Privacy notice - Locality model

Scottish Borders Council is a local authority established under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. Our head office is located at Newtown St Boswells, Melrose TD6 0SA.  You can contact us onby phone 0300 100 1800 or email customeradvice@scotborders.gov.uk

What is the Locality Model?

As a response to COVID-19, we put Community Assistance Hubs (CAHs) in place in each of the five localities. These hubs have provided coordinated support to those in need during this period. The CAHs have highlighted clear benefits of collaborative working, along with the importance of the role of the:

  • Third Sector
  • Registered Social Landlords
  • local Resilience Groups
  • Community Learning and Development
  • Communities and Partnership staff
  • other volunteers

Before COVID-19, What Matters hubs operated in each locality. The hubs allowed people to make appointments or drop in to see a member of the Social Work team for advice or support. The hubs were supported by:

  • the Red Cross
  • Local Area Coordinators
  • Chest Heart Stroke Scotland
  • Alzheimer’s Scotland
  • Fire Scotland
  • the Food Train

The new Locality Hub model retains the CAHs and develops them alongside the What Matters Hubs to provide wide ranging support in local communities. People will still be able to make contact with services the way they always have (via Customer Advice and Support), but sitting behind this would be a range of multi-disciplinary teams who could look at an individual/family’s support as a whole. This model will operate virtually until it is safe to have a physical presence in each locality.

Why we collect and use your information

We are the data controller for the personal information we collect from you.

We will use your information to meet your needs, whether they be Health and Social Care, Education, wellbeing or dealing with a general enquiry. The information that is recorded will be managed in line with the privacy notice for the service required. This information may be stored in either paper or digital form and will be kept confidential using secure methods.

Your information may be used for discussion and sharing with other professional agencies, in order to provide you with joined up, safe and appropriate support. These agencies could include:

  • NHS Borders 
  • Third Sector partners (for example The Red Cross, Salvation Army, CAB, Borders Carers Centre)
  • Community Councils
  • Resilient Communities
  • Public Protection

The legal basis for holding and using your information is:

  • in the performance of a task carried out in the public interest
  • to protect the vital interests of individuals

This is to enable us to meet our legal obligations and perform our public tasks under: 

  • Local Government in Scotland Act 2003
  • The Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968
  • The Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000
  • The Adult Support & Protection (Scotland) Act 2007
  • Public Bodies Joint Working Scotland Act 2014

The information we collect about you

We will collect the personal information we need to perform our functions. We may collect: 

  • name
  • contact details
  • date of birth
  • information about your health and wellbeing
  • information about your GP, Next of Kin, Guardian, Power of Attorney
  • information about your family, household composition
  • parent/guardian ( if a young person under 16 years of age)

And for an emergency response:

  • information about how you can help with the response to the emergency
  • what help you or a neighbour need
  • what help you, or your business, can give or professional skill you can offer
  • information about your household composition 

How we use your information

If you have asked for help we will match the information you provide with our own data to check that you are not already receiving services from us. If you are, your information and support needs will be passed on to the relevant officers. If you are new to the service, your personal details will be recorded and shared with the relevant services that can provide you with support.

If we are required to share your information with one of our partner agencies, this sharing is done as part of our public task.

We will also use your data to better understand the services we provide and to help us build those services for the future. We may also use your data to identify if our services are fulfilling our legal obligations. 

How long we keep your information for

The information you have provided will be retained in line with the service privacy notice. Information saved on shared client lists for the purpose or joint working will be saved for up to six months.

Third Party Information

If you have provided anyone else's details to us, please make sure that you have told them that you have given their information to us. We will only use this information as part of the assessment of your need for services and to contact them in connection with delivery of any such services. If they want any more information on how we will use their information they can visit see our privacy statement or email dataprotection@scotborders.gov.uk

Your rights

You have the right to request access to any personal data held about you by us. You can also request that we restrict the use of your information or even object to any further processing. You can do this by contacting our Data Protection Officer by emailing dataprotection@scotborders.gov.uk. We will respond to your request within 30 calendar days.

For more information on your rights please visit our website or if you would like a hard copy of this information, please contact us using the contact details provided above. 

How to raise a complaint 

We aim to directly resolve all complaints about how we handle personal information. If your complaint is about how we have handled your personal information, you can contact our Data Protection Officer by email dataprotection@scotborders.gov.uk or by phone on 0300 100 1800.

However, you also have the right to lodge a complaint about data protection matters with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), who can be contacted by

  • post: Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
  • phone: 0303 123 1113
  • website      

 If your complaint is not about a data protection matter see our complaints section.