Helpline privacy notice
This privacy policy should be read in conjunction with Colchester City Council’s privacy policy.
Information collected
- Name
- Address
- Contact details
- Relative / friend contact details
- Medical information
- Financial information
Agencies we might share your information with
- Emergency Services
- Doctors surgery and hospitals
- Social Services
- Colchester Borough Homes
- Colchester City Council
- NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board
- UCRS (Urgent Community Response Team)
The purpose and lawful basis for processing
The lawful basis for the processing of your personal data is:Article 6 of the UK GDPR:
- (a) Consent
- (b) Contract: the processing is necessary for a contract you have with the individual, or because they have asked you to take specific steps before entering into a contract contract. Helpline requires the above information in order to provide a service to you as part of your contract.
- (d)Vital interests: the processing is necessary to protect someone’s life.
- (a)Explicit consent
- (c) Vital interests
- (g) Substantial public interest and para 18, Schedule 1, Data Protection Act 2018.
Length of time we keep your information
We will only hold your personal data for as long as necessary and in line with our retention schedules.Service user data: current, plus three years after cancellation/end of the service.
Financial information: 6 years, plus current year For more information regarding this contact: helpline@colchester.gov.uk.
Careline Tendring Transfer
We wish to inform you about an important update regarding your personal data following the transfer of services from Tendring District Council’s Careline to Colchester City Council’s Helpline 24/7.
Your privacy is of utmost importance to us, and we want to ensure you are fully aware of how your data will be handled moving forward if you opted to transfer to the Colchester service.
Effective Date: 7th August 2025
Data Controller Change
As a result of the service transfer, the new data controller responsible for your personal data is Amphora Trading Limited (CATL), an arms-length trading company of Colchester City Council. This means that Amphora Trading Ltd and Colchester
City Council will now be responsible for ensuring your data is processed in compliance with applicable data protection laws.
Tendring District Council will still need to retain your historical data in accordance with its relevant documented retention periods.
Personal Data Collected/Shared
The personal data that has been shared as part of the transfer of service includes:
- Full names and, where applicable, preferred names of service users and individuals connected to service users
- Residential addresses of services users and of individuals connected to service users
- Contact telephone numbers and email addresses of service users and individuals connected to service users
- Details of service users’ next of kin
- Financial information of service users or payers for the Careline Service as applicable
- Relevant security information such as key safe codes, passwords etc. to be used for the purpose of emergency access
- Relevant physical and/or mental health conditions
- History of Careline Service Usage
- Relevant religious or philosophical beliefs
The purpose for this processing
Your personal data will be processed to enable continuity of the provision of relevant services that you have subscribed to.
Legal basis for Tendring District Council to share your data
Article 6 of the UK GDPR:
- (b) Contract: the processing is necessary for a contract you have with the individual, or because they have asked you to take specific steps before entering into a contract.
- (f) Legitimate interests: the processing is necessary for your legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of a third party,
- Special category data legal basis for processing is Article 9 of the UK GDPR:
- (g) Substantial public interest and para 18, Schedule 1, Data Protection Act 2018
Whilst criminal offense data is not specifically processed as part of this service delivery, it may be inadvertently collected; in such circumstances the legal basis for processing is paragraphs 10 and 18, Schedule 1, Data Protection Act 2018.
Legal basis for Tendring District Council to still process your data post transfer
To comply with the contractual obligations for when Tendring District Council provided the Careline services and the Council’s relevant retention periods.
Tendring District Council may need to contact you about outstanding monies owed for services provided during the period you were contracted to Tendring Careline.
Article 6 of the UK GDPR:
- (b) Contract: the processing is necessary for a contract you have with the individual
- (f) Legitimate interests: the processing is necessary for your legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of a third party,
- Special category data legal basis for processing is Article 9 of the UK GDPR:
- (g) Substantial public interest
Data Retention for Tendring District Council
Your personal data will be retained for no longer than is necessary, or as required by law.
Service user data: current, plus two years after cancellation/end of the service.
Financial information: 6 years, plus current year
See Tendring District Council’s Retention Schedule for further details.
How we protect and store your personal data
We take the confidentiality of personal information very seriously and use recognised security and access controls to protect your information from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or corruption.
We have procedures and processes in place to ensure that your personal information is managed appropriately.
Updates to this privacy notice
We will continually review and update this privacy notice to reflect changes in our processes and procedures, as well as to comply with changes in the law. When such changes occur, we will revise the "last reviewed" date on this notice. We encourage you to periodically review this notice and to be informed of how we are protecting your information.Page last reviewed: 6 November 2025