Planning casework: privacy notice

Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW) is a division of the Welsh Government.

• Under data protection legislation, Planning and Environment Decisions Wales is responsible for deciding how personal data is collected, stored, and processed.
• Planning and Environment Decisions Wales deals with all aspects of planning appeals, examinations of local plans and any other planning-related and specialist casework.
• These are undertaken by Planning and Environment Decisions Wales or on behalf of relevant Welsh Minister.
• For Community Infrastructure Levy Schedules (CILs), our Inspectors are appointed by the Charging Authority to examine their Charging Schedule. 

This privacy notice reflects the requirements of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018 and covers all types of casework handled by PEDW. The Welsh Government (WG) is the Data Controller for any personal data you provide:

• if you make or take part, in a planning appeal, application or examination as part of our planning processes;
• where you are providing information regarding your personal circumstance (which may also include personal and special category of other data subjects) that you want to be considered within the planning processes;

This Privacy Notice will be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that it accurately lays out how personal data is processed by PEDW. As such it may be updated from time to time.

The information provided to us is used to determine appeals, orders, applications and examinations.

The information provided to us via the PEDW Portal is used to process Planning and Enforcement Appeals cases.

• Planning and Environment Decisions Wales will provide guidance to making and taking part in casework types and references to the statutory procedural rules that apply.
• So PEDW can meet its statutory obligations to ensure casework representations are copied to the appellant/applicant. 
• The LA is also required to make the casework representations available to anyone who wishes to see them. 
• Please note that we do not accept anonymous or confidential representations, however, you may comment on a case and ask for your identity to be withheld.
• If you request this then your representation will be copied to the parties and provided to the Inspector without your name and contact details, and your representation may be given less weight by the Inspector as a result.
• In the event that you do not want to be identifiable from your representation you should avoid including information which may identify you. 

One of the fundamental values of Planning and Environment Decisions Wales is its commitment to openness and transparency in respect of our statutory role processing and deciding planning and all other related casework.

In many instances in particular planning processes there are obligations that require us to share the information that we receive, and in some instances for this to be made publicly available. We apply a general presumption in favour of disclosure, but individual decisions will take into account the statutory obligations on us, including under data protection legislation.

We publish summary details of cases which we process on the PEDW Portal. 

• The name of the appellant/applicant and the site address. 
• We also publish the final decision.
• We have a redaction policy and remove personal telephone numbers, email addresses and signatures, and also special category information (such as information about an individual’s health).
• If you have concerns about the publication of your information, then you should discuss this with the Case Officer in the first instance before submitting your representation.
• However, if you have further concerns relating to the processing or handling of your personal data please contact PEDW.complaints@gov.wales or 0300 060 440
• Although we may not publish every document or every case, we have a statutory obligation to copy representations to the relevant parties. The LA is obliged to make them available to anyone who may wish to see them so you may also want to check with them what information they publish.

Developments of National Significance Projects

For the Development of National Significance (“DNS”) under Planning (Wales) Act 2015, which amends the Town and County Planning Act 1990 (“the Act”), the Developments of National Significance (Wales) Regulations 2016 (as amended) and subsequent Regulations which requires us to:

• Make certain documents and information more widely available to other participants, which may include personal information, publicly available.
• We do this by publishing documents and information on the PEDW Portal.
• If you have specific queries or concerns in respect of this processing of your personal data, then please contact the relevant case officer in the first instance to discuss the guidance and your concerns.

The Information we publish online

• Application documents
• Relevant Representations, Written Representations, and other documents on the Developments of National Significance website.
• These published records will include the name of the person that has submitted the document.
• The Inspector or Inspectors appointed to carry out the examination of an application
• Before publishing any documents, we redact (or ‘blank out’) certain personal details e.g. telephone numbers; addresses; email addresses; signatures and sensitive personal information (special category data).
• We also redact any content that we consider to be potentially libellous.
• We don’t redact any personal information in documents produced by applicants where this would hinder the effective examination of an application e.g. Planning and Environment Decisions Wales’s carrying out of its public task. For example, certain documents that are published which includes the names and addresses of Interested Parties because the land or rights of those Interested Parties would be affected by the Proposed Development.
• We also publish the Examining Authority’s Recommendation Report and the decision of the Welsh Ministers, both of which may contain personal information.
• Alternatively where our sponsor departments are responsible for making the decision on the case, the Inspector will produce a report. The Inspectors report and the representations provided to them will then be sent to our sponsor department.

• It is necessary for us to process your personal information to enable us to facilitate the planning process under the  Town and Country Planning 1990, the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, the Planning Act 2008,  the Planning Act Wales 2015 and various other legislations e.g. Highway Act 1980, for all Planning Inspectorate Casework
• The lawful bases for processing are set out in Article 6 of the UK GDPR. Planning and Environment Decisions Wales uses the lawful basis detailed in:
• Article 6(1)(c) For the processing of written representations and documents, the lawful basis which relates to processing that is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which Planning and Environment Decisions Wales is subject.
• Article 6(1)(e) For the processing required for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in exercise of official authority vested in Planning and Environment Decisions Wales

Special Category Data:

Article 9(2)(g) For the processing of Special Category Data the lawful basis is where the processing of special categories of personal data is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest.  It also relates to our public task and the safeguarding of your fundamental rights, and Schedule 1 part 2(6) of the DPA2018 which relates to statutory and government.

PEDW will not routinely request special category data as part of our processing activities. However, these may be provided as part of the process. Please make sure that when you submit special category data it is necessary and relevant to the case.

• For certain cases we may need to collect some special category data to the extent that this is relevant to the case. This could for example include or relate to information about status (family background, relationships, and dependents), business and livelihood, as well as accommodation, health and/or educational needs.
• The information voluntarily provided can directly or indirectly include personal information about other individuals and can include special category data e.g. medical information of other parties. PEDW will only process such data where it is warranted and has the appropriate legal basis to do so. Please make sure it is necessary and relevant to the case when you provide it to PEDW

• If you fail to provide us with information required to validate your case then we may not be able to consider it.  We will normally let you know if this applies.  
• There is no statutory obligation on interested parties to participate in a case.
• If you are an appellant/agent and fail to provide the statutory information needed to validate your case within the set time periods, then we will not be able to consider your case and it may be deemed invalid. 
• If you are an applicant and you fail to provide the statutory information needed to consider your application, we may not be able to accept your application for Examination under s55 of the Planning Act 2008.
• For Local Plans the Inspector is required to examine whether the plan is sound and legally compliant and in doing so they must consider any representations and other documentation submitted by the LA. 
• Those participating in a local plan examination should note that their representations will be ‘made available’ by the LA in line with the Regulations including publication on the LA’s website. As a Data Controller the LA may or may not redact some or all personal information included in representations and other documentation which is ‘made available’.  To ensure an open and fair examination, it is important that the Inspector and all other participants in the examination process know who has made representations on the plan and the content of those representations.
• There is no statutory obligation on an interested party to participate in a Local plan examination or to provide any particular information if they choose to not do so.
• If you are another Interested Party and you fail to provide your name and/or the name of the organisation or group that you represent, we may be unable to accept your representation.
• We do not accept anonymous or confidential representations for any types of Planning Inspectorate casework

In accordance with the statutory rules and relevant guidance. Casework representations are normally copied to:

• Appellants/Applicants
• Interested Parties
• Local Authorities
• Local Authorities are also responsible to make the casework representations available to anyone who wishes to see them.
• External Programme Officers
• Information published to the website will be in the public domain
•  Other Statutory Parties to the case
• Other Statutory Parties such as external Regulators.
• We provide your information to the relevant Welsh Minister who make the final decision on the applications and appeals we examine via:
• Other Government Departments
• For fairness to the other parties interested in a case, we need to share your representations as indicated above. It also provides context and allows for the effective running of our casework processes e.g. allowing parties with similar viewpoints to identify each other and agree joint presentation of views at any hearing or inquiry, the representations that we receive are therefore exchanged between the parties, subject to the condition that Planning Inspectorate determine that it is both necessary and proportionate, without redaction of content or contact information. We will treat your information in confidence if you request it, however you should be aware that your representation may be given less weight by the Inspector.

In some circumstances, such as under a court order, we are legally obliged to share information.  We may also need to share your personal information with:

• Other government agencies, departments, and civil servants
• Our or other legal representatives
• Auditors, and
• Regulators or to otherwise comply with the law.

We may use third party service providers to process information. Where we do so, contracts will be put in place to ensure that your personal information is processed only as instructed by us (unless otherwise required by law), and that appropriate measures are in place to ensure the security of information.

Additionally, we are required under the Public Records Act 1958 (as amended) to transfer records to the National Archives (TNA) for permanent preservation. Some of these records may include the personal data of our customers.

Who will have access to your data?

When making an appeal/application or commenting on any of our casework, you should keep in mind that in some instances there are statutory requirements on us to make this information more widely available.

Ordinarily this will be;

• The local planning authority
• The appellant
• Statutory consultees
• Interested members of the public

If you have specific queries or concerns in respect of a particular case then please contact the case officer who, if necessary, will discuss the matter with a member of the management team.

We will retain our personal information only for as long as is necessary to deliver our services and to meet our legal and regulatory obligations.  We maintain specific records management and retention policies and procedures, so that personal information is reviewed and deleted after a reasonable time with the following criteria:

• The purpose or business activity requiring the processing of your information.
• Whether we have any legal obligation to continue to process your information.
• Whether we have any legal basis under data protection law to continue to process your information (e.g. Public Task).
• Any relevant agreed sector practices on how long information should be retained.
• For the purpose of defending against legal and regulatory challenges.

If you believe we have not complied with your rights as a data subject, or our obligations, and you are you are unhappy with the way Planning and Environment Decisions Wales processes your personal information or you have any questions about this Privacy Notice, or how we handle your personal information, please contact us at PEDW.Complaints@gov.wales or 0300 060 440.

Under data protection legislation, you have the right:

• to be informed of the personal data Welsh Government holds about you and to access it
• to require us to rectify inaccuracies in that data
• to (in certain circumstances) object to or restrict processing
• for (in certain circumstances) your data to be ‘erased’
• to (in certain circumstances) data portability
• to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) who is our independent regulator for data protection

For further information about the information which the Welsh Government holds and its use, or if you wish to exercise your rights under the UK GDPR, please see contact details below:

Data Protection Officer
Welsh Government
Cathays Park
CARDIFF
CF10 3NQ

Email: DataProtectionOfficer@gov.wales

The Information Commissioner’s contact details are:

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

Tel: 0303 123 1113 (local rate)