No Recourse to Public Funds Privacy Notice

Who are we?

The Children and Families No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) Team are  a specialist city-wide social work team within Birmingham Children’s Trust that implements the Trust’s responsibility to provide accommodation and financial assistance to families with NRPF that arise from general duties to safeguard the welfare of children in need, as set out in the Children Act 1989. Such assessed assistance can only be provided to a family where there is a child in need and the Trust determines that it must use its power under this act to provide accommodation and/or financial support to meet the child’s assessed needs.

  1. Currently within the Trust’s geographical area;
  2. Their parents have no recourse to public funds due to their immigration status including Zambrano Carers and EEA nationals;
  3. Their parent(s) have no capital resources or other sources of basic income or support.

When a child's parent(s) have no recourse to public funds, they may be restricted from engaging in employment and/or accessing welfare benefits and other provision such as social housing.

The NRPF team provide assessed support to NRPF families in three ways:

  1. by securing suitable accommodation for them where that is necessary.
  2. by providing them with other services under Part III of the Children Act 1989 where their assessment supports a need for any such service; and
  3. by providing them with financial support set out in the Trust NRPF Financial Support policy.

The NRPF Team also work with other agencies and parts of the Council to check if each family is genuinely destitute. The team may undertake  Human Rights assessments to inform judgments about ending financial support where families can safely return to their home country.

Similarly, if a child supported in the NRPF Team comes into care for over four weeks, the child's case will transfer to the local Children in Care Team. NRPF Team will continue to be available to advise and maintain NRPF Connect etc where children are subject to a Child Protection Plan or in care in another team.

What personal data do we collect?

In order to provide you with high quality and safe services, which are relevant to your needs, the NRPF team will collect and process the following information on you:

  • name of children and parents/ guardians,
  • NHS Number
  • address and contact details including email and phone numbers of family and support network
  • D.O.B, age,
  • gender,
  • ethnicity,
  • religion
  • housing needs
  • financial details (bank statements, finances, benefits etc.)
  • language
  • free school meal eligibility
  • school information such as detail of EHCP plans
  • health conditions and disabilities.
  • Copies(scans)of birth certificates,
  • immigration documentation
  • details of passports
  • any other sources of information assessed as necessary

How do we collect the personal data?

A referral containing basic information is received in the Trust through the Front Door / CASS. During the course, of the assessment and intervention by Trust, the case social worker will seek further information directly from family and support networks to underpin the case management.

In addition, the social worker will collate and collect relevant personal data through the Trust Front Door as required with appropriate and relevant third parties and agencies (eg police, health, schools, home office as deemed appropriate).

Personal Data may also be collected through a request for support referral form by a third party, such as:

  • Self-referral by the family;
  • A charity/third Sector/voluntary organisation;
  • Local Authority/Trust services, e.g., Youth Offending Service;
  • A GP Practice or Health Visitor;
  • Housing (services or housing association);
  • Adult Social Care;
  • The Police;
  • A legal agency - Court, CAFCASS, Prison etc;
  • A Member of Parliament or Councillors;
  • A school.

Additionally, personal data is collected from Eclipse (The Trust’s social care case management system) including referral info, assessment, plans, reviews, outcomes, images, recordings and case information notes gained by case officer from e.g. following agencies

  • External Social care services
  • NRPF Home Office connect database
  • Early help
  • GP Surgery
  • Voluntary sector organisations
  • education services eg schools
  • Community health services (health visiting, family nurse partnership, school nursing, speech and language therapy, paediatric therapy)
  • SEND services (special educational needs)
  • Schools’ admissions
  • Early years (pre-school and nursery provision including payment to providers)
  • Education welfare and exclusions
  • Education psychology
  • Youth Offending Service and Probation
  • Family Intervention and support services
  • Mental health services
  • Third sector charities
  • Home Office
  • Pre-paid card provider
  • Other commissioned services

Lawful Basis

The NRPF Team relies on the following lawful bases when processing personal data

Public task

As a public authority, most of the NRPR’s processing is undertaken using Article 6(1)(e), the ‘public task’ condition. This applies when the processing is necessary for Trust to perform a task in the public interest. The 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 in this case protecting and safeguarding children is a duty under Children's Services.

Legal Obligation

Processing is necessary for compliance with legal obligation to which the Trust is subject to under the following:

  • Children’s Act 1989 & 2004
  • Human Rights Act 1998
  • Children Acts 1989 & 2004
  • Immigration & Asylum Act 1999
  • Nationality, Immigration & Asylum Act 2002
  • Child Poverty Act 2010
  • Equality Act 2010
  • Immigration Act 2014

Consent

The NRPF team relies on explicit written consent where support is requested under Section 17 of the Children Act as this is not a statutory intervention*.

The consent allows the NRPF team to undertake any appropriate lateral checks to underpin and evidence the implementing of NRPF S17 support for presenting families.

Withdrawal of consent - Where personal data is processed based on consent, the service user will have the right to withdraw that consent at any given time. they can withdraw their consent by informing the case officer.

Once the request to withdraw consent has been received, the NRPF terminate engagement and close the case accordingly. Where necessary, the social worker may signpost / refer the family to other universal services as deemed appropriate. Though the engagement will cease the NRPF team is required to retain the information in line with the Trust Retention Schedule.

*Should any safeguarding concerns present or be evidenced then this negates any wishes from the family to decline Trust intervention and Trust safeguarding procedures will then be followed.

Public Task

We use this lawful basis where 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.

For special category data, which is more sensitive information, we rely on the following:

  • Health and Social Care - we use it for the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems and services

What is your personal data used for?

The NRPF Team use the personal data collected for the following:

  • Undertake an assessment of need (family assessment)
  • Complete a section 17 assessment
  • Human Rights Assessment

Outside of the primary purpose of the collection, the personal data is also used for the following:

  • Derive statistics (Power BI)
  • Assess performance and to set targets for the services we provide
  • Internal Trust Performance reports
  • Anonymised data to support creation of national NRPF data set

How long we will we keep your personal data?

We have a legal obligation to keep business records of our involvement with you. The type of service you receive will determine how long we have to keep your personal data.

Currently all social care records children’s records have a minimum retention of 75 years.

Our corporate retention guidelines show how long we keep information for different services. Your records will be retained in accordance with the Trust’s records retention schedule.

Who will we share your personal information with?

The NRPR team may need to securely share your personal with other organisations.  For example, we may share your data with:

  • Home Office
  • Third sector charities such as immigration advisors
  • Other Trust Area SW teams
  • External LA’s
  • Courts
  • Police
  • Health
  • Education
  • MASH
  • Probation
  • Youth Offending

We share information to tell the other professionals that we are working with you, so that we can coordinate the work we do for you and fulfil our purposes above.  Any further information they request about you will only be given if you give your consent, or if we are required to share it by law or online with Trust Safeguarding procedures.

There are other times not linked to your care and support where we may need to share your information lawfully. These include:

  • Where there is a serious risk of harm to you or to others
  • Where there are concerns for the welfare of a child
  • For the Prevention or detection of crime
  • Where a court order requires us to share information about you

Is your personal information processed outside of the European Economic Community (EEC)?

We do not process your personal data outside of the EEC.

Marketing

At no time will your information be used or passed to others for marketing or sales purposes, or for any commercial use without your express consent.

What are your information rights?

Under UK GDPR you have rights which you can exercise free of charge which allow you to:

  • Know what we are doing with your information and why we are doing it.
  • Ask to see what information we hold about you (subject access request).
  • Ask us to correct any mistakes in the information we hold about you.
  • Object to direct marketing.
  • Make a complaint to the Information Commissioners Office.
  • Withdraw consent at any time (if applicable as this will not be possible in certain circumstances).

Depending on our reason for using your information you may also be entitled to:

  • Ask us to delete information we hold about you (if applicable)
  • Have your information transferred electronically to yourself or to another organisation.
  • Object to decisions being made that significantly affect you.
  • Object to how we are using your information.
  • Stop us using your information in certain ways.

We will always seek to comply with your request however we may be required to hold or use your information to comply with legal duties which will override the requirements of the GDPR. Please note, your request may delay or prevent us delivering a service to you.

For further information about your rights, including the circumstances in which they apply, see the guidance from the UK Information Commissioners Office (ICO) on individuals’ rights under GDPR.

To access our Corporate Privacy Notice please click here.