School meals service privacy notice

Read our privacy notice for information on how we collect, store and process your data.

The data controller for your data

Brighton & Hove City Council is the data controller for purposes of the Data Protection Act (2018) and The General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 ("GDPR") and is registered as a data controller with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) under registration number Z5840053.

Brighton & Hove City Council are committed to protecting your personal information. As a data controller, we have a responsibility to make sure you know why and how your personal information is being collected in accordance with relevant data protection law.

Why we’re collecting your data

We are collecting your data for the purpose of checking for free school meals eligibility today and on an ongoing basis whilst your child/children attend a Brighton & Hove City school, free school or academy.

What is the legal basis for collecting your data

We have a legal basis for processing this data as it is necessary to enable us to carry out our tasks, functions, duties or powers or to perform a task carried out in the public interest. We consider it is in the public interest to ensure that all children entitled to free school meals receive them and to ensure that schools receive additional funding known as pupil premium.

The data we may collect

We collect personal data. The type of information collected from you is as follows:

  • Contact details; including name, address, email address, telephone number, etc.
  • Date of birth
  • National identifiers such as; NI numbers
  • Information about your family

Who we’ll share your data with

Your data may be shared with schools, free schools and academies to enable them to claim pupil premium funding they may be entitled to receive and to ensure that your child/children receive a free school meal; with Home to School Transport to enable them to confirm if a bus pass should be provided; with Brighton & Hove Music and Arts Service to confirm your application for reduced cost music lessons on the basis that you are in receipt of free school meals.

How long we’ll keep data for and why

We will hold your data until your youngest child/children have reached school leaving age.

How your data will be stored

  • Your information will be stored electronically.
  • We will only make your information available to those who need to know. Example of the security measures we used are:
    • Training for our staff allows us to make them aware of how to handle information and how and when to report when something goes wrong.
    • We use encryption meaning that information is hidden so that it cannot be read without special knowledge (such as a password). This is done with a secret code. The hidden information is said to then be ‘encrypted’.
    • Pseudonymisation meaning that we’ll use a different name so we can hide parts of your personal information from view. This means that someone outside of the council could work on your information for us without ever knowing it was yours.
  • Controlling access to systems and networks allows us to stop people who are not allowed to view your personal information from getting access to it.
  • Regular testing of our technology and ways of working including keeping up to date on the latest security updates (commonly called patches).

Transferring data outside the European Economic Area

No, we don't transfer data outside the European Economic Area.

Your rights

Depending on the legal basis for processing your information you may have the following rights:

  • A right to a copy of data held about you, an explanation for its processing and who it has been shared with – this right applies to data processed under any lawful basis
  • A right to rectification (correction) of data which is demonstrably wrong – this right applies to data processed under any legal basis
  • A right to restrict processing – this right applies if it has been shown that there is no legal basis for processing your data, but you wish it to be retained
  • A right to object to processing – this right does not apply where the council is under a legal duty to process your data, but can be used where you dispute that there is a legal basis to process your data until the council can demonstrate what basis exists
  • A right to erasure – this applies where there is no longer a legal basis to retain you data
  • A right to portability of your data (having it moved to another organisation) – this right applies only where the legal basis was either consent or performance of a contract but data will usually be transferred to another local authority if a child in care moves to a new location.
  • A right to object to automated decision making – this right is applicable under all lawful bases for processing

How to get advice or make a complaint 

Data Protection Officer 

If you have a concern about how we collect or use your personal data you can contact the Council’s Data Protection Officer.  

How to make a complaint 

We aim to resolve all complaints about how we handle personal information. You also have the right to make a complaint about data protection to the Information Commissioner's Office.  

Contact them by post: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF or phone 0303 1231 113. 

You can also make a complaint or find out more information on the Commissioner's Office website. 

If your complaint is not about data protection, find details on how to make a complaint about a council service.