Data Protection Act (DPA)

The Data Protection Act 1998 gives living individuals the right to access personal information held by the Service. The Act governs how the Service can use the personal information held - including how we acquire, store, share or dispose of it. It also allows you to challenge the accuracy, alter or destroy data held on file.
Personal information can only be accessed by you or someone acting on your behalf with your permission.

The Service follows the 8 Data Protection Principles, stating that data must be:

Processed fairly and legally
Processed for limited purposes and in an appropriate way
Relevant and sufficient for the purpose
Accurate
Kept for as long as necessary and no longer
Processed in line with individuals' rights
Secure
Only transferred to other countries that have suitable data protection controls

A full copy of the Act may be viewed at the Office of Public Sector Information’s website: The Data Protection Act 1998

Making a request for Personal Information

What you have to do
To make a request, you need to:

Make your request in writing
Provide your name
Give a contact address for correspondence, either postal or e-mail
Provide proof of identity, for example, driving license, birth certificate or ID card
Provide a full description of the information you want

If you need any assistance or advice about submitting a request, then please either contact the Corporate Risk Department on Tel: 0845 12 24454, by e-mail to Corporate Risk Department or visit us at Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters

What we have to do
In managing your request, we will:

Acknowledge your request within 3 working days
Contact you if we need further details in order to reply to your request
Inform you of any charges in connection with your request – please note that there is a statutory £10.00 administrative fee for all DPA requests
Consider your enquiry and confirm or deny that we hold the information you requested
Respond to your request within 40 days, either providing the information requested or refusing your request due to certain DPA Exemptions, for example where information has been provided to the Service in confidence or it is decided that disclosing information may cause someone to suffer serious harm, the Service may refuse to disclose this information
Provide an explanation as to why the data is held
Provide details as to who else the data might have been given to
Provide a copy of the data (if requested) or arrange for you to visit Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters and view the information
Provide an explanation of any technical terms or abbreviations

Making a Complaint

If you feel that you have not received the information to which you are entitled, that your request has not been dealt with effectively or if you believe that the information the Service holds about you is inaccurate, you may raise a concern or make a complaint. In the first instance, please use the Service’s On-line Complaints Form or contact us at:

Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters
2 Kings Court
Charles Hastings Way
Worcester
WR5 1JR
Tel: 0845 12 24454

Your complaint will be dealt with under the Service’s complaints procedure – your concern will be acknowledged within 3 working days and replied to in writing within 10 working days of receipt of your complaint. Your request will be looked at again and reviewed by a Senior Manager who was not involved in replying to your initial request.

Taking it Further

If you are still not satisfied with the outcome after using our internal complaints procedure, you may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner – an independent authority, appointed by the Queen and reporting directly to Parliament, who is responsible for enforcing FOIA, EIR and DPA.

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

Tel: 01625 545 700
Fax: 01625 524 510

E-mail: mail@ico.gsi.gov.uk

Information Commissioner’s web site: www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk