How is my personal information protected when transferring fostering agencies?

Your personal information is protected during a fostering agency transfer through controlled information sharing, secure record handling and clear privacy procedures. The agencies should only disclose information that is relevant to assessing, supervising or safeguarding your fostering arrangements, and the receiving agency should use it for defined fostering-related purposes.

A transfer may involve more than basic contact details. Information can include your assessment and approval records, household circumstances, health information, financial details, identity and criminal record checks, references, training history, supervision notes and records relating to children placed with you. Some of this is particularly sensitive, so it should be handled with additional care and only accessed by professionals who need it for their role.

Information sharing between agencies is not based simply on convenience. The agencies should identify a lawful basis for each relevant use or disclosure and follow the principles of data protection law. Consent may be appropriate in some circumstances, but it is not the only possible lawful basis. Safeguarding responsibilities, legal duties and the need to manage your fostering approval may also be relevant. You should be told how your information is being used through the agencies’ privacy information.

In practice, protecting your information during the transfer includes:

• checking that the records are being sent to the correct fostering agency and authorised recipients;
• using approved secure systems or other protected methods to transfer documents rather than informal channels;
• limiting access to the social workers, safeguarding professionals, administrators and other authorised staff who require the information;
• checking that records are complete, relevant and up to date before they are relied upon; and
• keeping an audit trail of important disclosures and decisions where required by the agency’s procedures.

Information about a child in your care must also be handled carefully. The transfer may require relevant placement, safeguarding, health, education or contact information to be shared so that the child’s welfare is not put at risk. This does not give either agency a general right to circulate the child’s entire history. Information should be proportionate, and confidentiality should be maintained in relation to the child, birth family and other people mentioned in the records.

Your records do not necessarily disappear from the transferring agency as soon as you move. The former agency may need to retain documents for legal, regulatory, safeguarding or record-management reasons. The new agency will create or maintain its own records for ongoing supervision and support. Each agency should explain its retention arrangements, who controls the relevant records and how long different types of information are kept. Retaining a record does not mean that it should remain accessible to all staff or be used for an unrelated purpose.

You can ask the agencies for information about their privacy arrangements, including what has been shared, why it was needed, who will receive it and how it will be stored. You can also ask for inaccurate factual information to be corrected. Data protection rights can have limits where disclosure could affect safeguarding, another person’s privacy or a legal process, so the agency may need to assess each request carefully.

If you believe information has been sent to the wrong person, lost, altered or accessed without authorisation, tell the relevant agency promptly and provide the details you have. The agency should investigate the incident, consider whether it creates a risk to you or a child, take steps to contain it and explain any further action required. If you remain concerned, you can use the agency’s complaints or data-protection contact process and seek independent advice about your rights.

Before the transfer takes place, ask both agencies to confirm the information they need, the method they will use to share it and how any records relating to children in placement will be protected. This helps you understand the process without delaying the safeguarding and continuity information needed for responsible fostering supervision.