Guidance

Disregards and pardons scheme: privacy information notice

Published 6 November 2023

Applies to England and Wales

• Publication for Northern Ireland
• Publication for Scotland

Introduction

The purpose of this privacy notice is to tell you how the Home Office will process your data for the purposes of administering the disregards and pardons scheme (‘the scheme’) in England and Wales, and across the UK in relation to service offences.

We collect your personal information from you directly in the first instance and if your application appears to be eligible, we will share it with the prescribed data controllers to obtain your criminal conviction data. The Home Office is the data controller for the disregards and pardons scheme, including when it is collected or processed by third parties on our behalf.

The Home Office Data Protection Officer

The Home Office has an appointed Data Protection Officer (DPO) to help ensure that we fulfil our legal obligations when processing personal data. The DPO can be contacted at:

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

Email: dpo@homeoffice.gov.uk

Types of information we are collecting

The specific information we require to process your application is detailed in full in the application form; it comprises “personal data”, such as your name and address, “special category data”, in these circumstances, details of your sex life and/or sexual orientation, and “criminal conviction data”, ie your criminal records.

How and why the department uses your information

We will use this information to assess the eligibility of the conviction(s) or caution(s) you have applied for in respect of a disregard and pardon. If your conviction or caution appears to be within scope of the scheme, we will share your personal information with the prescribed data controllers and data processor to enable them to conduct searches for the relevant criminal conviction data. This data will then be shared with the Home Office to enable us to come to a determination on the eligibility of your conviction or caution for a disregard.

We will never disclose your information to any person or organisation not involved in the process without your express consent to do so.

If you would like us to contact anyone else acting on your behalf in respect of your application, you should enclose a signed letter along with your application, in which you provide the contact details of the person(s) acting on your behalf, and state clearly that you consent to us discussing your application with the named person(s).

Lawful basis for processing your data

Under data protection legislation, we must identify a lawful basis for processing personal data. We process your information in accordance with paragraph 6, Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018. Your personal data is processed under Article 6(1)(e) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in then controller. Your special category data is processed under Article 9(2)(g) of the UK GDPR: processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest, and your criminal conviction data is processed under Article 10 of the UK GDPR.

Who do we share information with?

It will depend on your case as to exactly who the relevant data controllers are, but they include:

• the police forces of England and Wales
• His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service
• Ministry of Defence
• Royal Military Police
• Royal Navy Police
• Royal Air Force Police

We will also share information with ACRO Criminal Records Office which is a data processor on behalf of the UK Police Forces.

Storing your information

Your personal information, including your application and the associated casework materials, will be held for a period of six years from the date that your application is closed. This enables us to deal with any subsequent queries or legal challenges that may arise regarding applications. Your personal information may be held for a longer period of time where there is a lawful basis to do so.

Your rights

The data being collected is your personal data, and you have rights that affect what happens to it. You have the right to:

a. know that we are using your personal data

b. see what data we have about you

c. ask to have your data corrected, and ask how we check the information we hold is accurate

d. complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) - see below

Requesting access to your personal data

To request your personal data held by the Home Office, please contact the information rights team:

By email: info.access@homeoffice.gov.uk

Or by writing to:

Information Rights Team
Home Office
Lower Ground Floor, Seacole Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

In order to safeguard this information and ensure it is only disclosed to the person that it relates to we require you to provide copies of two documents to confirm (a) your identity and (b) your current address.

Please do not send original documents as we are unable to return them to you.

To confirm your identity, please provide a copy of one of the following documents:

• passport
• driving licence
• HM Forces ID card
• firearms licence
• birth or adoption certificate

To confirm your current address details, please provide a copy of one of the following documents:

• bank or building society statement
• utility bill
• credit or store card statement
• benefits letter or statement
• council tax bill

The Home Office does not keep records of individuals as a matter of routine and if you have had no previous dealings with the department, it is unlikely that we will hold information about you. If, however, you have reason to believe that we do hold information about you, please indicate any contacts or dealings you have had with the Home Office in the past, so that we can locate anything that is relevant.

Other rights

In certain circumstances you have the right to:

• object to and restrict the use of your personal information, or to ask to have your data deleted, or corrected
• withdraw your consent to the processing of your data and the right to data portability (where processing is carried out by automated means) – this is in circumstances where you have explicitly consented to the use of your personal data and that is the lawful basis for processing

Automated decision making

No decision will be made about you, or your case, based on automated decision making (where a decision is taken about you using an electronic system without human involvement).

Storage, security, and data management

The Home Office has a duty to safeguard and ensure the security of your personal data where we process it. We do that by having systems and policies in place to limit access to your information and prevent unauthorised disclosure, accidental loss, or alteration of your data. We also have procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breaches and will notify you and the applicable regulator(s) of a breach where we are legally required to do so.

Questions or concerns about personal data

If you have any questions or concerns about the collection, use, or disclosure of your personal information, please contact the Home Office by email info.access@homeoffice.gov.uk or post:

Information Rights Team
Home Office
Lower Ground Floor, Seacole Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

Complaints

You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office about the way the Home Office is handling your personal information. You can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office at:

The Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Email: icocasework@ico.org.uk

Website: https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/