Planning casework: privacy notice

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

• Under data protection legislation, PEDW is responsible for deciding how personal data is collected, stored, and processed.
• PEDW deals with all aspects of planning appeals, examinations of local plans and any other planning-related and specialist casework.
• These are undertaken by PEDW on the behalf of the Welsh Ministers.
• For certain types of casework, PEDW’s Planning Inspectors undertake work on behalf of a different body. For example, in Local Development Plan examinations, the Inspector will submit a Report to the relevant Local Planning Authority. In some other types of work, our Inspectors may be appointed to submit a Report to the relevant Secretary of State in the UK government.

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, whether via the Planning Casework Portal or by other electronic or written means;
• where you are providing information regarding your personal circumstances (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 Planning Casework Portal, is used to process Planning and Enforcement Appeal cases.

• PEDW 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 Local Planning Authority (LPA) 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 not be publicly available
• If you request this then your representation will be copied to the parties and published to the Planning Casework Portal without your name and contact details, however, to take your representation into account, your details will have to be seen by the Inspector. 
• If you do not want to be identifiable from your representation you should avoid including information which may identify you; for example, ‘I live next door to the appeal site’. 

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

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 consider the statutory obligations on us, including under data protection legislation.

For most cases we process, we produce summary details which we publish on the Planning Casework Portal which includes: -. 

• The name of the appellant/applicant and the site address. 
• The description of the development
• Key Dates 
• The Inspector or Inspectors appointed to the case
• The outcome of the case

We also publish certain case documentation including: -

• The application documents
• Documentation submitted with an appeal
• Representations from the Appellant or Applicant, the LPA and any interested parties
• The final decision or report to the Welsh Ministers

These published records will include the name of the person that has submitted the document. 

Before publishing any documents, we redact (or ‘blank out’) certain personal details e.g. telephone numbers; email addresses; signatures and sensitive personal information (special category data). We also redact any content that we consider to be potentially libellous. On request Planning & Environment Decisions Wales will consider requests for individuals addresses to be removed from representations before publication. 

We don’t redact any personal information in documents produced by applicants or appellants where this would hinder the effective examination of an application or appeal 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.

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 123 1590.

Although we may not publish every document or every case, we have a statutory obligation to copy representations to the relevant parties. For documents we have chosen not to publish, or to publish in a redacted form, they are still potentially subject to requests to be released under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. The LPA is obliged to make documents available to anyone who may wish to see them so you may also want to check with them what information they publish.

It is necessary for us to process your personal information to enable us to facilitate the planning process under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, and various other legislation e.g. Highway Act 1980, for all PEDW 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 Data Protection Act 2018 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. Any information provided in this way will be subject to our usual GDPR and redaction processes.

Appeals

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. 

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.

There is no statutory obligation on interested parties to participate in a case.

Local Development Plans

For Local Development Plans (LDP) 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 LPA. 

Those participating in a local plan examination should note that their representations will be ‘made available’ by the LPA in line with the Regulations including publication on the LPA’s website. As a Data Controller the LPA 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 an LDP examination or to provide any 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 Planning Authorities
• Local Authorities are also responsible for making the casework representations available to anyone who wishes to see them.
• External Programme Officers
• Information published to the planning casework portal will be in the public domain
• Other Statutory Parties to the case
• Other Statutory Parties such as external Regulators, for example Natural Resources Wales.

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, for example 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 PEDW determines that it is both necessary and proportionate with special category data redacted inline with UK GDPR. 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 decisions to the National Archives (TNA) for permanent preservation, as required. Some of these decisions may include the personal data of our customers.

Who will have access to your data?

When making an appeal/application or making a representation, 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 or applicant
• Statutory consultees
• Other interested parties

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 123 1590.

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)