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Parking privacy notice

Find out more about the types of information collected by our parking services, how it is stored, displayed, used and retained.

Parking Services

Purpose for processing your information

Westminster City Council as Data Controller is responsible for collecting and processing information required for statutory reasons under the Traffic Management Act 2004 (and associated regulations), the London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2003 (and associated regulations). This includes the provision of administrative and statutory services for:

  • the enforcement of parking and moving traffic regulations and restrictions
  • the administration of parking permits, kerbside permissions, suspensions and skip licences
  • the administration of paid for parking services

What types of information do we collect?

We collect the following information:

  • vehicle registration mark
  • personal name and addresses
  • business name and addresses
  • telephone numbers
  • email addresses
  • payment details
  • any other relevant information provided in conjunction with appealing a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) for example: vehicle breakdown/repair reports, police reports, evidence of deliveries/collections
  • any other relevant information provided when arranging a suspension, skip licence or applying for a parking permit​

Some examples of when we collect this information include:

When a vehicle is seen in contravention of parking or moving traffic restrictions:

  • we may contact the DVLA to obtain the Registered Keeper details to issue a PCN/Notice to Owner
  • if the vehicle is hired/leased then we may request a copy of the hire/lease agreement and the hirer’s driving licence details from the registered keeper of the vehicle to enable the transfer of liability
  • if the registered keeper has sold the vehicle, then we may obtain details of the new keeper from the registered keeper at the time of contravention

When applying for a parking permit:

  • we may request you supply documentation to enable us to verify your identity, residency at a specific address and ownership of a vehicle

When applying for a parking suspension:

  • we may request you supply information regarding the purpose of the suspension and details of any applicable highways permits/licences

We will ensure that any personal data in our care will be kept safe and that where your information is disclosed to a third party; we will seek to ensure that the third party has sufficient systems and procedures in place to prevent the loss or damage of personal data.

We will not use your personal data for third party marketing purposes without your prior express consent.

How we collect your information

We collect information in a number of ways including:

  • by letter, application form, email, face-to-face, telephone, online systems/forms
  • information as provided by external bodies such as the DVLA
  • from third parties such as hire and leasing vehicle companies and businesses
  • information from enforcement agencies

Who the information is shared with

  • Westminster City Council officers from Parking Services, Highways Department, Complaints Team and the Corporate Anti-Fraud Service
  • Westminster City Council officers from other council departments in relation to matters pertaining to policy and planning
  • The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea
  • London Borough of Camden
  • London Councils
  • Traffic Enforcement Centre, Northampton County Court
  • London Tribunals
  • Northgate Public Services
  • Cobalt Telephone Technologies Limited
  • Videalert
  • Cashless parking providers; RingGo, Passport
  • MBA Group
  • MasterCard
  • KeyIVR
  • Marston Holdings
  • Farthestgate Limited
  • Integrity Print Limited
  • Parseq Limited
  • APCOA
  • European Parking Collection
  • The Cabinet Office for data matching processes in respect of The National Fraud Initiative
  • Law enforcement agencies in connection with any investigation to help prevent unlawful activity

How long do we keep your information?

We will only retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

We may also anonymise some personal data you provide to us to ensure that you cannot be identified and use this data to allow the council to effectively target and plan the provision of services.

In general information related to:

  • the issuance of PCNs and Enforcement Notices may be kept for up to six years in order to pursue debt under the Traffic Management Act 2004 and related parking and moving traffic contravention legislation
  • registered keeper details will be redacted within one year of a PCN being closed
  • photographs and camera footage will be deleted within 60 days of a PCN being closed
  • recordings of telephone calls made to Parking Services may be kept for up to three months
  • parking permit and suspensions information may be held for as long as is required to provide an effective service to the customer

How you can access, update or correct your information

​The data protection legislation allows you to find out what information is held about you, on paper and computer records. This is known as ‘right of subject access’ and applies to your personal records. If you wish to see a copy of your records, you should contact the council’s data protection officer. You are entitled to receive a copy of our records free of charge, within one month.

A data redaction will be carried out by the council if it receives a request to delete the personal details that are currently being held in relation to an historic (cancelled or settled) PCN.

In certain circumstances, access to your records may be limited, for example, if the records you have asked for contain information relating to another person.

The accuracy of your information is important to us to be able to provide relevant services more quickly. If you change your address or email address, or if any of your circumstances change or any of the other information we hold is inaccurate or out of date please email our customer relations team: [email protected]

Complaints

If you need to make a complaint specifically about the way we have processed your data you should in the first instance use our corporate complaints policy. If your complaint is relating to the processing of your personal data you should contact our data protection team at: [email protected]. If we fail to respond properly, you can direct your concerns to the Information Commissioner's Office.

Further information

If you would like to know more about how we use your information, or if for any reason you do not wish to have your information used in any of the ways described in this notice, please tell us.

Contact Westminster City Council's data protection officer, Dr Fatima Zohra by emailing: [email protected].

Concessionary transport

Westminster City Council, as a Data Controller, is responsible for collecting and processing information related to the provision of administrative services including: 

  • the administration of Blue Badge and Westminster White Badge applications 
  • the administration of Disabled Persons Freedom Pass applications 
  • the administration of Taxicard applications 

We require this data for statutory reasons under the primary legislation governing the schemes, section 21 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 (the 1970 Act); and sections 115 and 117 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (the 1984 Act). The Blue Badge Scheme Local Authority Guidance (England), and the Transport Act

We collect the following information

  • vehicle registration mark
  • personal name and addresses
  • date of birth
  • telephone numbers
  • email addresses
  • payment details
  • proof of identity
  • proof of residency
  • ethnicity
  • national insurance number

As well as personal information, we may collect special categories of personal data, where applicable, and share additional information in relation to your application including:

  • medical assessments
  • medical information
  • allowance/benefit information

The information is collected to assess eligibility for the concessionary travel schemes. We will strive to ensure that any personal data in our care will be kept safe and that where your information is disclosed to a third party, we will seek to ensure that the third party has sufficient systems and procedures in place to prevent the loss or damage of personal data.

We will not use your personal data for third party marketing purposes without your prior express consent.

How we collect your information

We collect information in a number of ways, for example:

  • by letter
  • application form
  • email
  • face-to-face
  • telephone
  • online systems/forms

Who the information is shared with

  • Westminster City Council officers from Parking Services, Complaints Team and the Corporate Anti-Fraud Service
  • Westminster City Council officers from other Council departments in relation to matters pertaining to policy and planning
  • London Councils
  • other local authorities
  • Northgate Public Services
  • Able 2
  • MBA Group
  • Marston Holdings
  • MasterCard
  • Parseq
  • The Cabinet Office for data matching processes in respect of The National Fraud Initiative
  • Law enforcement agencies in connection with any investigation to help prevent unlawful activity

How long do we keep your information?

We will only retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

We may also anonymise some personal data you provide to us to ensure that you cannot be identified and use this data to allow the council to effectively target and plan the provision of services.

In general, information related to:

  • Blue/White Badges, may be kept up to four years
  • Freedom Passes, may be kept up to six years
  • Taxicards, may be kept up to seven years
  • recordings of telephone calls may be kept for up to three months

How you can access, update or correct your information

The data protection legislation allows you to find out what information is held about you, on paper and computer records. This is known as ‘right of subject access’ and applies to your personal records. If you wish to see a copy of your records, you should contact the council’s data protection officer. You are entitled to receive a copy of our records free of charge, within one month.

In certain circumstances, access to your records may be limited, for example, if the records you have asked for contain information relating to another person.

The accuracy of your information is important to us to be able to provide relevant services more quickly. If you change your address or email address, or if any of your circumstances change or any of the other information we hold is inaccurate or out of date please email our customer relations team: [email protected].

Complaints

If you need to make a complaint specifically about the way we have processed your data you should in the first instance use our corporate complaints policy. If your complaint is relating to the processing of your personal data you should contact our data protection team by emailing: [email protected]. If we fail to respond properly, you can direct your concerns to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO.

Further information

If you would like to know more about how we use your information, or if for any reason you do not wish to have your information used in any of the ways described in this notice, please tell us.

Contact Westminster City Council's data protection officer, Dr Fatima Zohra by emailing: [email protected].

Published: 22 December 2020

Last updated: 29 August 2023