How is my personal information handled during the foster carer application process?

Your information is handled as part of a formal fostering assessment, not as a general enquiry record. The fostering service uses relevant details to establish whether you can provide safe and suitable care, carry out statutory and safeguarding checks, prepare your assessment, and meet its legal and professional responsibilities.

What information may be collected? This can include your name, contact details, identity documents, address history, employment and financial information, household circumstances, relationship history, health information, criminal record information, and details of your experience with children. Information may also be collected about other adults in your household, children, referees and people connected with your application where it is relevant to the assessment.

Some information is more sensitive than ordinary contact details. Health, criminal record, racial or ethnic information, religious beliefs and other special-category data have additional legal protections. These details should be requested only where they are relevant to assessing fostering suitability or meeting a legal, safeguarding or regulatory requirement. You should be told why sensitive information is needed and how it will be used.

Why is it collected? The information may be used to:

• verify your identity and establish your circumstances;
• complete checks required for fostering, including safeguarding and criminal record checks;
• contact referees and relevant professional organisations;
• consider your health, household and family circumstances in relation to fostering;
• prepare assessment reports and supporting documents;
• arrange training, assessment visits and discussions;
• present relevant information to the fostering panel or another authorised decision-maker; and
• keep an accurate record of the application and the decision reached.

The legal basis will depend on the type of information and the stage of the process. Some processing may be necessary to comply with legal or regulatory duties, some may be necessary for a task carried out in the public interest, and some may rely on another lawful basis. Sensitive information requires additional conditions. Consent may be requested in particular situations, but withdrawing consent does not necessarily stop processing that is required by law or essential to the assessment.

Who may see it? Access should be limited to people who need the information for their role. This can include the fostering service’s assessment and support staff, an independent reviewing or assessing professional, fostering panel members, health or safeguarding professionals, and relevant local authority or placing authority staff. Information may also be shared with organisations carrying out checks or with other agencies where this is legally required or necessary to protect a child or another person.

Sharing should be relevant and proportionate. For example, a referee may be asked about your suitability to foster, but would not normally need access to your complete application file. Information about other household members or family members should also be handled carefully, with disclosure limited to what is necessary for the assessment and safeguarding process.

How is it protected? Information should be stored in controlled systems or secure files, with access permissions, authentication and procedures for managing confidential records. Staff and professionals involved in the assessment are expected to handle information confidentially. Paper records should be kept securely, and information sent electronically should be transferred using appropriate safeguards.

Security measures cannot remove every risk, and no organisation should suggest that information is entirely free from risk. If a personal data breach affects you and creates a relevant risk to your rights or freedoms, the organisation must assess it and take the action required under data protection law, which can include notifying the Information Commissioner’s Office and affected individuals.

How long is it kept? Records are not normally deleted as soon as an application ends. A fostering service may need to retain application, assessment and decision records for a defined period to meet legal, regulatory, safeguarding, insurance or accountability requirements. The retention period should be set out in the organisation’s privacy information or retention policy. Ask for this information if it is not clear, particularly if you withdraw your application or are not approved.

Retention does not mean that every document is kept indefinitely or that it can be used for any purpose. When information is no longer needed, it should be securely deleted, destroyed or anonymised in line with the applicable retention policy.

Your data protection rights Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:

• ask for a copy of the personal information held about you;
• request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;
• ask for processing to be restricted while an issue is considered;
• object to certain processing; and
• complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe your information has not been handled lawfully.

These rights are not unlimited. A request may be restricted or information may be withheld where disclosure would reveal someone else’s personal data, prejudice safeguarding or legal proceedings, or conflict with another legal duty. This is particularly relevant where assessment records contain information supplied confidentially by referees or professionals. The organisation should explain any lawful restriction that applies.

What should you do as an applicant? Read the privacy notice before providing information and ask who the data controller is, the purposes and legal bases for processing, the expected retention period, and the categories of people who may receive the information. Tell the assessor if your address, household, health, employment or other relevant circumstances change. Providing incomplete or inaccurate information can affect the assessment, while deliberately withholding relevant information may raise safeguarding concerns.

Before sharing information about another person, ask how that information will be obtained and used. Referees and household members should generally understand that their details are being provided for a fostering assessment. If you have concerns about a request, confidentiality, a disclosure or the accuracy of a report, raise them promptly with the assessing social worker or the organisation’s data protection contact. The organisation’s current privacy notice is the most reliable source for its specific procedures, retention periods and contact details.