As UKSPF is a government-funded programme, we (North Somerset Council) are expected to capture and hold information about our projects to help assess how well they are going and what impacts they are having on the local area.
This includes capturing personal data about those who are benefitting from our projects. For example, we may need to collect a National Insurance Number from someone receiving employment support from a UKSPF project, or a postcode address from someone receiving support with their household energy efficiency.
If you are involved in or benefit from a UKSPF project, then this privacy notice applies to you.
What do we use your personal information for?
According to the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, we must have a reason to collect and use your information.
We will collect and process your personal information for the following purposes:
- managing and processing applications for UKSPF grants (including Community Grants, Rural England Grants and Green Business Grants)
- conducting necessary background check to identify and prevent fraud
- corresponding with applicants as well as ongoing correspondence with successful applicants awarded UKSPF grants
- monitoring and evaluating UKSPF projects
- sharing UKSPF beneficiary data (including National Insurance Numbers and Company Record Numbers) and providing project updates to the UK Government’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC)
The personal information we collect and use
We only obtain and use the necessary information for the delivery of UKSPF projects. We will not obtain and use special category data except with your explicit consent.
We are not permitted to collect information we do not need or will not use. This page covers any information you have provided directly to us and information which has been shared with us by other organisations delivering UKSPF projects.
If we don’t need your personal information, we will either keep your details anonymous if we already have them from another service, or we won’t ask you for them. If we use your personal information for research or analysis, we will always keep your details anonymous or use a fake name.
We may be required to share personal information in response to Freedom of Information requests concerning our distribution and use of UKSPF funding. We will only keep your details anonymous where the Freedom of Information Act allows.
We will not sell your personal information to anyone else and your personal data will not be sent overseas.
How we comply with data protection laws
The conditions that we use to process your personal information are:
- Public task: The lawful basis that applies to this processing is Article 6 (1) (e) of the UK GDPR; that 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; data being processed belongs to business contacts processed during the routine course of business of a government department.
Who we may share your information with
We are or will in future partner with a range of organisations to deliver UKSPF projects and to evaluate the success of the programme, all of whom will need to store (and sometimes process) your personal information.
We are required to share information with the UK Government’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. We may also have a legal duty to provide your personal information to other organisations, for example the Court Service or HMRC.
We may also share your personal information with the following services within North Somerset Council (NSC):
- NSC Legal Services
- NSC Finance Services
- NSC People Services
Your information will not be disclosed to any other organisations, except where we are required and allowed to by law.
When data is shared with third parties, we required them to respect the security of your data and treat it in accordance with the law.
How long we keep information about you
We will retain this information for as long as legally necessary and in accordance with guidance from the UK Government’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. This is usually up to seven years, after which point the data will be deleted.
Your rights
The data we are collecting is your personal data, and you have considerable say over what happens to it.
You have the right to:
- know that we are using your personal data
- see what data we have about you
- ask to have your data corrected and to ask how we check the information we hold is accurate
- object to the use of your personal data in certain circumstances and to have personal data deleted when the processing is no longer necessary
- complain to the ICO
Complaints
If you are unhappy with the way we are using your personal data, you can make a complaint.
You have the right to lodge a complaint with the independent Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you think we are not handling your data fairly or in accordance with the law. You can also contact the ICO for independent advice about data protection, privacy and data sharing.
If you are not happy with how we are using your personal data, you should first contact data.protection@n-somerset.gov.uk. You can also contact the relevant government department’s data protection team at dataprotection@levellingup.gov.uk.
If you are still not happy, or for independent advice about data protection, privacy, and data sharing, you can contact the Information Commissioner's Office.