Highways and Transport Service
To comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), where personal data relating to a data subject is collected, Lancashire County Council would like to provide you with the following details.
Contact details of this Lancashire County Council service:
Note that for queries intended for this specific service, do not contact the Data Protection Officer (DPO) mailbox, instead please direct your query to the following point of contact:
Contact - Lancashire County Council
Reasons for processing your personal data
Lancashire County Council's Highways and Transport Service processes personal data to enable it to plan, deliver, manage, maintain, monitor, evaluate and improve highways, transport and related infrastructure services across Lancashire. This includes carrying out the council's statutory functions, exercising its public responsibilities, and supporting evidence-based decision-making.
We may process personal data to:
Plan, design, develop, manage and maintain highways, transport networks, structures, public rights of way, active travel infrastructure and related assets.
Monitor and analyse how roads, footways, cycle routes and transport services are used, including through traffic surveys, transport surveys, journey time studies, origin-destination surveys, parking surveys and active travel monitoring.
Understand travel behaviour, traffic flows, transport demand and network performance to inform transport planning, policy development and investment decisions.
Design, deliver, monitor and evaluate transport schemes, highway improvements, road safety initiatives, accessibility improvements and sustainable transport projects.
Develop business cases, secure external funding, undertake statutory reporting and demonstrate the effectiveness of transport investments and public services.
Manage consultations, engagement exercises, surveys, questionnaires and feedback activities with residents, businesses, stakeholders and transport users.
Respond to enquiries, requests for service, complaints, comments, incidents and correspondence relating to highways and transport matters.
Process applications, permits, licences, notices and approvals associated with highways and transport functions.
Assess road safety issues, investigate transport-related concerns and support traffic management and network management duties.
Commission, manage and oversee work undertaken by contractors, consultants, survey providers, technology suppliers and other organisations acting on the council's behalf.
Produce statistics, reports, dashboards, forecasts, performance measures and other analytical outputs to support operational management and strategic planning.
Share information where necessary with government departments, funding bodies, partner authorities, transport organisations and other stakeholders to support legitimate transport-related purposes.
Maintain appropriate records, governance arrangements, audit trails and service management information.
Protect public funds, investigate potential fraud, misuse or unlawful activity, and support legal, regulatory, enforcement and compliance activities where necessary.
Safeguard the security, resilience and effective operation of the highway and transport network and associated services.
Carry out research, analysis, service improvement and future planning activities using appropriately managed and, where possible, anonymised or aggregated information.
In most cases, personal data is processed only where necessary to support the delivery of highways and transport services, with the aim of improving transport infrastructure, safety, accessibility, network performance and the experience of residents, businesses and visitors across Lancashire.
Use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies
We are increasingly utilising AI technologies to process your personal data. This is primarily utilised within Lancashire County Council using Microsoft Copilot Web and Microsoft Copilot 365. Please consult our Artificial Intelligence privacy notice for more details of how we use these specific platforms.
The Highways and Transport Service may use approved AI technologies to support the delivery and improvement of our services. This may include:
Analysing highways, traffic, transport and active travel data to identify trends, patterns and network performance issues.
Assisting with transport surveys, including the classification and counting of vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists and other transport users from survey footage and datasets.
Supporting transport planning, highway maintenance, road safety assessments, traffic management, infrastructure improvement and scheme evaluation activities.
Summarising survey responses, consultation feedback, complaints, enquiries and correspondence.
Generating reports, briefings, dashboards, meeting notes, business cases and management information.
Assisting officers with research, information retrieval, document drafting, data analysis and administrative tasks using tools such as Microsoft Copilot Web and Microsoft Copilot 365.
Identifying anomalies, trends and insights within transport, performance and operational datasets to help inform service improvements and investment decisions.
Supporting the efficient management of highways and transport projects, contracts, consultations and stakeholder engagement activities.
Where AI is used, it acts as a decision-support tool only. Any outputs are reviewed by appropriately trained officers and are used to support, rather than replace, human judgement and decision-making. Personal data is only processed through approved systems and in accordance with Lancashire County Council's information governance, security and data protection requirements.
Legal basis for processing personal data
The Highways and Transport Service carries out a wide range of functions. Depending on the activity being undertaken, we may rely on one or more of the following UK GDPR lawful bases for processing personal data:
Consent – Article 6(1)(a) where you voluntarily provide information for specific purposes, such as:
Transport surveys.
Travel diaries.
Roadside or route user interviews.
Consultations and engagement activities.
Requests to receive updates or further communications.
Legal Obligation – Article 6(1)(c) where we are required to process personal data to comply with a legal or regulatory requirement, including statutory duties, audit requirements, investigations, reporting obligations, health and safety requirements, and responding to lawful requests from regulatory bodies or law enforcement agencies.
Public Task – Article 6(1)(e) (our primary lawful basis) where processing is necessary for the exercise of the Council's official functions and responsibilities relating to:
Highway management, maintenance and improvement.
Transport planning and policy development.
Traffic management and network management.
Road safety activities and investigations.
Public rights of way and active travel infrastructure.
Transport surveys, monitoring and analysis.
Parking, travel and transport scheme management.
Service delivery, performance monitoring and public consultation activities.
These functions are supported by legislation including:
Highways Act 1980.
Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.
Transport Act 2000.
Traffic Management Act 2004.
Local Government Act 2000.
Other relevant legislation relating to local authority highways and transport responsibilities.
Legal basis for processing special categories of personal data
The Highways and Transport Service does not routinely collect special category personal data. However, in limited circumstances we may process this information where it is necessary for transport planning, accessibility, equality monitoring, consultation activities, service improvement, health and safety, accident investigations, or to support our statutory functions. This may include information relating to disability, health conditions, ethnicity or other protected characteristics.
Where special category personal data is processed, we will normally rely on one or more of the following UK GDPR Article 9 conditions:
Explicit Consent – Article 9(2)(a) where you voluntarily provide special category information as part of a survey, consultation, engagement activity or other optional service interaction.
Substantial Public Interest – Article 9(2)(g) (our primary lawful basis where special category data is processed for highways and transport functions) where processing is necessary to support:
Transport planning and network management.
Highway design, maintenance and improvement.
Road safety assessments and investigations.
Accessibility and inclusion assessments.
Active travel monitoring and evaluation.
Consultation, research and evidence-gathering activities.
Delivery of statutory local authority functions and public services.
Where we rely on this condition, it is supported by the Data Protection Act 2018 and relevant legislation governing the Council's highways and transport functions, including the Highways Act 1980, Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, Transport Act 2000, Traffic Management Act 2004 and Local Government Act 2000.
Wherever possible, special category personal data will be minimised, access will be restricted to authorised personnel, and information will be anonymised or aggregated at the earliest practical opportunity.
Information we process about you
Depending on the highways or transport service being delivered, we may process the following categories of personal information:
Name, address, telephone number and email address.
Date of birth, age range or other demographic information where relevant.
Records of enquiries, complaints, requests for service, correspondence and communications with us.
Information provided through consultations, surveys, questionnaires, travel diaries or engagement activities.
Feedback, opinions and comments relating to highways, transport services and transport schemes.
Location, journey, travel pattern and transport usage information.
Images, photographs, video footage and CCTV or survey recordings that may capture individuals, vehicles or transport network users.
Vehicle information, including vehicle registration numbers, vehicle type and vehicle movement data where required for transport and traffic management purposes.
Traffic, parking, active travel and transport survey information.
Audio recordings, interview notes, transcripts and meeting records where applicable.
Information relating to permits, licences, applications, notices, consultations, contracts, claims or other service transactions.
Financial information where necessary for payments, charges, grants, compensation, procurement or contractual arrangements.
Details relating to accidents, incidents, highway reports, road safety concerns or investigations.
Employment, business or organisational details where individuals are acting on behalf of a company, contractor, developer, consultant, partner organisation or community group.
Records of your interactions with our websites, online forms, digital services and communication systems.
System access records, audit logs and security information relating to the use of our services.
In limited circumstances, we may also process special category personal data where this is necessary and proportionate for accessibility assessments, equality monitoring, consultations, service improvement activities, road safety investigations or the delivery of our statutory functions. This may include information about disability, health conditions, ethnicity or other protected characteristics.
We will only collect and use personal information that is relevant and necessary for the specific highways and transport service being provided.
Recipients of the personal data that we process about you
Depending on the service being provided, and where it is lawful and necessary to do so, we may share your personal information with:
Other Lancashire County Council services and departments.
District, borough, city, parish and town councils within Lancashire (for example Preston City Council, Lancaster City Council, Chorley Council and South Ribble Borough Council).
Government departments and public bodies, including the Department for Transport, National Highways and other statutory authorities, where required.
Transport authorities, regional transport bodies and neighbouring local authorities.
Contractors, consultants, survey providers and engineering organisations working on our behalf.
Technology suppliers, hosting providers and software providers that support the delivery of highways and transport services.
Utility companies, developers, construction partners and organisations undertaking works on or affecting the highway network.
Emergency services, including the police, fire and rescue service, and ambulance service, where appropriate.
Regulatory bodies, auditors, inspectors and professional advisers.
Funding bodies, grant providers and organisations responsible for monitoring or evaluating transport schemes and investments.
Organisations involved in consultations, engagement activities, research, statistics and transport planning projects, where there is a lawful basis to do so.
Courts, tribunals, law enforcement agencies and other public authorities where disclosure is required by law or is necessary for the prevention or detection of crime, legal proceedings, public safety or safeguarding purposes.
Members of the public or third parties where information is published as part of a statutory process, consultation or legal requirement, subject to applicable data protection and confidentiality considerations.
Where information is shared with third-party organisations acting on our behalf, we will ensure appropriate contractual, technical and organisational safeguards are in place to protect your personal information.
Where possible, information shared outside the Council will be limited to what is necessary for the purpose and may be anonymised, pseudonymised or aggregated.
Any transfers to another country
Most Highways and Transport Service processing takes place within the United Kingdom. However, some personal data may be transferred to, stored in, or accessed from countries outside the UK where we use approved cloud-based systems, software platforms, Microsoft services, technology suppliers, contractors or specialist service providers that support the delivery of our highways and transport functions.
These transfers may involve:
Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Copilot services.
Cloud-hosted storage, survey, analytics and reporting platforms.
Technology and software providers supporting highways, transport and traffic management activities.
Suppliers providing system maintenance, technical support or data hosting services.
Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, Lancashire County Council will ensure that appropriate legal, technical and organisational safeguards are in place to protect your information and comply with UK data protection legislation.
Retention periods
Lancashire County Council will only store your information for as long as is legally required or in situations where there is no legal retention period they will follow established best practice.
File type | Description | Security | Retention period |
|---|---|---|---|
Correspondence and emails | Emails, letters and communications relating to highways and transport services | Stored within secure council systems with access controls | 6 years from date of email |
Service requests | Customer contact records | Stored within approved council systems with restricted access | 6 years from date of request. |
Service reports | Service reports | Stored within approved council systems with restricted access | 6 years from closure |
Service enquiries | Service enquiries | Stored within approved council systems with restricted access | 6 years from date of enquiry |
Service complaints | Customer complaints | Stored within approved council systems with restricted access | 10 years from closure |
Applications, permits, licences and notices | Information submitted to support highways and transport related applications and approvals | Stored securely within council and supplier systems | 6 years from closure |
Consultation and engagement records | Consultation responses, questionnaires, surveys and feedback | Stored securely with access restricted to authorised personnel | Deleted as soon as consultation and reporting activities have completed, up to 12 months after the survey is completed |
Transport survey response data | Information provided through travel diaries, interviews and voluntary surveys | Encrypted storage with restricted access | Up to 12 months after project completion, then anonymised or securely deleted unless required for a longer lawful purpose |
Contact details collected for survey follow-up | Names, email addresses and telephone numbers provided for follow-up communications | Secure storage with restricted access | Deleted as soon as no longer required, within 3 months of survey participation. |
Audio recordings | Interview or consultation recordings and associated transcripts | Encrypted storage with restricted access | Deleted after transcription or analysis, within 1 month of the recording. |
Transport survey video footage | Traffic, active travel and transport survey footage that may capture individuals or vehicles | Securely stored within approved systems with restricted access | No longer than 2 years unless there is a justified business need for longer retention |
Vehicle registration and ANPR data | Vehicle registration marks and journey analysis data collected as part of transport surveys | Encrypted and access controlled | No longer than a maximum of 2 years from when the data was collected depending on the survey purpose |
Incident, road safety and investigation records | Information relating to accidents, safety investigations and related activities | Stored securely with access limited to authorised staff | 7 years from closure |
Contract and supplier records | Information relating to contractors, consultants and service providers | Stored within secure council systems | 6 years from end of contract |
System logs and audit records | Records of access to systems and services | Stored within secure ICT systems | Retained for 12 months for security and audit purposes |
Statistical, anonymised and aggregated transport data | Reports, counts, trends, dashboards and transport planning datasets that no longer identify individuals | Stored securely within council systems | May be retained long-term for planning, monitoring, benchmarking and historical analysis purposes – Review annually and delete when no longer required. |
Your rights
You have certain rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), these are those rights:
to be informed via Privacy Notices such as this.
to withdraw your consent. If we are relying on your consent to process your data, then you can remove this at any point.
of access to any personal information the council holds about yourself. To request a copy of this information you must make a subject access request in writing. You are entitled to receive a copy of your personal data within 1 calendar month of our receipt of your subject access request. If your request is complex then we can extend this period by a further two months, if we need to do this, we will contact you. You can request a subject access request, either via a letter or via an email to Information Governance Team, address below.
of rectification, we must correct inaccurate or incomplete data within one month.
to erasure. You have the right to have your personal data erased and to prevent processing unless we have a legal obligation to process your personal information.
to restrict processing. You have the right to suppress processing. We can retain just enough information about you to ensure that the restriction is respected in future.
to data portability. We can provide you with your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine readable form when asked.
to object. You can object to your personal data being used for profiling, direct marketing or research purposes.
in relation to automated decision making and profiling, to reduce the risk that a potentially damaging decision is taken without human intervention.
If you want to exercise any of these rights, then you can do so by contacting:
Information Governance Team
Lancashire County Council
PO Box 78
County Hall
Preston
PR1 8XJ
Email: dpo@lancashire.gov.uk
To ensure that we can deal with your request as efficiently as possible you will need to include your current name and address, proof of identity (a copy of your driving licence, passport or two different utility bills that display your name and address), as much detail as possible regarding your request so that we can identify any information we may hold about you, this may include your previous name and address, date of birth and what council service you were involved with.
Identity and contact details of the data controller
Lancashire County Council, PO Box 78 County Hall, Fishergate, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 8XJ
Contact details of the data protection officer
Our Data Protection Officer is Joanne Winston. You can contact her at dpo@lancashire.gov.uk or Lancashire County Council, PO Box 78 County Hall, Fishergate, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 8XJ
Further information
For more information about how we use personal information see Lancashire County Council's full privacy notice.
If you wish to raise a complaint on how we have handled your personal data, you can contact the Information Governance team who will investigate the matter.
Lancashire County Council, PO Box 78 County Hall, Fishergate, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 8XJ or email: dataprotection@lancashire.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are processing your personal data not in accordance with the law you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).