Lifelong Links privacy notice

This notice relates to Islington Council’s Lifelong Links Service and explains what personal data (information) we hold about you, how we collect it, how we use it and may share it. It also includes the lawful bases upon which we rely and should be read together with our corporate privacy notice which provides more detail about how we process your data as an organisation and your rights.

Lifelong Links Service 

Lifelong Links is a service for young people in care and care leavers, which aims to identify and engage relatives and other supportive adults who are important to them, and who can make a life-long commitment to that young person. This could be people the young person knows well or has not seen for a while (for example, family members, friends, teachers, faith & community groups, previous foster carers) and even relatives that they have not yet met!  A trained Lifelong Links coordinator will work with the child or young person, to try and find the people they have identified, and arrange a meeting called a Lifelong Links Family Group Conference so a plan can be made setting out how everyone can continue to support them and remain in touch. To provide this service, we need to process certain personal information about you. 

What information, we collect, hold and use 

The personal information held about you on databases such as the electoral register, public records and social media platforms may be accessed and used for the purpose of locating and contacting family members and friends of the young person in care/care leaver. This may include:  

• name 
• date of birth 
• address 
• contact information 
• photos and/or videos 

We will use your information for purposes such as mobility mapping (a way of mapping a young person’s historical journey), for family trees (an accessible picture of current family relationships over several generations) and for contacting family and friends.    

If you are an individual a young person wishes to make contact with, we will initially process your personal information for the purposes of making contact. 

Lawful basis for processing your personal data 

We require a lawful reason to process your information. As such, the Lifelong Links relies upon UK GDPR Article 6.1(e) Public Task.  

Storing personal data 

We hold information securely for a specific period in-line with the council’s Retention Schedule. Unless specified in the legislation or stated in the Retention Schedule, data will be deleted in line with the Limitation Act 1980 (Section 2). 

For more information on our retention periods and how we keep your data safe, please see our Retention Schedule. 

Islington Council would not normally expect to send any of your personal information outside of the UK or the European Economic Area (EEA). 

Who we share this information with 

If you have been identified as someone who a young person wishes to make contact with, the Council may share your personal information with the young person and their network to assist in the development of activities such as creating a family tree. Your contact details will not be shared with the network without your agreement but will be held on the Childrens Services secure database on the child’s file.  

We will only use your information for family finding and the Lifelong Links process and we will not share your personal information with anyone unless we ask your permission, or are legally required to do so, for example where it is necessary to protect a person from significant harm or to prevent crime. 

Your rights and requesting access to your personal data 

Under data protection legislation, individuals have the right to request access to information about them that we hold. To make a request for your personal information contact FOIA@islington.gov.uk. 
 
You also have the right to: 

• object to processing of personal data that is likely to cause, or is causing, damage or distress 
• prevent processing for the purpose of direct marketing 
• object to decisions being taken by automated means 
• in certain circumstances, have inaccurate personal data rectified, blocked, erased, or destroyed; and 
• a right to seek redress, either through the ICO (Information Commissioners Officer), or through the courts 

Further information can be found on our corporate privacy notice. 

If you are dissatisfied with the processing of your information, please raise your concern with the council’s data protection officer in the first instance. You also have a right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office.