Home > Residents > Tenants Handbook > 1 - General > Confidentiality and Data Protection statement

Hexagon Housing Association is committed to practices and procedures that ensure confidentiality in respect of information relating to residents and applicants.

Personal Files

Personal files will be kept on residents and information is held for the following purposes:

• To assess your suitability for the accommodation in accordance with the selection and allocation criteria
• The management of the accommodation in accordance with the Tenancy and Licence Agreement
• For the provision of appropriate support to you where required
• To respond appropriately to accidents and emergencies and to ensure the health, safety and well being of both yourself and other residents within the Association’s accommodation. Hexagon will always seek to ensure that information is kept on your file only as long as it is accurate and relevant. The files are available only to staff who need to have access to the information in order to discharge their duties and responsibilities to the Association. Information which you supply to help us see whether our equal opportunities policies are working will only be used for the purpose specified.

Access to Your Personal File

You have the right to see your file and correct any mistake on it. If you wish to see your file, please contact your Housing Officer to arrange an appointment. It is possible, though rare, that some information held on your file will not be shown to you. This will happen in particular circumstances when:

• The information has been supplied by, or identifies, someone else who is not willing for you to see it or be identified
• Information may cause harm to you or others, if shown to you, or
• The information is legally protected. You will be told if documents on the file are not shown to you. You also have the right to see the information we have about you on our computer system. This is a legal right and you must write in making a  request. We have 40 days to respond and we are entitled to charge a fee of up to £10 for this service. If the information we have about you is inaccurate, you can ask us to change it.

Giving Information to other Organisations

The Association will not give personal information to anyone outside the Association without your agreement except where it is legally obliged to do so and in the following cases:

• Routine information to DSS and the Local Authority to assist in claims for benefit
  Information to the police investigating a criminal matter
• Under the terms of an Information Sharing Protocol, for the purposes of reducing crime, disorder, or anti-social behaviour
• In extreme situations affecting the health and safety of you or of other people

Your responsibility

Staff are not permitted to give you information about other tenants and residents, and you are requested not to ask staff about other residents. You are asked to keep confidential any personal information you may have about your neighbour.

Publicity

We will not disclose your name in any publicity material about the Association without your consent.

Complaints

Any complaints you may have about the operation of this Policy should be made through the Association’s Complaints Procedure. A full copy of the Confidentiality Policy and Procedure is available from the Association on request. Please contact the Customer Service Centre.

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