Drug and alcohol related death reviews service area privacy notice

1.0 Council contact details

1.1 North Northamptonshire Council

Registered Office:

Sheerness House
41 Meadow Street
Kettering
NN16 8TL

1.2 North Northamptonshire Council collects your personal information to support the work Public Health undertakes regarding the monitoring of trends and themes, learning and recommendations related to Drug and Alcohol Related Deaths (DARD) in Northamptonshire. This is with the aim of preventing future DARD cases, by identifying thematic inter-agency learning, recommendations and actions to be taken in partnership with Drug and Alcohol Related Death review panel members.

2.0 Information that we hold

2.1 We currently collect and process the following information for the drug and alcohol related deaths review management system which will record a range of personal data on deceased individuals, who have died in relation to drugs and alcohol. Data covers demographic information, location information, substance information and history of the individual including what is known by partner organisations. This can include the following.

Personal information related to the deceased persons (such as name, last known residential addresses, address/place of death, date of birth, date of death, demographic information). Information related to the deceased persons may also include, although non-exhaustive:

Location of death type
Substance type(s) and substance(s) involved
Problem substance
Physical health conditions and information
Mental health conditions and information
Multiple disadvantages and personal circumstances
Marital status
Religion
Ethnicity
Sexual orientation
Occupation
Criminal Justice information
Known services involved, and their history with the services
Services / Organisations contact and engagement
Timeline of contact with services / organisations
Drug and alcohol treatment information
Previous non-fatal overdose(s)
Circumstances of death
Substance-use history
If a substance user, the details of substance use, method of administration
Information on suicidal intent
Prescription / medication
Possible vulnerabilities - personal situations / factors
Coroner information, reports and conclusions, post-mortem and toxicology results, final death conclusion

2.2 To support this work, we currently collect and process the following personal information via the DARD review system:

Reportee names, organisational representative names, DARD panel member names
Organisation the reportee / representative / DARD panel member works for
Job title of the reportee / representative / DARD panel member
Email address of the reportee / representative / DARD panel member
Telephone number of the reportee / representative / DARD panel member

Should any additional information be required about the information you have submitted, we may want to follow this up and contact you via the details you have provided.

2.3 We will process your data as part of the work we undertake in the DARD review process, to prevent future DARD cases.

3.0 How the information is obtained

3.1 Most of the personal information we process is provided to us through one of the following means by NHS Digital under section 42 (4) of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007, as amended by section 287 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012, and Regulation 3 of the Health Service (Control of Patient Information) Regulations 2002.

3.2 There are a number of reasons why we need to collect this personal information. Generally, we collect and use personal information where it is necessary to improve public health.

3.3 We process this personal information under:

UK GDPR Article 6 (1)(e) processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller, in line with Public Health England’s Drug alerts and local drug information systems, ‘Issuing public health alerts about drugs’ guidance, and the Office for Health Improvement & Disparities’ Guidance on ‘Preventing drug and alcohol deaths: partnership review process’.

Access to civil registration data (mortality, births and vital statistics) DARs is to help local authorities understand their local population so that they can provide evidence-based interventions to improve public health and reduce health inequalities as directed in the Health and Social Care Act 2012.

In respect of special categories of personal data, the applicable UK GDPR Article 9 ground: (h) processing is necessary for the purposes of preventive or occupational medicine, for the assessment of the working capacity of the employee, medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems and services on the basis of [domestic law] or pursuant to contract with a health professional and subject to the conditions and safeguards referred to in paragraph 3.

4.0 What we do with the information

4.1 We use the information shared with us in order to support statutory public health duties, such as:

Duty to improve public health: Analyses of the data will be used to support the duty of the local authority under Section 12 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 to take appropriate steps to improve the health of the population, for example by providing information and advice, services and facilities, and incentives and assistance to encourage and enable people to lead healthier lives
Duty to support Health and Wellbeing Boards: Analyses of the data will be used to support the duty of the local authorities and Health and Wellbeing Board(s), under Section 194 of the 2012 Act to improve health and wellbeing, reduce health inequalities, and promote the integration of health and care services; the data will also be used to support the statutory duty of Health and Wellbeing Boards under Section 206 of the 2012 Act to undertake Pharmaceutical Needs Assessments
Duty to produce Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNAs) and Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategies (JHWBs): Analyses of the data will be used to support the duty of the local authority under Sections 192 and 193 of the 2012 Act to consult on and publish JSNAs and JHWSs that assess the current and future health and wellbeing needs of the local population
Duty to commission specific public health services: Analyses of the data will be used to support the local authority to discharge its duty under the Local Authorities Regulations 2013 to plan and provide NHS Health Check assessments, the National Child Measurement Programme, and open access sexual health services
Duty to provide public health advice to NHS commissioners: Analyses of the data will be used by Local Authorities to discharge its duty under the 2013 Regulations to provide a public health advice service to NHS commissioners
Duty to publish an annual public health report: Analyses of the data will be used by Directors of Public Health to support their duty to prepare and publish an annual report on the health of the local population under Section 31 the 2012 Act

4.2 We may share this information with:

West Northamptonshire Council in order to support the statutory duties of the Director of Public Health and enable the provision of evidence based Public Health services across both Unitary Authority areas
Northamptonshire Drug and Alcohol Related Death (DARD) review panel members and signatories, ad-hoc members, appointed service leads, advisors to the DARD panel and External Experts - information shared will be relevant to the case review, treated in a sensitive and confidential manner to maintain the privacy of the deceased and their family - all reports relating to the panel will be anonymised before being shared beyond the membership of the DARD panel
Information on the deceased persons may be shared with the Northamptonshire DARD review system and between DARD review partners, the Coroner’s Office, DARD review partners and panel members, and external agencies - this information may also be shared with the DARD review system and between DARD review partners when completing DARD review submission forms, enquiry forms, meetings and correspondences related to the DARD reviews, correspondence via email / telephone / paper, and from other partnerships / working groups
Information on the reportees, organisational representatives, and DARD panel members may be shared with the Northamptonshire DARD review system and between DARD review partners when completing DARD review submission forms, enquiry forms, meetings and correspondences related to the DARD reviews, correspondence via email / telephone / paper, and from other partnerships / working groups.

4.3 We do not use automated decision making for equalities processing. Automated decision-making is where decisions are made without any human influence on the outcome.

4.4 There is no profiling undertaken in relation to equalities processing. Profiling is where you analyse parts of an individual’s personality, behaviour, interests, and habits to identify their preferences, make predictions or decisions about them.

5.0 How long we keep this information for and how we securely dispose of it after use

5.1 We keep this information for purposes stated above for 6 years in line with the council’s retention schedules.

5.2 We will securely dispose of this information in line with retention periods.

6.0 How we store this information

6.1 This information is securely stored on the council’s systems, in which the servers are UK / EU based.

6.2 Information is also stored in the ‘QES’ online system.

7.0 Data protection rights

7.1 The law gives a number of rights to control what personal information is used by us and how we can use it. For further information, please see section 15 of the council’s Corporate Privacy Notice.

7.2 Please be aware that your rights may differ depending on the lawful basis for processing your personal data.

7.3 The right to withdraw consent - You can ask that we no longer use your details for this processing. If you wish to exercise this right, please contact the Data Protection Officer detailed in section 8.1 below.

8.0 Who to contact

8.1 If you would like further information about how we use your personal information, or you wish to exercise one of your data rights or you wish to complain about the use of your personal information please contact the Data Protection Officer.

8.2 If you are still dissatisfied once you have contacted the Data Protection Officer, you have the right to complain to the ICO.

The ICO’s address:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Helpline number: 0303 123 1113

9.0 Changes to this privacy notice

9.1 Privacy notices are live documents, which will be updated or revised in line with legislation.

9.2 This privacy notice was last updated on 20 March 2026.

Last updated 09 April 2026