other district/borough councils 
• police for the purposes of fraud and crime prevention
• emergency services including the London Fire Brigade and ambulance service
• NHS partners involved in your care (like GPs or hospitals)
• we also share information with our NHS health partners through secure systems like the London Care Record platform. These systems allow health and social care professionals to appropriately access information about your care. For more information on these programmes please see the NHS Website.
• regulators, including the CQC
• government departments such as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
• fraud prevention agencies
• housing landlords and tenancy officers.

If we believe you or someone else is in serious danger – for instance, if we suspect abuse or need to prevent a crime – we may share information with the police, health services or others who can help, even if you cannot consent. We will only do this to prevent harm or protect life, and will inform you whenever possible. 

How we store your data 

We keep your information safe in our secure case management system. Only staff who need it can see it.  

We keep your information only for as long as necessary to provide services and meet our legal obligations, then securely delete or archive it according to our retention schedule.   

To find out how long we keep your data check our main privacy notice and retention schedule. 

Your individual rights 

You have rights over your personal data. For more details see our main privacy notice and the page about your individual rights.  

Complaints 

If you are unhappy with how we use your data you can contact our Data Protection Officer via the details in the council’s main privacy notice to make a complaint. 

You can find details of the Adult Social Services complaints procedure on our website if you want to complain about the service that you have received.