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1. What is Best Value?
2. What is a Best Value Performance Plan, and how do I get one?
3. What is a Best Value Review?
4. Will Best Value change TDBC's services?
5. What is Data Protection and what does the 1998 Data Protection Act mean for me?
6. What are the eight Data Protection Principles?
7. Why does the Council need my information?
8. What personal information does the Council hold?
9. How does the Council obtain that information?
10. Who does the Council disclose my personal data to?
11. Can I see a copy of my personal information?
12. How do I make a complaint?
1. What is Best Value?
Best Value is a duty to deliver services to standards, covering both cost and quality, by the most effective, economic and efficient means available. Its purpose is to establish processes of continuous improvement and review. It is a key part of the Government's plans to modernise local government and has been statute since 1st April 2000.
2. What is a Best Value Performance Plan, and how do I get one?
The Best Value Performance Plan is the document which provides details of our vision for the area, our recent achievements, forthcoming plans and future targets. A requirement of Best Value is that all local households should be provided with a summary of the Plan. You should have received one with your Council Tax bill. You can see a copy of the main Plan in local Council offices, local libraries and on this website
3. What is a Best Value Review?
A Best Value Review is a review of a Council service or function. All services must be reviewed at least once every five years.
Reviews will follow the 4Cs:
"challenging" how, why, and by whom services are provided;
"consulting" local people and service users on their views of how services can be improved;
"comparing" performance by benchmarking with other organisations which provide similar services;
"competing" by ensuring efficient and effective service provision.
A copy of the Best Value Review Programme can be found within the Best Value Performance Plan.
4. Will Best Value change TDBC's services?
The Best Value Reviews will challenge rationale for providing services. The statutory requirement for providing a service will be examined to check whether the service needs to be provided at all.
Under Best Value we are required to make 2% efficiency improvements across all services. This does not mean that a service will necessarily lose 2% of its budget. Rather, the focus of the Best Value Reviews will be on providing more by better allocation of resources, and increased efficiency, as opposed to cutting back on services.
Part of the Review process will be to examine "how" the services are provided and it may be that in future, services are provided in partnership with other organisations, or in the private sector, if this is found to be the most efficient method of providing the service.
5. What is Data Protection and what does the 1998 Data Protection Act mean for me?
Data protection is about protecting you as an individual by using the law to protect your information. It is also about recognising data as a valuable asset. The Data Protection Act 1998 regulates the processing of personal data - ie information relating to living individuals, this includes obtaining, holding, using, or disclosing such information
6. What are the eight Data Protection Principles?
Personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully and shall not be processed unless specific conditions are met
Personal data shall be obtained only for one or more specified and lawful purposes and shall not be further processed in any manner incompatible with that purpose or those purposes
Personal data shall be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose or purposes for which they are processed
Personal data shall be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date
Personal data processed for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes
Personal data shall be processed in accordance with the rights of data subjects under the Data Protection Act 1998
Appropriate technical and organisational measures shall be taken against unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data
Personal data shall not be transferred to a country or territory outside the European Economic Area unless that country or territory ensures an adequate level of protection for the rights and freedoms of data subjects in relation to the processing of personal data
7. Why does the Council need my information?
Taunton Deane Borough Council is a large organisation, which provides a wide range of services to its citezens. In order to do this the Council needs to keep personal data about you, this information helps us to plan, develop and provide services for the community, to provide statistical and budgetary information, to plan, develop and provide services for the community, to supervise and manage staff and to provide a helpful and efficient response when customers request advice or assistance.
8. What personal information does the Council hold?
Because of the many different services that the Council provides, e.g. leisure, housing, benefits, electoral registration etc, the nature and amount of personal information that we need to collect and keep about you will vary depending on the services you are using or receiving from us.
In other words personal information may be just your name and address, or it may include details of members of your family, carers, Council staff who are working with you and other professionals who are known to be providing you with a service or services.
When we notify our data to the Data Protection Commissioner’s Office we must state to whom we may wish to disclose your personal data to. Register entries do not hold any personal information, they only show what an individual or organisation is registered to do. The data register is open to public inspection at the Commissioners office in Wilmslow or on the internet at:
http://www.dataprotection.gov.uk
Copies of individual register entries are free of charge and can be applied for by contacting:
The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
9. How does the Council obtain that information?
Most of the information that the Council obtains will have been provided by you, but depending on the type of service you use, we may also need information from other government, voluntary or private organizations, your family, carers or other individuals. All of this information will help us to provide with you with the best services to meet your needs.
10. Who does the Council disclose my personal data to?
Taunton Deane Borough Council offers a range of diverse services and has a number of separate Service Units who have responsibility for different functions.
The Council also works with other government and voluntary organisations, or uses private organizations, to provide services to you. This means that sometimes we may need to disclose your personal information internally within the Council, or externally to other organisations.
The Council will (in respect of disclosure of your personal information) :-
Try to make it as clear as possible to you who we may wish to disclose your personal information to when we obtain it from you
Only disclose your personal information in order to meet the purpose or purposes that we obtain it for
Only disclose your personal information to those people or organisations that have been approved within our notification entries
Ensure the confidentiality and security of your personal information when we contract private organisations to provide a service or services to you
11. Can I see a copy of my personal information?
Data protection legislation gives you the right to see your own personal information. If you would like to know more about this please ask for our leaflet entitled “Access to Your Personal Information” which provides details about how you make an application. The leaflet is available from:-
The Data Protection Officer
The Deane House
Belvedere Road
Taunton
TA1 1HE
12. How do I make a complaint?
If you consider that we have breached any of the principles of the Data Protection Act you are entitled to request an assessment by the Data Protection Commissioner.
The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
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