VEHICLE CERTIFICATION AGENCY

INFORMATION CHARTER

VCA is an Executive Agency of the Department for Transport offering Type Approval services to the automotive industry worldwide. In addition to this statutory work VCA provides a range of Management System Certification services and conducts a range of enforcement activities on behalf of various parts of Government.

Working mainly in a Business to Business environment, VCA holds only a small amount of personal data on the UK population. Nevertheless we take our responsibility to comply with the Data Protection Act very seriously and understand how important it is to you for us to protect your privacy.

Therefore if we ask for your personal information we will:

let you know why we need it
only ask for what we need, and not collect excessive or irrelevant information
make sure nobody has access to it who should not
let you know if we share it with other organisations to give you better public services, and whether you can say no
only keep it for as long as we need to
not make it available for commercial use without your permission

In return, to help us keep your information reliable and up to date, we ask you to:

Give us accurate information
Tell us as soon as possible of any changes, such as new address

How to find out what personal information we hold about you

You can find out if we hold any personal information about you by making a subject access request under the Data Protection Act (DPA). If we do hold information about you we will:

give you a description of it
tell you why we are holding it
tell you who it could be disclosed to
and let you have a copy of the information in an intelligible form.

To help us give you the information you want, we need you to tell us which part of our Agency you have been dealing with and why you believe we hold that information.

The DPA allows us to charge £10 for responding to a subject access request. To find out how to make a subject access request please see Requests under the Data Protection Act.

When we share information

We are committed to providing the best and most efficient service to our customers. We may share personal information within our organisation or with other bodies where it would not be inconsistent with the purposes for which we collected it, and/or where we are required or permitted to do so by law.

There are some cases where we can pass on your information without telling you, for example to prevent and detect crime or to produce anonymised statistics. In all cases - whether data is shared internally or externally - VCA will act in accordance with the DPA and other relevant legislation.

To find out more about who we share information with, please see Who we share information with and why (page opens in a new browser window)

The training and guidance we give to our staff

All new staff are given training about data protection as part of their induction, and our intranet provides guidance on all aspects of information handling. From autumn 2008 the Agency will be rolling out general awareness training to all our staff, and those in positions with formal responsibility for information handling will receive specific training.

You can see the guidance provided to staff in the Agency by clicking here Data Protection Act: Guidance on compliance. This explains the importance of checking that the information we hold is accurate and up to date.

How to make a complaint

If you are unhappy with the way we have handled your personal information and wish to make a complaint, please write to the Data Protection Officer at the VCA. We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days and let you have a full response within 20 working days. If it is not possible to respond fully within this timescale, we will write and let you know why and say when you should receive a full response.

For more information

Please contact: datahandling@vca.gov.uk or write to the:

Data Protection Officer
Vehicle Certification Agency

No 1 The Eastgate Office Centre
Eastgate Road
Bristol
BS5 6XX
United Kingdom

For independent advice about data protection, privacy and data sharing issues, you can contact the:

Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF

Phone: 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 524510 Website: www.ico.gov.uk

Other

Requests under the Data Protection Act

If you wish to request personal information that you believe we hold on you, you should make a Subject Access Request to the:

Data Protection Officer
Vehicle Certification Agency

No 1 The Eastgate Office Centre
Eastgate Road
Bristol
BS5 6XX
United Kingdom

You will need to provide two forms of identification (e.g. passport, driving licence) and may be asked to pay a fee.

Who we share information with and why

(page opens in a new browser window)

Information on who the Department for Transport and its agencies share information with and the purpose of this sharing.

Published: 01 July 2008

Data Protection Act: Guidance on compliance

Notes for guidance on complying with the Data Protection Act 1998.

Published: 01 July 2008