Challenge automated decision making
My rights about automated decision making
When decisions are made about you without people being involved, this is called ‘automated individual decision making and profiling’ or ‘automated processing’. In many circumstances you have a right to prevent automated processing.
More information on automated decision making can be found on the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) website.
You have the right:
- not to be subject to a decision that is based solely on automated processing if the decision affects your legal rights or other equally important matters (e.g. automatic refusal of an online credit application, and e-recruiting practices without human intervention)
- to understand the reasons behind decisions made about you by automated processing and the possible consequences of the decisions
- to object to profiling in certain situations, including for direct marketing.
You can challenge the council on automated decisions made by completing our online form, in our self-service portal, under ‘Request’ then ‘Information’.
You must also provide proof of identification. This may be in the form of:
- A copy of your birth certificate
- A copy of your passport
- A copy of your driving licence
- Verification by a Council Officer who has been working with you
- Proof of change of name (if applicable).
If you cannot provide any of the above, a copy of two different utility bills and/ or bank statements from within the past three months.
Alternatively, you can write to us at:
Data Request
Audit and Governance Team,
Tewkesbury Borough Council,
Public Services Centre,
Gloucester Road,
Tewkesbury
GL20 5TT
Or email: subject.request@tewkesbury.gov.uk
Once we have received your request, we will check your request and identification.
By law we have one calendar month to respond to your request. There might be instances where we may need to extend the response time. Where this happens, we will be in contact with you.
If we do not hold the information you have requested, we will inform you as soon as possible.
If, after receiving the response to your request you are not happy., in the first instance, an informal resolution should be sought in an attempt to clarify outstanding points or resolve any misunderstanding.
However, you do have the right to complain to us where we will carry out an internal review. If you think personal information is missing from the response, please clearly list what other information you think we hold and any other information relating to this information, e.g. dates or service area the information relates to. This will help us when we come to review our records.
The internal review will be carried out by a senior officer within one calendar month.
Please send your request for a review, explaining why you are requesting a review to subject.request@tewkesbury.gov.uk or alternatively in writing to:
Subject Access Request
Audit and Governance Team,
Tewkesbury Borough Council,
Public Services Centre,
Gloucester Road,
Tewkesbury
GL20 5TT
Or call our Corporate Services Officer on 01684 295010.
If you have already complained to us and you are still not happy with the handling of your response, then you can make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). You will need to raise this complaint with the ICO within three months of your last meaningful contact with us.
To make a complaint to the ICO, complete their online form on their website.
Alternatively, you can contact their helpline on 0303 123 1113. Their normal opening hours are Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm (excluding bank holidays).
To respond to your request, we might need to share your request, including your contact details, with one of our partner organisations. Please read our privacy statement for more information.