Privacy notices

We are committed to protecting your privacy when you use our services. We have a data protection officer who makes sure we respect your rights and follow the law.

If you have any concerns or questions about how we look after your personal information:

Email: dataprotection@luton.gov.uk 

Personal data

Information we collect about you may be provided by you or we may process your personal information provided by agencies for the purpose of responding to service requests, complaints and member enquiries or for the prevention and detection of crime and fraud.

Processing covers everything we do with your data from collecting your data, to storing, managing and deleting it.

The information we collect will be the minimum we need to deliver our service.

We currently collect and process the following personal data when dealing with service requests, complaints and member enquiries

• Name
• Address
• Email
• Telephone number
• Unique identifiers including but not limited to:
  • account reference numbers
• Details provided in application forms including but not limited to:
  • housing and homelessness
  • information about your household
  • financial information
  • details of repairs requested for your home (when it is a council owned property)
  • letter(s) to authorise a third party to act on your behalf
  • visual and audio recordings
  • information about the provision of services

The above list is not exhaustive. We will hold any information that you send us in support of your service request, complaint or member enquiry together with information that we obtain to enable us to investigate and process your request in accordance with our complaints policy and procedures.

Special category data

Although we do not request special category data for example your medical history or criminal convictions, we do recognise that you may choose to provide special category data when contacting us or it may reach us via other means outlined above.

Special category data includes the following information:

• revealing/concerning a person’s racial or ethnic origin
• political opinions
• religious or philosophical beliefs
• trade union membership
• health or medical data (both physical and mental)
• sex life
• sexual orientation
• criminal convictions

Purpose for using it

The Corporate Complaints team uses your personal data to:

• log or progress a service request or complaint
• log or progress enquiries from your member of parliament or local councillor
• detect and prevent fraud and other criminal activity

Lawful basis

The Corporate Complaints team uses your personal data under the following categories:

• personal data: processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller
• pecial category: processing will take place on the basis of substantial public interest which will be proportionate to the reason for processing it

Who we share it with

The Corporate Complaints team may share your personal data with the following:

• other teams and services within Luton Council where law permits, or it is necessary to do so to complete a request including but not limited to social care, revenues & benefits, legal, housing, waste, insurance and risk, audit
• someone acting on your behalf (providing it is evidenced you have asked them to do so) regulatory bodies, investigators and ombudsman (for example Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO), Housing Ombudsman, agencies with investigative powers such as the police, other local authorities or the Home Office
• for children’s social care complaints independent persons, investigating officers, adjudicating officers

Why we share it with them

To enable us to investigate your service requests, complaints and member enquiries thoroughly and efficiently.

We may also have a statutory obligation to share your personal information with those listed above.

Is there any automated decision making or profiling?

There is no automated decision making or profiling.

Transfer of data to another country

The majority of personal information is stored on systems in the UK. But there are some occasions where your information may leave the UK either in order to get to another organisation or if it’s stored in a system outside of the EU.

We have additional protections on your information if it leaves the UK ranging from secure ways of transferring data to ensuring we have a robust contract in place with any third party who may transfer it out of the EU.

If we need to send your information to an ‘unsafe’ location, we’ll always seek advice from the Information Commissioner first.

Retention period

Luton Council will only keep your personal data for as long as it is required to fulfil the purpose it was collected for or for as long as is required by legislation.

The data will be kept in accordance with our retention schedule.

Exercising your rights

You have the right to ask us to amend or delete your data as well transfer or limit its use.

You also have the right to request a review of an automated decision where you think this is wrong.

Each request will be considered individually.

Where we are required to keep your data by law, we may be unable to action your request.

In all circumstances we will explain our decision making in writing to you.

Please see our main privacy statement using the green button below If you want more information on how:

• we keep your data safe
• to request a change to the records we hold
• to make a complaint

This notice was last updated on the 3 February 2026.