We are an organisation responsible for running lots of important services for our people and businesses in North Ayrshire.

This is any information about you that can identify you as a person. Here are some examples of personal information:

• your name
• the date you were born (date of birth)
• where you live (address)
• where you go to school
• Cookies/IP address on your computer

There is another type of personal information called 'special category data'. This means that it is more sensitive which means it needs extra protection. Here are some examples of special category information:

• race or ethnic origin
• medical conditions/doctor's records
• biometric data - fingerprint and facial recognition technology
• your religious beliefs
• your political beliefs

We have responsibilities to ensure you are provided with the correct Services and support when you need them. There are many ways that we use your information. Processing is another way to describe asking for your personal information, keeping it safe and secure and then destroying it properly once we no longer need to keep it. Examples of when we ask for your permission to process information:

• getting a library card membership
• having music lessons at school
• having photographs taken at events

There are other times when we need to process information, but permission is not required. Examples of when we need to process your information:

• sharing exam results with Scottish Qualifications Authority
• sharing records with other Council Services (where appropriate) to help care and look after you
• responding to requests for information from Police when investigating crimes

We only keep your information for as long as we need it and for as long as the law says it needs to be kept for. This is called retention. When we don't need it anymore, we delete it. This is done in a safe way to make sure that your information cannot be used again.

We must make sure that the information we hold about you is held securely and safely. Only people who are allowed to see your information have access to it.

Did you know that you can:

• get a copy of the information that we hold on you - this is also known as a Subject Access Request or SAR
• have your information processing paused and then corrected if what we hold is wrong
• have information about you deleted if you no longer wish it to be processed (if applicable)
• ask for more information on why we need your data

If you want to find out more about how your information is looked after, contact the Council's Data Protection Officer at: dataprotectionofficer@north-ayrshire.gov.uk