The Coroner Service handles information relating to the deceased with care. However, data protection legislation applies only to living individuals, so this notice is mainly aimed at:
- people connected with the deceased (for example, next of kin)
- people connected with a treasure find
- people who may be called as a witness before the coroner's court
- people who work for the service and use the case management system
- people who work for another organisation, who may report a death using the portal connected to the system
The coroner is the data controller for your information. We are committed to protecting your personal data, and ensuring it is used fairly and lawfully, in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
The law permits your personal data to be used where this is needed for the purposes of the coroner's investigation but the coroner will only do so when this is absolutely necessary. The coroner works closely with doctors, the medical examiner service, and the registration service for the purposes of death certification. The coroner may need to share your details so those partner agencies can contact you to progress the death certification and registration. Partner agencies are also subject to data protection law and must protect your data and only use it lawfully.
The types of personal information we use
We currently collect and process the following types of data:
- date of birth
- home address
- other contact details
- usernames, for the case management system and portal
- background information for the case file
Information for the case file does not just relate to the person who has died. It could relate to anyone connected to the case, directly or indirectly. For instance, we may need to know the names of your children or other family members.
We also process the following types of special category (sensitive) personal data:
- health data
- ethnicity
- religion
We process the following types of criminal offence data:
- details of criminal proceedings, outcomes and sentences (for example if death occurred as a result of a criminal act)
Why we collect and use this information
The information provided will only be used to fulfil the public tasks which are the duty of the coroner. If we use special category data or criminal offence data, this is because it is necessary for judicial processing.
The key legislation we rely on is:
- Coroners Act 1988
- Coroners and Justice Act 2009
- Coroners (Investigations) Regulations 2013
Collecting your data
We collect information, if appropriate and relevant, from a range of individuals and organisations. These will include you, other people connected with the case and third parties such as medical practitioners, police or ambulance services.
Keeping your information safe
In order to meet our commitment to protecting your personal data we have data protection policies and procedures in place to ensure that it is safeguarded.
We carry out checks on all third parties we use, and also have contracts in place with them which detail data protection obligations they have to follow.
We store the data in an electronic case management system, supplied by WPC Software Ltd. The system includes an online referral portal. If you need access, we will assign you a username and password. Passwords are salted and hashed to prevent decryption. WPC is certified to the ISO 27001 information security standard and follows National Cyber Security Centre cloud security principles.
Although our current system is electronic, we have legacy records going back decades. Coroner records are subject to the Public Records Act 1958, so we regularly transfer these to Derbyshire Record Office, according to our retention schedule. We keep inquest files and investigation files permanently. Most other file types are retained for 15 years.
Restore Plc, Derbyshire County Council's appointed provider of offsite storage services, holds paper files including recently closed cases, or cases not requiring investigation. Restore is certified to the ISO 27001 information security standard.
Sharing your data
When we need to share information, we do so as required by the Chief Coroner's guidance or by police as part of an investigation. We disclose evidence to the next of kin and, in inquest cases, to interested parties designated by the coroner. In this case, we redact data about living people before disclosure. We support the accuracy of our information by conducting regular case reviews.
Requesting access to your personal data
You have the following rights, subject to lawful exemptions, to:
- access copies of any records we hold about you
- have any information we hold about you corrected
- restrict how information we hold about you can be used or shared
- object to information about your you being held
You can find further information on your rights, and how to make requests under those rights.
For more detailed advice on your rights visit the Information Commissioner's Office.
If you have any concerns
If you have any concerns or are unhappy with our use of your personal data, please let us know by contacting:
Data Protection Officer
Legal Services
Derbyshire County Council
County Hall
Matlock
Derbyshire
DE4 3AG
Email: access2info@derbyshire.gov.uk
If you are dissatisfied with our response you can contact the Information Commissioner's Office:
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 0303 123 1113 (local rate)