To approve the Data Protection Policies and Procedures.

Report No. 95/2018 was received from the Director for Resources.

Mr O Hemsley, Leader and Portfolio Holder for Rutland One Public Estate & Growth, Tourism & Economic Development, and Resources (other than Finance and Communications) introduced the report, the purpose of which was to outline the new data protection laws which came into force on 25 May 2018. It set out the steps which the Council had taken to prepare for the new data protection regime and it sought Cabinet's approval to the new policies which had been introduced as part of the preparatory work.

During discussion the following points were raised:

i.      Corporate bodies did not have the same rights as individuals, but they were subject to the obligations under the GDPR as data controllers;

ii.     The customer services telephone message would be reviewed to make it more customer friendly;

iii.    It was confirmed that should a significant breach occur, which could result in reputational damage, Cabinet would be notified;

iv.   The retention policy would be reviewed to ensure that working drafts and papers which fall outside of background papers and formal committee reports are retained for the length of the project and some years beyond in specific circumstances; and

v.     The members briefing provided by the Information Governance Officer had been clear and informative.

DECISION:

1.      Cabinet APPROVED the Data Protection Policies and Procedures as set out in Appendices 1, 2 and 3 of Report No. 95/2018.

Reasons for the decision:

1.  The laws on data protection had been overhauled by European and Domestic Legislation and the Council needed to ensure that it was fully compliant with them and to evidence its compliance by having a set of robust policies and procedures in place.