Privacy policy.
Next Gen Housing Ltd are an exempt supported accommodation managing agent who provide care, support and supervision for service users under our care. Our office address is 130 Sydenham Road, Sparkbrook, Birmingham, B11 1DQ.
1. Data Protection Officer
The Data Protection Officer is responsible for supervising our management of your information and ensuring our adherence to data protection regulations.
Should you have any concerns or inquiries regarding our use of your personal data, please reach out to our Data Protection Officer. You can contact them by writing to The Data Protection Officer, Next Gen Housing Ltd, 130 Sydenham Road, Sparkbrook, Birmingham, B11 1DQ, or via email at Info@Nextgenhousing.uk
2. Why we collect your personal information?
At the application stage, we utilise the information you provide to evaluate the suitability of our services for your needs and to gain a comprehensive understanding of your requirements. This includes data collected through application forms, referral Forms, if necessary, initial meetings, telephone conversations, and written communications.
If you become our service user, we will use your personal information to deliver personalised services related to your care and/or support, risk management, and the administration of your tenancy or licence with us.
The information used if you become our client includes that provided during the application stage, as well as information gathered through ongoing face-to-face support session meetings, interactions, telephone calls, and electronic or written communications.
3. What information do we collect?
During your application for our services, we will collect the following information:
Ø Your name, date of birth, and personal contact details
Ø Your National Insurance number
Ø Your language preferences and communication needs
Ø Your gender identity
Ø Your self-described ethnicity
Ø Your religious beliefs
Ø Your Next of kin
Ø Your income and financial status
Ø Any cautions or unspent convictions
Ø Your housing history, including any arrears or debts
Ø Relevant family details, including marital status, children, or pregnancy status
Ø Health-related information
Ø Relevant personal life details and any care or support requirements
If you become our service user and receive services from us, we will use the information provided during your application to deliver our services. Additionally, we will collect the following information to support you in managing your licence and to provide you with care, support, supervision and action planning services:
Ø Contact details of next of kin, relatives, and other named contacts
Ø Images of you to assist in coordinating and personalising your care and support
Ø Details of your care and/or support requirements, including progress towards your personalised outcomes
Ø Details regarding your well-being, physical, and mental health
Ø Records of your interactions with us in person, by telephone, and in electronic and written communications
Ø Information provided by third parties related to complaints or anti-social behaviour relevant to your care and support, risk management, or tenancy support
Ø Financial records about payments for service charge received from you to us, including any outstanding amounts and related recovery actions
Ø Information about any repairs and maintenance requirements during your tenancy
We also, operate CCTV at some of our properties. If CCTV is in operation, there will be clearly visible CCTV signs indicating that recording is taking place. Please note that CCTV is used only in communal areas.
4. How We Will Use Your Information
Your information will be kept and utilised in accordance with this privacy statement, as well as in compliance with your rights under the Data Protection Act 2018and the General Data Protection Regulation.
At the application stage, the information you provide will be used for the following purposes:
Ø It will be collected and utilised by us in a fair and transparent manner to assess the suitability of our services for you and to understand your care and/or support needs.
Ø It will be used to ensure that our services are equitable and accessible to everyone.
If you become a service user, the information you provide will be used for the following purposes:
Ø Collected and utilised by us fairly and transparently to assist you in managing your tenancy with us and to deliver care and/or support and supervision services.
Ø Used to understand your personal circumstances and individual needs, enabling us to provide a tailored service that addresses any cultural, financial, learning, mental, or physical requirements you may have. This information will also be used to enhance the services you receive from us.
5. Legal Basis for Information Usage
In line with data protection laws, we require a "legal basis" to collect and use information about you. Various legal grounds for processing personal data are outlined within these laws.
The lawful bases on which we rely to use the information we collect about you, both during the application stage and upon becoming a client, are as follows:
Ø Health and Social Care Provision: Using special categories of information about your health, personal life, and any care or support needs is necessary to provide health or social care services.
Ø Contractual Obligations: Using your information in this way is necessary for us to take steps at your request before entering into a contract and to fulfil the contract between us.
Ø Explicit Consent: You have provided explicit consent to our use of your information. There is a limited amount of special category information that we use based on your consent. We will inform you before collecting or processing your information based on consent and keep a record of your consent.
Ø Legal Compliance: Using your information is necessary for us to comply with a legal obligation to which we are subject.
Ø Protection of Vital Interests: It is necessary to use that information to protect someone’s vital interests, which will usually be a 'life or death' situation.
6. Sharing Your Information
Your information will only be accessed by other parties where necessary to provide services to you in accordance with our contract. The obligations outlined in this notice will apply to these other parties to the same extent as they apply to us.
It may be necessary to share information about you with our contractors and subcontractors to deliver the services as per our contract. We will only share relevant and necessary information with them to address your individual needs. These contractors and subcontractors will be contractually required to adhere to the security requirements mandated by the Data Protection Act 2018and/or the General Data Protection Regulation (where applicable).
Our contractors and subcontractors will not share your information with any other parties and will only use the information when completing work on our behalf.
Ø Regulators and Legal Obligations
We may also need to share your information with regulators who have legal access to this information and with other organisations where we have a legal obligation to do so. For example, this may include the Regulator of Social Housing (Concept Housing Association).
Ø Other Organisations
From time to time, we may share your information with other organisations, such as:
o Police: Information may be shared with the police for the purpose of crime detection and prevention.
o Auditing and Administering Organisations: Organisations involved in auditing and/or administering public funds may receive your information for the purpose of fraud detection and prevention such as Birmingham City Council.
o Local Authority Teams: Teams within the local authority, such as social services, environmental health, council tax departments, and benefit agencies, may also receive your information when necessary.
7. Transferring Your Information Abroad
We shall refrain from transferring the information you provide to us outside of the UK.
8. Security of Your Information
The information you provide will be securely uploaded and stored on our systems, and any completed forms will be shredded. Our security measures and procedures demonstrate the importance we place on safeguarding your information. Only staff members with relevant responsibilities will have access to the information you provide.
9. Alternate Use of Your Information
Under certain limited circumstances, we may consider using your information for a purpose not outlined in this policy. Should such a situation arise, we will supply you with details regarding this alternative purpose prior to its implementation.
10. Storing and Deleting Your Information
We will securely retain your information throughout our relationship and for a designated period afterward, aligning with legal requirements, best practices, and any necessary follow-up procedures.
If you choose not to proceed with your application at the initial stage, we will retain your personal information for 6 months after our last interaction with you.
Upon becoming a service user, we will retain the information collected during the application stage and throughout your client status for the duration of our relationship and for specified periods thereafter. For instance, typically, we will retain your support and service user records for six years following the termination of our relationship, in accordance with the Limitation Act 1980 and NHS Code of Practice.
The specific retention periods for your information will be outlined in our Group retention schedule, depending on the type of information. Once the relevant retention period specified in our retention schedule concludes, unless there is another discernible reason necessitating the retention of your information, we will securely delete it.
11. Your Rights
Regarding the information we hold about you, you have the following entitlements:
o Request access to the information.
o Ask us to rectify inaccurate or incomplete information.
o Request the erasure of information based on your consent and ask us to take steps to ensure that others with whom we have shared your information also erase it.
o Ask us to limit our use of your information.
o Object to our use of your information and request that we cease such use.
o Instruct us to provide you with the information we hold about you in a structured and commonly used format, or transmit it directly to another organisation (for example, if you want the information sent to another housing or support provider).
Our obligations to comply with the above rights are subject to certain exemptions.
If we are using your information based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. The lawfulness of our use of your information before consent was withdrawn remains unaffected.
To exercise any of the rights mentioned above, please contact our Data Protection Officer by writing to The Data Protection Officer, Next Gen Housing Ltd, 130 Sydenham Road, Sparkbrook, Birmingham, B11 1DQ, or via email at Info@Nextgenhousing.uk
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you are dissatisfied with how we use your information. You can contact the ICO by writing to Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
Date: January 2024
Next Gen Housing Ltd.
130 Sydenham Road, Sparkbrook
Birmingham, B11 1DQ
0121 238 3246