Privacy & Data Protection
Written for information governance teams. MyPlacementHub is designed so that no child, young person or adult receiving care is identifiable on the platform.
Data minimisation by design
The platform is built to hold professional contact data, not case data. Enquiries capture the commissioning authority, a named professional contact, an age, a placement type and a short summary of support needs. Users are instructed at the point of entry not to include names, addresses, dates of birth, case references or any other identifying detail about the person being placed.
What we hold
Account data: name, work email address, organisation, role, chosen plan, and verification evidence such as a regulator registration number and organisation website.Enquiry data: the fields above, provider responses, status changes and an immutable audit trail of who changed what and when.Provider data: listing details, capacity, availability, regulator judgement and location, all supplied by the provider.
Who we are and our role under UK GDPR
This platform is operated by Envirostep Ltd (registered in England and Wales, company number 16406804), trading as MyPlacementHub, registered office Office 1731, 182-184 High Street, North Area 1/1, East Ham, London, E6 2JA, United Kingdom. For account, verification, subscription and website data we are the data controller and decide how and why that data is processed.For enquiry content submitted by a local authority, the authority is the controller and Envirostep Ltd is the processor, acting only on the authority's documented instructions. A written data processing agreement is available to every pilot authority before any live enquiry is made.
Lawful basis
Processing of professional account data is on the basis of legitimate interests in operating a secure, verified professional service. Processing of enquiry data is carried out on behalf of the authority under its own public task basis for discharging statutory care duties.
Access controls
Access is enforced at the database level, not just in the interface. An account can only read an enquiry it submitted or one addressed to its own organisation, and only once the account has been verified. Platform administrators can see verification records and platform-level activity counts. All verification decisions and enquiry changes are logged with an actor and a timestamp.
Storage, security and location
Data is stored in a managed, encrypted Postgres database with encryption in transit and at rest, hosted within the UK/EEA. Authentication uses hashed credentials or federated sign-in; we never see or store a password in readable form.
Retention
Enquiry records and their audit trails are retained for six years to support council record-keeping and audit, then deleted. Account records are deleted twelve months after an account becomes inactive. An authority may request earlier deletion or a full export of its records at any time.
Who we share data with
Service providers and sub-processors: a managed cloud database and authentication provider, a managed application hosting provider, a managed transactional email provider, and an open geocoding service used only to convert a place name typed by a professional into map coordinates. No enquiry content is sent to the geocoding service. A current sub-processor list is provided with the data processing agreement.Merchant of Record: Paddle.com acts as reseller and Merchant of Record for provider subscriptions, and receives the data needed for the sale, subscription management, payments, tax compliance and invoicing. Card details are handled by Paddle and never reach our systems.Professional advisers (legal and accounting) where necessary, and regulators, courts or authorities where we are required to disclose by law.
International transfers
Data is stored within the UK/EEA. Where a service provider processes data outside the UK/EEA, the transfer is covered by an adequacy decision or by the UK International Data Transfer Addendum and standard contractual clauses, with additional safeguards where needed.
Cookies
We use strictly necessary cookies only: they keep you signed in and keep the service secure. We do not use advertising or third-party marketing cookies. Paddle sets its own cookies inside its checkout in order to process an order. You can block or delete cookies in your browser, but sign-in will not work without the essential ones.
Your rights
Individuals whose professional data we hold can request access, correction, deletion, restriction or portability, can object to processing, and can withdraw consent where processing relies on it. We respond within one month. Requests relating to enquiry content should be directed to the commissioning local authority as controller. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.
Breach notification
Any personal data breach affecting an authority's records is reported to that authority without undue delay and within 24 hours of becoming aware of it, with the information the authority needs to meet its own ICO reporting obligations.
Contact us
For any privacy question or to exercise your rights, contact Envirostep Ltd at pilot@myplacementhub.co.uk.