Complaints and other information
If a customer is not satisfied with the service they have received, the Council's Corporate Complaints Procedure can be followed. Complaints leaflets are also available from the Council offices.
The Housing Ombudsman can be contacted if further advice and support is needed on making a complaint to the Council.
Data protection
The Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK GDPR regulate the processing of information relating to individuals, which includes the obtaining, holding, using or disclosing of such information.
The Council needs to collect and use certain types of information about its service users in order to carry out its everyday business and to fulfil its objectives and its statutory functions.
The Council’s:
- Data Protection Policy sets out how it will protect special category and criminal convictions personal data; and
- The Homelessness Services (Housing Solutions) Privacy Notice and Housing Services (Landlord and Tenant) Privacy Notice explains that the Council collects personal information to administer these services.
Equality and diversity
The Council is committed to welcoming and valuing diversity, promoting equality of opportunity and tackling unlawful discrimination in accordance with the Equality Act 2010. The Council, in delivering this Strategy, will have regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty and ensure that no individual is discriminated against based on their sex, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, gender reassignment, race, religion, belief, disability or age.
The Public Sector Equality Duty is a duty on the Council and that responsibility cannot be delegated to a contractor/service provider and is a continuing duty.
This Domestic Abuse Housing Strategy has been subject to a Customer Access Review, to assess the impact it will have on equality. The review concluded that the Strategy will have a positive impact as it aims to advance equality of opportunity by being sensitive to the diverse needs of victims and survivors, and recognises that domestic abuse may affect some protected groups disproportionately.
Monitoring and evaluation
This Strategy will be implemented over a period of three years with regular checks to track progress on the action plan. It will be monitored internally and updates will be provided where necessary.
If you would like to access a PDF of this Strategy, or access it in another language, please call 01322 343434 or email housing.services@dartford.gov.uk.