Coroner’s Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy specifically for the Senior Coroner and Assistant Coroners for South London jurisdiction, covering the London Boroughs of Croydon, Bromley, Bexley & Sutton.

This privacy policy explains:

• how personal information is obtained
• what it is used for
• who it might be shared with and why
• how long it is kept.

The information you provide helps us deliver our services effectively.

Personal and special category data

The categories of personal data we are processing are:

• name
• date of birth
• medical history from the GP and hospitals
• cause of death
• family details
• lifestyle and social circumstances
• addictions
• financial details
• employment and education details
• occupation and place of work
• offences and alleged offences contained in police report
• physical or mental health details
• racial or ethnic origin
• religious or other beliefs
• criminal proceedings, outcomes and sentences
• results of DNA reports and finger reports results
• juror information – name, address, bank account details – to pay expenses
• witnesses – name, address, bank account details – to pay expenses.

 

Data Controller

The Senior Coroner for the South London Jurisdiction is the data controller for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (Regulation (EU) 2016/679).

You can find details for the London Borough of Croydon Data Protection Officer (DPO) on our website https://www.croydon.gov.uk/democracy/data-protection-freedom-information

We ensure that your personal data is accurate, processed fairly and lawfully, kept secure and retained for no longer than is necessary.

The legal basis for processing personal data

The Senior Coroner must investigate all deaths which are violent or unnatural, where the cause of death is unknown, and where a death occurs while in custody or state detention.

Your personal data is collected to enable us to administer the running of the Coroner’s Office and carry out our statutory responsibilities under the different legislative frameworks.

In addition, we collect your personal data for:

• service delivery
• statistical analysis and reporting
• safeguarding (future prevention of death).

How we use your personal information

When deciding what personal information to collect, use and hold, we are committed to making sure that we will:

• only collect, hold and use personal information where it is necessary and fair to do so
• keep your personal information secure and safe
• securely dispose of any personal information when it is no longer needed.

We collect this data because we are required to under:

• the Coroners Act 1988
• the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and its subordinate legislation
• other legislation appertaining to the administrative and judicial functions of the Coroner.

Who we share your information with

As inquests are accessible to the public, this data will be shared with anyone attending the proceedings, including the press.

The Senior Coroner may share data with:

London Borough of Croydon

London Borough of Bromley

London Borough of Bexley

London Borough of Sutton

The Chief Coroner

MET Police

Pathologists

Funeral directors

Other coroners – specifically those where cases are often transferred to or from

NHS Hospital Trusts

Clinical Commissioning Groups covering Sussex

Ministry of Justice

London Fire Brigade

British Transport Police

London Ambulance Service

Crown Prosecution Service

Health and Safety Executive

GPs

Accident investigation branches

Registration of Births and Deaths office staff

Coroner’s Court Support Service

Local authority support staff

Cemeteries and crematoria

Families affected, appointed executor representative of the person whose personal data we are processing

Financial organisations, such as insurance companies and pension schemes

Public Health

Other organisations, which from time to time are involved with an investigation and who are required to provide evidence or assistance to the Coroner.

We primarily receive data from MET Police, NHS Hospital Trusts GPs and Registry Offices; however, data will be received from other organisations listed above. The data we have includes personal details and/or sensitive classes of data.

We will not share data with third parties for marketing purposes and it will not be transferred abroad.

How long we keep your personal data

Deaths that are reported to the Senior Coroner for South London Jurisdiction are held for a minimum of 15 years.