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Confidential information

Confidential data is any information about a living person who can be identified from either that data or from a combination of that data and other information in your possession.


Confidential personal data includes:

  • name
  • date of birth
  • gender
  • current and previous addresses
  • start and end dates at previous addresses
  • telephone numbers
  • identity numbers (for example National Insurance or NHS)
  • family relationships
  • citizenship

Sensitive personal information

Some personal data is classed as sensitive personal data. Personal data becomes sensitive if it includes any of the following information:

  • racial or ethnic origin
  • political opinions
  • religious beliefs
  • trade union membership
  • physical or mental health
  • sexual orientation
  • criminal record

Any documents containing sensitive personal data should be marked as restricted.

Look after personal data

Lost, stolen or leaked data can have serious consequences for us, our employees and the public.

Recent high profile mistakes that other councils have made include lost Universal Serial Bus (USB) sticks, confidential information dumped in skips and laptops left on trains.

Privacy breaches can lead to fines, bad press, damaged reputation, loss of trust and for employees possible disciplinary action.

That's why it is in all of our interests to handle data safely – treat it as if it's your own.

Data privacy is relevant to, and the responsibility of everyone that works for us.