Privacy of your data in petitions
We have an established petition scheme, which is used by local residents, where they can seek to influence decisions made in their local area.
The handling of petitions falls under the 'public task' legal requirement for processing personal data under the Data Protection Act 2018 - necessary for activities that support or promote democratic engagement.
On receipt of a petition, we will process personal data solely for the purpose of considering it as part of the council's petition scheme and our public democratic process for councillors and council officers to respond to the issue(s) raised in a petition and hear people's views. Details of the signatories to a petition will not be published by the council or made available to third parties.
Should someone signing a petition later wish for their name, address and any personal details to be removed from a petition for privacy reasons, then this will be done upon receipt of a request in writing to the Head of Democratic Services at Hillingdon Council or by emailing democratic@hillingdon.gov.uk.
In respect of petitioners participating in the council's democratic process, this may include publishing details about the petition's objectives in a public report and inviting the lead petitioner (or their representative) to attend and speak at a public petition hearing or committee meeting to put forward their views, which may include their name and address. We may also publicly broadcast such meetings online, which may include personal statements made by those speaking.