Adult social care privacy notice

Portsmouth City Council is the data controller for the personal information processed by Adult Social Care.

This privacy notice explains how Adult Social Care collects, uses and shares personal information when providing care and support services. It should be read alongside the Council’s corporate data protection privacy notice, which applies to all council services.

When providing Adult Social Care services, we may collect and use the following information about you:

• Name, address, date of birth and contact details
• NHS number
• Ethnicity and equality monitoring information
• Health and medical information
• Mental capacity and safeguarding information
• Care and support assessments and plans
• Information about family members, carers and representatives
• Details of other professionals and agencies involved in your care
• Financial information, where required to assess charges or contributions

We only collect information that is necessary and relevant to provide our services.

Adult Social Care uses personal information to:

• Assess your care and support needs
• Arrange and manage care and support services
• Safeguard adults at risk of abuse or neglect
• Work with health services and other partners to provide joined‑up care
• Manage complaints, compliments and feedback
• Carry out financial assessments and administer charges where applicable
• Meet our statutory and regulatory duties
• Improve and plan adult social care services

Under data protection law, we must have a lawful basis to process personal information.

UK GDPR Article 6

We process personal data because it is:

• Necessary to comply with a legal obligation, and/or
• Necessary to perform a task in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority

This includes our duties under the Care Act 2014 and Health and Social Care Act 2012.

UK GDPR Article 9 – Special category data

We process special category (sensitive) information, such as health data, because it is necessary for the provision and management of health or social care services.

Adult Social Care does not usually rely on consent to process or share information, as care services cannot be made conditional on consent where there is a legal duty to provide support.

We will ask for your consent where you have a real choice, for example:

• Who we can speak to about your care
• Participation in optional pilots, trials or research

You can withdraw consent at any time where consent is the lawful basis.

In addition to data protection law, Adult Social Care follows the Common Law Duty of Confidentiality. This means we only share confidential information when it is:

• Necessary for your care
• Required by law
• In the public interest
• Or where you have agreed

We will ask you who you are happy for us to share information with, and these preferences will continue to be respected after death unless there is a lawful reason to share information.

We may share information, where lawful and necessary, with:

• NHS organisations and Trusts
• Integrated Care Boards
• Other local authorities
• Care homes and home care providers
• The Department of Health and Social Care
• The Care Quality Commission (CQC)
• The Department for Work and Pensions
• The police and other government bodies
• Direct Payment, prepaid card and support service providers

All sharing is done securely and only where relevant to your care or required by law.

Information may be shared with the Care Quality Commission as part of statutory inspections of Adult Social Care services.

Read the Care Quality Commission privacy statement.

The Council is required by law to share certain Adult Social Care data with the National Fraud Initiative to help prevent and detect fraud.

Local authorities are legally required to share Adult Social Care Client Level Data with NHS England. This data is used to produce anonymous, aggregate information to support national planning and service improvement.

Adult Social Care records are held securely on SystmOne, which is also used by local GP practices to support safe and efficient information sharing.

Financial information is held on a separate system (ContrOcc) and is only accessible to staff who need it for financial assessment purposes.
The council applies appropriate technical and organisational security measures to protect your information.

We keep personal information only for as long as necessary and in line with:

• The Council’s corporate retention schedule
• The Records Management Code of Practice for Health and Social Care

You have rights under data protection law, including the right to:

• Access your personal information
• Request correction of inaccurate data
• Request restriction of processing in certain circumstances
• Object to processing where applicable

To request a copy of your Adult Social Care records, you can make a Subject Access Request.

Adult Social Care may use new technology to help improve how services are delivered and to reduce administrative burden for practitioners.

From September 2025, Adult Social Care began a pilot of “Magic Notes”, an AI‑supported assessment tool provided by Beam. Magic Notes allows some in‑person assessments to be voice recorded and transcribed, reducing the need for practitioners to take written notes during the assessment and helping to improve the efficiency and quality of assessment records.

If you are having an assessment, you may be offered the option to use Magic Notes. Taking part is entirely voluntary. You do not have to agree, and choosing not to take part will not affect the care or support you receive. If you prefer, your assessment will be completed in the traditional way.

Where Magic Notes is used:

• You will be told how your information will be recorded and used
• Only information relevant to your assessment will be processed
• Recordings and transcripts will be handled securely and in line with data protection law
• Consent will be sought before using this technology

Adult Social Care may also use information for research and service improvement. Wherever possible, data will be anonymised or pseudonymised. If identifiable information is required, you will be given a choice and asked for your consent before taking part.

This privacy notice was last updated in June 2026. It may be updated to reflect changes in law or service delivery.

Adult Social Care Information Governance

• Email: foi.socialcare@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

Data Protection Officer for Portsmouth City Council

• Email: DataProtection@portsmouthcc.gov.uk
• Telephone: 023 9282 2251

If you need to complain about a data protection or information governance issue, related to Adult Social Care, you can contact us in the following ways:

• call 023 9284 1172 (you can also phone to request a postage-paid complaints form)
• visit in person by making an appointment
• write to: The Complaints Manager for Social Care, Portsmouth City Council, 5th Floor, Civic Offices, Guildhall Square, Portsmouth, PO1 2EP
• email asccomplaints@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

You can also contact the Information Commissioner’s Office for advice or if you remain dissatisfied, following a complaint to the Council: visit the Information Commissioner’s Office website or call their helpline on 0303 123 1113.