How we use your information
If you make a claim for loss, injury or damage to the Council, we’ll keep all information about your complaint in an electronic case file. The personal information we collect includes but is not limited to your name and address, information about the nature of the claim and any information which may help to substantiate the claim. We may collect your national insurance number, relevant medical reports or other sensitive information relating to the claim. We don’t use your personal data for any other purpose than to process and correspond with you about your insurance claim.
The information provided to us will be shared with our insurers and their representatives, and the relevant Service(s) within the Council to ensure that any claim can be investigated fully. Where we work in partnership with other agencies, complaints may be passed to our brokers to progress the claim.
On behalf of the Auditor General for Scotland, Audit Scotland appoints the auditor to audit the accounts of Aberdeen City Council. Audit Scotland currently requires us to participate in a data matching exercise to assist in the prevention and detection of fraud. We provide sets of data to Audit Scotland for matching for each exercise. These are set out in Audit Scotland's instructions, which you can find on the Audit Scotland website.
The use of data by Audit Scotland in a data matching exercise is carried out with statutory authority, normally under its powers in Part 2A of the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000. It does not require the consent of the individuals concerned under the Data Protection law.
Data matching by Audit Scotland is subject to a Code of Practice. You can also find this on the Audit Scotland website.
Audit Scotland are also responsible for carrying out data matching exercises. Data matching involves comparing computer records held by one body against other computer records held by the same or another body to see how far they match. This is usually personal information.
Computerised data matching allows potentially fraudulent claims and payments to be identified but the inclusion of personal data within a data matching exercise does not mean that any specific individual is under suspicion. Where a match is found it indicates that there may be an inconsistency that requires further investigation. No assumption can be made as to whether there is fraud, error or other explanation until an investigation is carried out. The exercise can also help bodies to ensure that their records are up to date.
For further information on Audit Scotland's legal powers and the reasons why it matches particular information, please see the full text privacy notice on the Audit Scotland website.
How long we keep your information for
We keep Insurance Claim Files for the basic period of the current financial year, plus another six years from the conclusion of the claim. Once this period has passed, your personal information will be redacted from the electronic case file.
In some cases we will keep records for longer where they relate to minors, or where they are submitted under the Limitation (Childhood Abuse) (Scotland) Act 2017.
Your rights
You’ve got legal rights about the way the Council handles and uses your data, which include the right to ask for a copy of it, and to ask us to stop doing something with your data. Please email the Council’s Data Protection Officer on DataProtectionOfficer@aberdeencity.gov.uk or write to:
Data Protection Officer
Marischal College
Aberdeen
AB10 1AB
See more information about all of the rights you have. You also have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office. They are the body responsible for making sure organisations like the Council handle your data lawfully.
Our legal basis
Aberdeen City Council is the Data Controller for the data which we hold as part of receiving and responding to your claim. Our legal basis in data protection law for handling insurance claims is legal obligation. Where we process special category personal data for this purpose, this is because it is necessary to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim.
The Council owes various duties to the public which are set out in law, and owes a duty of care to the public and staff under Health & Safety law. Our legal obligation for processing insurance claims is based in civil legislation. We have an additional obligation as an employer under the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969.