Safeguarding

Firesetting Intervention Team and Personal data

Introduction

Mid and West Wales Fire & Rescue Service is committed to keeping our communities safe and our Community Safety team is here to help. Part of our role is to reduce incidents of arson. One way that we do this is through our Firesetting Intervention Schemes. These are aimed at Children & Young People (C&YP) who play with fire. You can find more information on our Firesetters Intervention Team here.

What personal information is collected/held?

The information collected will vary on a case by case basis – as it will depend on the needs and circumstances of each child/young person.

Initially, the information will be received through a referral that may be from a parent/guardian, firefighter or perhaps a partner agency such as a school or local authority. This will normally include the name, age and date of birth of the child/young person, as well as contact information and some details of the concerns that we may have.

Information we gather after that may include details about the individual’s personal circumstances and we will record details of activities we undertake with them.

Both the child/young person and their parent/guardian will be advised what is information is being recorded at each session.

Why do we collect information about you and how do we use it?

The Intervention Scheme is in place to support our Arson Reduction Strategy, we will collect only information that is relevant to that work and is primarily needed to ensure that the child/young person receives the appropriate support. (For example, we ask for their age as the 3 schemes we offer are aimed at different age groups).

It is important that our practitioners understand the nature of the concerns and factors such as personal circumstances can help them build a relationship with the child/young person and provide the best support possible.  

We will use and retain the information in a manner that complies with relevant data protection legislation. It will be used only in relation to the child/young person’s involvement with the scheme and will be retained for a period of time to allow us to monitor the effectiveness of our activities for that particular child/young person.

We endeavor to keep all of your information accurate and up to date – however, if you believe the information we have is incorrect or you know some details have changed do let us know so that we can record those changes.

We will not keep any information longer than is necessary for the purpose we collected it for, or use it for anything else unless we have told you about it (or because we have been legally required to do so). When disposing of information, we will make sure  that we do so in a secure way.

How we protect your information

Our aim is to be professional in the collection of personal data and not to be intrusive – we will only ask you for information if it is necessary to do so as part of our intervention activities.

We will record information both on paper and electronically. Paper information will be held securely by our practitioners and will not be shared with others. Wherever possible, paper documentation is transferred to an electronic format as soon as possible. Any paper documentation will be securely disposed of when no longer needed.

All our IT systems are protected by security measures to prevent unauthorised access, to ensure that only those people with the appropriate authorisation can access it.  This is supported by staff training, guidance procedures to ensure that everyone is aware of the importance of Information Security. These actions help to ensure that your information can’t be seen, accessed or disclosed to anyone who shouldn’t see it.

Legal Basis for Processing

To collect or use personal information we must have a valid legal or lawful basis. In this case the following basis apply:

• The processing is necessary for us to carry out our public duties, such as those defined in the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 or other legislation;
• The processing is necessary for us to comply with a specific legal obligation – for example, we have a statutory duty to under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to work with other local agencies and organisations in tackling crime and disorder through Community Safety Partnerships and responsibilities under the Well Being of Future Generations Act;
• Where the processing is necessary in the vital interest of the child/young person or any other individual(s);
• Consent – where no other legal basis applies, we must ask you to collect and use your personal data.

Who else will have access to your information?

We are only allowed to share information with other organisations where one of the legal basis mentioned previously applies. In most cases, only the child/young person, their parent/guardian(s) and specialist staff within our Community Fire Safety team will have access to the information we collect.

In some cases, if a need is identified through the Scheme activities, we may recommend additional services provided by our Community Safety team, or from external partner agencies. They will need access to some of the personal data collected to enable them to provide that service. You will always be informed of this, and only the minimum amount of personal information will be shared – just what they really need to provide that additional service.

Please note that if, during our work with any child/young person, we believe there is a significant welfare/safeguarding issue either to that individual or others, we may be legally obliged to report that to the referring agency or another appropriate service provider, which may include:

• the police or other law enforcement agencies;
• the NHS or other health and welfare organisations;
• the relevant local authority;

All partner agencies or companies that we work with are obliged to comply with Data Protection legislation and so also have a responsibility to look after your personal data.  

Your rights

Any child or young person about whom we hold information has specific rights under Data Protection legislation:

• The right to request a copy of the information that we hold.
• The right to request we correct or remove information which they believe is incorrect.
• The right to ask for any personal data to be deleted – however, this will only apply where the information is incorrect, or where there is no legal basis for us to retain the information.

Any child or young person wishing to exercise their legal rights, or who have any queries or concerns regarding our use of personal data should contact our data protection officer in the first instance.

Under the legislation, these rights do not automatically extend to the parent/guardian – who are only legally entitled to their own personal data. Information can normally only be disclosed to a parent/guardian with the consent of the child or young person, however, any requests of this nature will be looked at on a case by case basis as there are many factors to consider. Again – if you are a parent/guardian with any concerns, please contact our Data Protection Officer.

Mrs Jackie Evans
Data Protection Officer
Mid and West Wales Fire & Rescue Service HQ,
Lime Grove Avenue, Carmarthen, SA31 1SP

dataprotection@mawwfire.gov.uk

Telephone - 01267 226835

Individuals also have the right to raise any concerns you have with the Information Commissioner, who oversees Data Protection Legislation. Further information can be found on their website - https://ico.org.uk/concerns (opens in a new window/tab) or you can contact them here:

The Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Telephone -  0303 123 1113