GDPR / Data Compliance & Website Acessibility

GDPR / Data Privacy Information:

The Council's Data Privacy Policy can be found by clicking this link: DATA PRIVACY POLICY

A summary of the Council's data compliance statement is as follows:

Your personal data - what is it?

Personal data is any information about a living individual which allows them to be identified from that data (for example a name,
photographs, videos, email address, or address). The processing of personal data is governed by legislation relating to personal data
which applies in the United Kingdom including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and
other legislation relating to personal data and rights such as the Human Rights Act.

Making sure your data is safe.

GDPR is designed to create common privacy requirements across the EU. It is a development of existing data protection legislation
and is based on seven key principles that can be summarised as:

1) Personal information that we hold will be processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner.

2) Personal data will only be used for specific and legitimate purposes.

3) The information that we hold shall be limited to what is necessary.

4) Information shall be accurate.

5) Information shall be held no longer than is necessary.

6) Information shall be kept safe and secure.

7) We are accountable and can demonstrate compliance with GDPR.

Other data controllers that Axminster Town Council works with:

We may need to share your personal data with other tiers of local government and secure partners so that they can carry out their
responsibilities to the Council.

The council will process some or all of the following personal data where necessary to perform its tasks:

Names, titles, and aliases, photographs;

Contact details such as telephone numbers, addresses, and email addresses;

Where they are relevant to the services provided by a council, or where you provide them to us, we may process information such as
gender, age, marital status, nationality, education/work history, academic/professional qualifications, hobbies, family composition,
and dependants;

Where you pay for activities such as use of a council hall, financial identifiers such as bank account numbers, payment card numbers,
payment/transaction identifiers.

How we use sensitive personal data:

We may process personal data including, as appropriate:

Your racial or ethnic origin or religious or similar information in order to monitor compliance with equal opportunities legislation;

in order to comply with legal requirements and obligations to third parties.

These types of data are described in the GDPR as "Special categories of data" and require higher levels of protection.
We need to provide further justification for collecting, storing and using this type of personal data.

We may process special categories of personal data in the following circumstances:

In limited circumstances, with your explicit written consent.

Where we need to carry out our legal obligations;

Where it is needed in the public interest;

Less commonly, we may process this type of personal data where it is needed in relation to legal claims or where it is
needed to protect your interests (or someone else's interests) and you are not capable of giving your consent, or where
you have already made the information public.

Do we need your consent to process your sensitive personal data?

In limited circumstances, we may approach you for your written consent to allow us to process certain sensitive personal data.
If we do so, we will provide you with full details of the personal data that we would like and the reason we need it, so that you
can carefully consider whether you wish to consent.

We use your personal data for some or all of the following purposes:

To deliver public services including, to understand your needs to provide the services that you request and to understand
what we can do for you and inform you of other relevant services;

To confirm your identity to provide some services;

To contact you by post, email, telephone or using social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp);

To help us to build up a picture of how we are performing;

To prevent and detect fraud and corruption in the use of public funds and where necessary for the law enforcement functions;

To enable us to meet all legal and statutory obligations and powers including any delegated functions;

To carry out comprehensive safeguarding procedures (including due diligence and complaints handling) in accordance with best
safeguarding practice from time to time with the aim of ensuring that all children and adults-at-risk are provided with safe
environments and generally as necessary to protect individuals from harm or injury;

To promote the interests of the council;

To maintain our own accounts and records;

To seek your views, opinions or comments;

To notify you of changes to our facilities, services, events and staff, councillors and other role holders;

To send you communications which you have requested and that may be of interest to you.
These may include information about campaigns, appeals, other new projects or initiatives;

To process relevant financial transactions including grants and payments for goods and services supplied to the council

To allow the statistical analysis of data so we can plan the provision of services.

Our processing may also include the use of CCTV systems for the prevention and prosecution of crime.

What is the legal basis for processing your personal data?

The council is a public authority and has certain powers and obligations. Most of your personal data is processed for
compliance with a legal obligation which includes the discharge of the council's statutory functions and powers.
Sometimes, when exercising these powers or duties, it is necessary to process personal data of residents or people
using the council's services. We will always take into account your interests and rights. This Privacy Notice sets
out your rights and the council's obligations to you.

We may process personal data if it is necessary for the performance of a contract with you, or to take steps to enter into
a contract. An example of this would be processing your data in connection with the use of sports facilities, or the
acceptance of an allotment garden tenancy

Sometimes the use of your personal data requires your consent. We will first obtain your consent to that use.

How long do we keep your personal data?

We will keep some records permanently if we are legally required to do so. We may keep some other records for an extended period of time.
For example, it is currently best practice to keep financial records for a minimum period of 8 years to support HMRC audits or provide tax
information. We may have legal obligations to retain some data in connection with our statutory obligations as a public authority. The Council
is permitted to retain data in order to defend or pursue claims. In some cases, the law imposes a time limit for such claims (for example 3 years
for personal injury claims or 6 years for contract claims). We will retain some personal data for this purpose as long as we believe it is necessary
to be able to defend or pursue a claim. In general, we will endeavour to keep data only for as long as we need it. This means that we will delete it
when it is no longer needed.

Your legal (statutory) rights:

Under certain circumstances, you have rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data. You have the right to:

Request access to your personal data (commonly known as a "data subject access request"). This enables you to receive a copy
of the personal data we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it.

Request correction of the personal data that we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate data
we hold about you corrected, though we may need to verify the accuracy of the new data you provide to us.

Request erasure of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal data where there is no good reason
for us continuing to process it. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your personal data where you have successfully
exercised your right to object to processing (see below), where we may have processed your information unlawfully or where we
are required to erase your personal data to comply with local law. Note, however, that we may not always be able to comply with
your request of erasure for specific legal reasons which will be notified to you, if applicable, at the time of your request.

Object to processing of your personal data where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) and there is
something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground as you feel it impacts on
your fundamental rights and freedoms. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal data for direct
marketing purposes. In some cases, we may demonstrate that we have compelling legitimate grounds to process your information
which override your rights and freedoms.

Request restriction of processing of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of your personal data in
the following scenarios:

If you want us to establish the data's accuracy.

Where our use of the data is unlawful but you do not want us to erase it.

Where you need us to hold the data even if we no longer require it as you need it to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

You have objected to our use of your data but we need to verify whether we have overriding legitimate grounds to use it.

Request the transfer of your personal data to another controller. We will comply with your request, where it is feasible to do so,
within one month of receiving your request.

Withdraw consent at any time.
You can withdraw your consent easily by telephone, email, or by post (see Contact Details below).

The right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office.

You can contact the Information Commissioner's Office on 0303 123 1113 or via hyperlink below, or at the
Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

The Town Council has resolved to accord to, and comply with, the UK General Data Protection Regulations (UKGDPR) and
The Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA).

The Town Council is a registered Data Controller. Our registration reference is: Z1804472. Our registration certification
can be accessed HERE.

The Town Clerk is the nominated person for the purposes of data control and is usually referred to as the Data Protection Officer (DPO).

You can contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) by clicking this link: https://ico.org.uk/

Axminster Town Council operates the website: www. axminstertowncouncil.gov.uk

The GOV.uk suffix is only provided to certified local authorities and public sector organisations.

The Town Council has tried as much as it can to ensure that our website is accessible to all and, at the last
review / test completed on 27th March 2026, we achieved an Accessibility Score of 95%.

Our Website Accessibility Statement can be found by clicking this link: WEBSITE ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT

This statement was prepared in March 2026. The website was last tested in March 2026. The test was carried out by the
Clerk to the Council on a self-evaluation basis. The Clerk is the nominated person to ensure website accessibility compliance.
We test a number of pages on the website, and test those documents most likely to be used by website visitors, such as agendas,
policies and minute records.

The Town Council operates a dedicated email server, designated by the suffix @axminstertowncouncil.gov.uk

All Councillors and staff have been provided with a dedicated email address, personal to them, and you should therefore be careful when
responding to any emails purporting to be from a Town Council employee or Councillor that does not come from a GOV.uk address.

If you visit the Councillor page on this website, or the staff page, you can find all of the relevant email addresses listed.

Freedom of Information 

What Can I Request?

The Freedom of Information Act, Environmental Information Regulations and INSPIRE Regulations give you the statutory rights to access official information.

Under the Freedom of Information Act and the Environmental Information Regulations, you have a right to request any recorded information held by a public authority, such as a government department, local council or state school. Environmental information requests can also be made to certain non-public bodies carrying out a public function.

You can ask for any information that you think a public authority may hold. The rights only covers recorded information which includes information held on computers, in emails and in printed or handwritten documents as well as images, video and audio recordings.

Requesting Information

You should identify the information you want as clearly as possible.

Your request can be in the form of a question, rather than a request for specific documents, but the authority does not have to answer your question if this would mean creating new information or giving an opinion or a judgement that is not already recorded.

Some information may not be given to you because it is exempt, for example, because it would unfairly reveal personal details about somebody else (such as employee payroll / PAYE information).

You do not have to know whether the information you want is covered by the Environmental Information Regulations or the Freedom of Information Act. When you make a request, it is for the public authority to decide which law they need to follow.

The INSPIRE Regulations require public authorities that hold spatial or geographic information to make it available so that you can search it in particular ways.

The majority of requests are free, however there may be charges if the request takes over 18 hours work. A list of charges can be found in the Council’s Publication Scheme (SEE BELOW)

To make a Freedom of Information request, please complete the Freedom of Information Request form

For more information on the rules relating to information requests, please visit the Information Commissioner’s Office website (see above)

Subject Access Request

What is Subject Access?

The right of access, commonly referred to as subject access, gives individuals the right to obtain a copy of their own personal data as well as other supplementary information. It helps individuals to understand how and why we are using their data, and check that we are doing it lawfully.

Making a Subject Access Request

If you wish to exercise your right of access, we would appreciate it if you could complete the subject access request application form.

Personal data of the individual

An individual is only entitled to their own personal data, and not to information relating to other people (unless the information is also about them or they are acting on behalf of someone). Therefore, it is important that you establish whether the information requested falls within the definition of personal data.

For more information on the rules relating to information requests, please visit the Information Commissioner’s Office website (see above)

For information about the Town Council's Transparency Code compliance under the Localism Act 2011, 
please visit the following page of our website:

https://www.axminstertowncouncil.gov.uk/Transparency_Code_Compliance_45236.aspx

You can access the Town Council's adopted Publication Scheme (policy) Document by clicking this link: PUBLICATION SCHEME.

A) The Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires public authorities to:

Proactively publish or otherwise make available as a matter of routine, information, including environmental information, which is held
by the authority and falls within the classifications below.

Specify the information that is held by the authority and falls within the classifications below.

Proactively publish or otherwise make available as a matter of routine, information in line with the statements contained within this scheme.

Produce and publish the methods by which the specific information is made routinely available so that it can be easily identified and accessed
by members of the public.

Review and update (on a regular basis) the information the authority makes available under this scheme.

Produce a schedule of any fees charged for access to information which is made proactively available.

Make this publication scheme available to the public.

Publish any dataset held by the authority that has been requested, and any updated versions it holds, unless the authority is satisfied
that it is not appropriate to do so; to publish the dataset, where reasonably practicable, in an electronic form that is capable of re-use;
and, if any information in the dataset is a relevant copyright work and the public authority is the only owner, to make the information
available for re-use under the terms of the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015, if they apply, and otherwise under
the terms of the Freedom of Information Act (section 19).

B) The publication scheme is organised into seven classes:

i) Who we are and what we do

ii) What we spend and how we spend it

iii) What our priorities are and how we are doing

iv) How we make decisions

v) Our policies and procedures

vi) Lists and registers

vii) The services we offer the public

C) The classes of information will not generally include:

Information the disclosure of which is prevented by law, or exempt under the Freedom of Information Act, or is otherwise properly
considered to be protected from disclosure.

Information in draft form.

Information that is no longer readily available as it is contained in files that have been placed in archive storage, or is
difficult to access for similar reasons.

D) The method by which information published under this scheme will be made available

The authority will indicate clearly to the public what information is covered by this scheme and how it can be obtained.

Where it is within the capability of a public authority, information will be provided on a website. Where it is impracticable to make
information available on a website or when an individual does not wish to access the information by the website, a public authority
will indicate how information can be obtained by other means and provide it by those means.

In exceptional circumstances some information may be available only by viewing in person. Where this manner is specified, contact
details will be provided. An appointment to view the information will be arranged within a reasonable timescale.

Information will be provided in the language in which it is held or in such other language that is legally required. Where an authority
is legally required to translate any information, it will do so.

Obligations under disability and discrimination legislation and any other legislation to provide information in other forms
and formats will be adhered to when providing information in accordance with this scheme.

E) Charges which may be made for information published under this scheme

The purpose of this scheme is to make the maximum amount of information readily available at minimum inconvenience and cost
to the public. Charges made by the authority for routinely published material will be justified & transparent and kept to a minimum.

Any material which is published and accessed on a website will be provided free of charge.

Charges may be made for information subject to a charging regime specified by Parliament.

Charges may be made for actual disbursements incurred such as:

Photocopying
Postage and packaging
The costs directly incurred as a result of viewing information

Charges may also be made for information provided under this scheme where they are legally authorised, they are in all the
circumstances, including the general principles of the right of access to information held by public authorities, justified and
are in accordance with a published schedule or schedules of fees which is readily available to the public.

Charges may also be made for making datasets (or parts of datasets) that are relevant copyright works available for re-use.
These charges will be in accordance with the terms of the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015, where
they apply, or with regulations made under section 11B of the Freedom of Information Act, or with other statutory powers
of the public authority.

If a charge is to be made, confirmation of the payment due will be given before the information is provided.
Payment may be requested prior to provision of the information.

F) Information to be published

The information below lists what information is available under this scheme, how the information can be obtained and any costs associated with this.

Class 1 – Who we are and what we do

(Organisational information, locations and contacts, constitutional and legal governance)

Who’s who on the Council and its Committees – Website / hard copy – Free*
Contact details for Town Clerk and Council members (named contacts where possible with telephone number and
email address (if used)) – Website / hard copy – Free*
Location of main Council office and accessibility details – Website / hard copy / noticeboard – Free*
Staffing structure – Website / hard copy – Free*

Class 2 – What we spend and how we spend it

(Financial information relating to projected and actual income and expenditure, tendering, procurement and contracts.)

Annual return form and report by auditor – Website / hard copy / noticeboard – Free*
Finalised budget – Website / hard copy – Free*
Precept – Website / hard copy – Free*
Borrowing Approval letters – Free*
Financial Standing Orders and Regulations – Website / hard copy – Free*
Grants given and received – Website / hard copy – Free*
List of current contracts awarded and value of contract – Website / hard copy – Free*
Members’ allowances and expenses – Hard copy – Free*

Class 3 – What our priorities are and how we are doing

(Strategy and performance information, plans, assessments, inspections and reviews)

Parish Plan – Website / hard copy – Free*
Annual Report to Parish or Community Meeting (current and previous year as a minimum) – Website / hard copy – Free*
Quality status – PENDING
Local charters drawn up in accordance with DCLG guidelines – Free* (if applicable)

Class 4 – How we make decisions

(Policy proposals and decisions. Decision-making processes, internal criteria and procedures, consultations.)

Timetable of meetings (Council, committee and parish meetings) – Website / hard copy – Free*
Agendas of meetings (as above) – Website / noticeboard (current) / hard copy – Free*
Minutes of meetings (as above) – n.b. this will exclude information that is properly regarded as private to the meeting. – Website / hard copy – Free*
Reports presented to council meetings – n.b. this will exclude information that is properly regarded as private to the meeting. – Website / hard copy – Free*
Responses to consultation papers – By appointment at the Town Council Offices
Responses to planning applications – Website / hard copy – Free*
Bye-laws – By appointment at the Town Council Offices

Class 5 – Our policies and procedures

(Current written protocols for delivering our functions and responsibilities)

Policies and procedures for the conduct of council business – Website / hard copy – Free*
Procedural standing orders - Free*
Committee and sub-committee terms of reference - Free*
Delegated authority in respect of officers - Free*
Member's Adopted Code of Conduct - Free*
Policy statements - Free*
Policies and procedures for the provision of services and about the employment of staff – Website / hard copy – Free*
Internal instructions to staff and policies relating to the delivery of services - Free*
Equality and diversity policy - Free*
Health and safety policy - Free*
Recruitment policies (including current vacancies) - Free*
Policies and procedures for handling requests for information (SAR/FOI) - Free*
Complaints procedures (including those covering requests for information and operating the publication scheme) - Free*
Information security policy – Website / hard copy – Free*
Records management policies (records retention, destruction and archive) – Website / hard copy – Free*
Data protection policies – Website / hard copy – Free*
Schedule of charges (for the publication of information) – Website / hard copy – Free*

Class 6 – Lists and Registers

(Information held in registers required by law and other lists and registers relating to the functions of the authority.)

Any publicly available register or list – By appointment at the Town Council Offices – Free*
Assets register – By appointment at the Town Council Offices – Free*
Disclosure log – By appointment at the Town Council Offices – Free*
Register of gifts and hospitality – By appointment at the Town Council Offices – Free*
Register of members’ interests – Website / hard copy – Free*

Class 7 – The services we offer

(Advice and guidance, booklets and leaflets, transactions and media releases. A description of the services offered.)

Allotments – By appointment at the Town Council Offices
Burial grounds and closed churchyards – Website / hard copy – Free*
Community centres and village halls – (as this relates to The Guildhall) - Free*
Parks, playing fields and recreational facilities – Website / hard copy – Free*
Seating, litter bins, clocks, memorials and lighting – Website / hard copy – Free*
Bus shelters – Website / hard copy – Free*
Markets – Website / hard copy – Free*
Public conveniences – Not applicable – Responsibility of EDDC
Agency agreements – By appointment at the Town Council Offices - Free*
Services for which the council is entitled to recover a fee, together with those fees e.g. burial fees) – By appointment at the Town Council Offices - Free*

Additional Information

As determined by the Council – Website / hard copy – Free*

Notes

*Most of the information is available free of charge on our website. Where the document is not available online, one hard copy will be
supplied free of charge on request. Below are our standard charges for printing and posting:

Photocopying (Black and White) – 20p per A4 sheet or (Colour) – 40p per A4 sheet

Postage – cost of Royal Mail standard 2nd class

G) Written Requests

Information held by a public authority that is not published under this scheme can be requested in writing, when its provision
will be considered in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.

Contact Details

Email: Clerk@axminstertowncouncil.gov.uk

Telephone 01297 32088

The CCTV systems for the Town Centre (Trinity Square), The Guildhall (internal and external), and at the Municipal Cemtery are operated by Axminster Town Council with the monitoring equipment located at The Guildhall, West Street, Axminster, EX13 5NX (within the Town Council offices).

If you require any footage from the CCTV systems, or have any questions regarding the use of the CCTV systems, the purpose of the data collection footage
or wish to discuss any aspect of the CCTV system, please contact the Town Clerk who is designated as the Data Protection Officer and who also holds an
SIA accreditation for the monitoring of CCTV surveillance images / footage. 

The Town Council's CCTV Policy can be accessed here: CCTV POLICY