Local Authority Enhanced Test and Trace (Covid-19)
Hull City Council and East Riding of Yorkshire Council are working with Public Health England and City Health Care Partnership CIC (CHCP) to deliver Enhanced Contact Tracing.
Where the National Test and Trace Service has been unable to contact a resident who has tested positive for COVID-19 the details will be made available to each local authority. CHCP will operate the Enhanced Contact Tracing Service on behalf of both local authorities and will attempt to contact these residents in order to trace any contacts they may have had with other people.
This privacy notice explains what personally identifiable information is collected by Hull City Council. It also explains how this information is used, how it is protected, how long it is kept, who it is shared with, who shares it with us, what your rights are, and how you can find out more.
Enhanced test and trace
COVID-19 is an infectious disease affecting the whole of the country. The virus that causes COVID-19 is a coronavirus. Infectious diseases present a serious and ongoing threat to public health. If not controlled, they can infect large numbers of people and, depending on the disease and other factors, can result in ill-effects ranging from relatively minor symptoms to early death.
Contact tracing is an important way of controlling the spread of infectious diseases. It involves identifying and tracing all the people who have been in contact with a person who has been infected during the period they were potentially infectious. Depending on the nature and duration of the contact, these contacts may require advice or treatment to prevent the disease spreading further.
Personal information that we hold
To trace the contacts of people with COVID-19 Hull City Council needs to collect personally identifiable information. To ensure that you have confidence in providing your personal information over the telephone, all call handlers will be calling from City Health Care Partnership CIC (CHCP) on behalf of Hull City Council and will state this at the start of each call.
Local contact tracers use the following telephone numbers -
01482 450 019
You can use this number to check the call is genuine. There is an automated message stating who we are and why we are calling along with details of the national test and trace website for further information.
Personal information will come from different sources and may include -
- Public Health England
- the individual cases and contacts
- third party organisations/settings (e.g. workplaces, schools, care homes, other local authorities)
- other Council systems, where it is necessary to verify address or contact details
- the data will include some of the listed information. It will be kept to a minimum and only processed where it is appropriate to do so.
For an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19 (Case) -
- unique Record ID
- full name
- date of birth
- gender
- ethnicity
- NHS number
- home postcode and house number
- telephone number and email address
- occupation/key worker type/place of work
- COVID-19 symptoms, including when they started and their nature
- vulnerability group
- shielded status
For those who have been in close contact with someone who tests positive (contact) -
- full name
- date of birth
- contact details
- ethnicity
- NHS number
- home postcode and house number
- telephone number and email address
- occupation/key worker type/place of work
- details of any COVID-19 symptoms they may have had
- vulnerability group
- shielded status
How we use your personal information
This information is used to help identify outbreaks and identify contacts who may be at risk and need to be informed.
Hull City Council is working with Public Health England to provide the local contact tracing service in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The personal information will be shared with the Hull City Council and City Health Care Partnership CIC (CHCP) for the following reasons -
- enable contact tracers to call people who have tested positive with COVID-19 to offer advice and gather information about the people they may have come into close contact with and who may have been infected with the coronavirus.
- enable contact tracers to manage the process of tracing these Contacts to find out if they have any COVID-19 symptoms and if so, to provide advice on how to seek help
- enable the necessary sharing of personal information to third party organisations using minimum data.
- enable the planning, management and containment of local outbreaks
- to assist with tracking deliver their statutory Environmental Health/Food Safety obligations
Others we may share your personal information with
As our Data Processor, City Health Care Partnership CIC (CHCP), are acting under the instruction of Hull City Council and will be processing your personal information to deliver the enhanced contact tracing service. CHCP will be responsible for contacting individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 and their Contacts. It is therefore necessary to share data received from Public Health England with CHCP for this purpose.
CHCP are permitted to share your information in accordance with rules set by the local authorities which are designed to ensure that it will only take place where it is necessary to do so and will consider the minimum level of information that needs to be shared in each circumstance.
Your information will be treated with strict confidence and only disclosed where it is necessary to prevent a COVID-19 outbreak by investigating potential Contacts, the minimum amount of personal information will be shared if necessary with -
- other Local Authorities to enable Environmental Health Officers to assist the establishment and provide advice to contacts
- sub-contractors to deliver support/advice in key sectors (e.g. care homes, education, prisons, housing)
- we may need to disclose your name and the fact that you have tested positive to your employer or the operator of an institution where you have spent significant time if this is necessary to avoid or limit a COVID-19 outbreak in the workplace.
Your information used for other purposes
Your information may also be used for different purposes that are not directly related to your health and care. These include -
- research into COVID-19
- planning of services or actions in response to COVID-19
- monitoring the progress and development of COVID-19
Whenever possible, information that does not directly identify you will be used for these purposes, but there may be times when it is necessary for your personal information to be used. Any releases of information that identify you will be lawful and the minimum necessary for that purpose.
The Data Controller for processing this data
Hull City Council is the Data Controller for this processing. In order to provide this service effectively our main data processor will be City Health Care Partnership CIC (CHCP).
CHCP, and any sub-contractors authorised by the Council, are only permitted to use the information collected as instructed by Hull City Council.
Access City Health Care Partnership CIC’s Privacy and Information page.
How your information is protected
Access to the information is restricted to those parties where it is necessary to carry out their function and where it is appropriate personal information will be shared with third party organisations responsible for providing support services as part of the response to the coronavirus pandemic. All sharing will be carried out securely.
Staff will complete the necessary training including their responsibilities for protecting confidentiality and sharing where it is appropriate.
How long will we keep your personal information?
The personal information will only be held as long as directed by the Department of Health and Social Care (DoHSC).
Read GOV.UK's Coronavirus COVID-19 Notice for more information.
The legal basis for our use of your personal information
The law on protecting personally identifiable information, known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), allows Hull City Council to use the personal information collected for the purpose of Test and Trace (COVID-19).
The section of the GDPR that applies is -
- Article 6(1)(e) ‘processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller’
As information about health is a special category of personal information, a further section of the GDPR applies -
- Article 9(2)(i) ‘processing is necessary for reasons of public interest in the area of public health, such as protecting against serious cross-border threats to health or ensuring high standards of quality and safety of healthcare’
Your rights
The law gives you a number of rights to control what personal information is used by us and how it is used by us –
- the right to be informed
- the right of access
- the right to rectification
- the right to erasure
- the right to restrict processing
- the right to data portability
- the right to object
- rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling.
You can obtain further information about these rights from the Information Commissioner’s Office.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint in relation to this privacy notice or our processing activities with the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Website: https://ico.org.uk/
Email: casework@ico.org.uk
Telephone: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545745 (national rate)
Contact us
If you have queries or concerns over the processing of your personal data you can contact our Data Protection Officer.
Email: Information@hullcc.gov.uk
Telephone 01482 300300 (ask to speak to the Information Governance Team)
