Youth Offending Service Privacy Notice

The Council provides services for local communities and the people who live in them. Undertaking this work means that we must collect and use information about the people we provide services to and keep a record of those services. Because we collect and keep personal information about the people we must make sure that they know what we intend to do with their information and who it may be shared with. 

We have summarised in this privacy notice some of the key ways in which we use your personal information for Cwm Taf Youth Offending Service purposes. This information should be read with the Community and Children’s Service privacy notice and the Council’s corporate privacy notice. 

1. Who we are and what we do

Cwm Taf Youth Offending Service works with children aged between 8 and 17, their families and victims of crime, to reduce offending, reoffending or anti-social behaviour.

The YOS will get involved when a young person:

• Is thought to be at risk of committing offences.
• Commits anti-social behaviour
• Is charged with a crime and has to go to court
• Is convicted of a crime and given a sentence

The YOS also:

• Runs local crime prevention programmes
• Offers restorative justice and community reassurance programmes
• Helps parents/carers of children involved with the YOS
• Supports victims of crime or anti-social behaviour and their families 

The Cwm Taf YOS works in partnership with the following organisations and agencies:

• Rhondda Cynon Taf CBC
• Merthyr Tydfil CBC
• South Wales Police
• Cwm Taf University Health Board.
• Probation Service BAROD

2. What and whose personal information do we hold?

The YOS has a legal obligation to keep records about past and present young people who have been involved with the Youth Offending Service (YOS).

Our ‘prevention services’ also keep records about individuals and the interventions that they are offered to support their goals and prevent offending.

Our workers regularly do outreach work in the community and as part of this activity, will record significant information about any child working with the YOS.  This information might include details about any safety and wellbeing concerns, anti-social or offending behaviour, or behaviour which places others at risk.

We also keep records regarding the victims of crime. We have an obligation under the ‘victim code of practice’ to store victim information separately from the perpetrator of their crime. The information we collect is used to provide a holistic service to every victim who agrees to participate with the Service. 

The type of information we collect and use will vary depending on the needs and circumstances of each young person, their family/carers and any victims. 

Typically, the information we record includes;

• Name, address, date of birth, contact details, race, gender, ethnic origin and religion etc
• Details of any previous and/or current health issues and care and support needs that they may have
• Education information such as; school reports, exclusions, suspensions, achievements and any input from the educational psychology service
• Details of current (or historical) involvement with Children’s or Adults Social Care Services
• Information about any previous offences and previous contact with YOS professionals and support services
• Details of convictions and sentencing relating to any offending behaviour
• Relevant information about a person’s needs and personal circumstances
• Relevant information about planned interventions, goals and achievements
• Observations and professional opinions of the Youth Offending Service 

3. Where does the service get my information from?

Generally, we receive information from: 

• The young people we work with and their family (victims / parents / carers etc)
• The Police
• The Community Safety Team
• The Courts and Youth Bureau, for example if they request a report from the YOS
• Probation Services
• Youth Offending Services in other areas (where the young person has moved from one area to another or has a history of involvement with another YOS)
• Where necessary, we may request and receive information from the young persons:
• School / Teachers
• Youth Workers
•  Social Workers
• Health services (such as, but not limited to GP, CAMHS, Speech and Language)

• We will also generate our own information about the young person through our experience and observations of working with them for example when assessing their needs and reviewing their progress
• Any other professional deemed relevant to provide information, such as Barnados (Better Futures, Home Office (Single Competency Agency) 

4. What we will do with your personal information?

We will use the information which is shared with us to meet our statutory duties.  These services can include but are not limited to:

• Coordinating the provision of youth justice services across Cwm Taf
• Processing referrals received into the service and responding to the needs of the young people, families and any victims we support
• Effective management and oversight of a child involved with the service; by undertaking an assessment, formulating and reviewing plans, providing relevant interventions
• Providing an assessment of the needs of families/carers, formulating and reviewing plans and interventions which respond to needs
• Providing an assessment of the needs of victims, formulating and reviewing a plan and providing relevant support services (information and advice)
• Sharing intelligence if there is a risk of harm to themselves or others
• Developing a risk management plan, in partnership with the above partners to reduce the risks presented by the child by addressing factors for and against desistance
• Monitoring how a young person is doing and reporting on any problems that they may have whilst receiving support or whilst they are on remand or in custody
• Reviewing how a young person’s needs have been met and ensuring any services they receive continue to meet their needs
• If you have previously not had a YOS health assessment, we will access your medical records to find out if you have any outstanding health needs 

5. What is the legal basis for the use of this information?

Data Protection law says that we are allowed to use and share personal information where we have a proper and lawful reason for doing so. 

The legislation which states we can do this is; 

• Crime and Disorder Act 1998
• Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 Section 54 (This provides for the disclosure of information in compliance with the Victims Code of Practice)
• Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012
• Children Act 2004
• Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014
• National Standards for Youth Justice Services April 2019
• Anti-social behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014
• Section 55 of the Borders, Citizen and Immigration Act 2009 (named 'section 55 duty' here after

Please note that whilst we may ask for your consent (under the common law Duty of Confidentiality and the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014) to share your personal information with others who are involved in your care, consent is not the lawful basis for processing your information under data protection law. 

6. Does the service share my personal information with any other organisation?

In order to provide children, their families/carers and the victims of crime with the support and services that they require, we may need to share personal information with trusted third party organisations, agencies and professionals who can help reduce the risk of re-offending/harm to self and others and provide access to the services they may need.

These may include:

Other Council services such as:

• Social Work Services
• Children and Young Peoples Services
• Housing Services
• Education Services (including Schools and Additional Learning Needs EP Service)
• Public Health and Protection Services
• Multi-Agency Children’s and Adult’s Safeguarding Teams

Health services and health professionals such as:

• G.P.
• Community Nursing Services
• Substance Misuse Services
• Mental Health Services
• Wales Forensic Adolescent Consultation and Treatment Service
• Public Health Wales
• Neurodevelopment
• Speech & Language

Other organisations such as:

• Young Offenders Institutions (YOI)
• Secure Training Centres (STC)
• Secure Children’s Homes
• Youth Offending Services in other areas
• Police (including British Transport Police)
• Probation Service
• Barnados (Better Futures and ICTGS)
• Careers Wales
• Education, College and Training providers
• Sport and Leisure providers e.g. Boxing Club, Cardiff City Football Club
• Employers
• Drug and Alcohol Support Services (eg BAROD or any other local provider)
• Single Competency Agency
• New Pathways
• Housing Providers
• Exchange Counselling Services
• Victim Focus

Regulators and governing Bodies:

• Youth Justice Board for England and Wales (see below)
• HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS)
• Welsh Government
• Home Office
• Youth Custody Service (YCS) 

We share specific information with the Youth Justice Board on a quarterly basis. This includes:

• Personal information that is requested by the Youth Justice Board
• Ad-hoc information required occasionally by the Youth Justice Board for research purposes and to improve practice, which may include:
  • case level data exported from YOS’s case management systems or collected in a bespoke format specified by the YJB
  • your case filesThe information is provided to the Youth Justice Board to:
• Monitor the operation of the youth justice system;
• Provide youth justice services;
• Advise the Secretary of State on the operation of the Youth Justice Service.
• Promote good practice.
• Commission research.
• Annually assess the demand for secure and other accommodation.
• Share non-personal data with other organisations.

7. How long will my information be kept?

Records created by the YOS will be kept until the young persons 25^th Birthday.

Records created by Children’s Services will be kept until the 75^th anniversary of the young persons18^th birthday. 

Records created by Adult Social Care Services will kept for a minimum of 7 years after involvement with any social care service has ended. 

Victim records created by the YOS are deleted from the system once work with YOS is completed.

8. Your information, your rights

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) outlines your rights, including the right to access the personal information the services hold about you. 

Click here https://www.rctcbc.gov.uk for further information on your information rights and how to exercise them.

9. Contact us 

If you have any concerns or would like to know more about how the service is using your personal information please contact us in one of the following ways: