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Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding (EBSS-AF) - Privacy Notice

Who the Council is and what the Council does

Cotswold District Council is a data controller under the Data Protection Legislation as the Council collects and processes personal information about you in order to provide services and meet their statutory and regulatory obligations.

The ‘Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) Alternative Funding’ is for households who did not receive the original Energy Bill Support Scheme payment automatically, such as those without their own electricity supply or those without a direct relationship with the electricity supplier.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and local authorities are the independent data controllers for this data.

The scheme is due to start on 27 February 2023. Visit Gov.UK: Help for Households - Get government cost of living support. There will be a Government helpline for those without online access.

This notice explains why the Council asks for your personal information, how that information will be used and how you can access your records.

Any questions regarding our privacy practices should be sent to:

Data Protection Officer (DPO)
Cotswold District Council
Council Offices, Cirencester, GL7 1PX
Email: data.protection@cotswold.gov.uk
Tel: 01993 861194

Why the Council needs your information and how the Council uses

The Council needs the information in order to deliver the ‘Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) Alternative Funding service (Great Britain)’,

The processing of your personal data is necessary for -

  • the administration
  • delivery
  • reporting
  • monitoring
  • evaluation of the scheme

As well as in connection with fraud prevention, and pre- and post- payment assurance and financial management activities to be undertaken in connection with the scheme.

The Council does not sell your personal information to anyone else.

What is the legal process for collecting and processing this data

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018, the lawful bases we rely on for processing this information are:

  • UK GDPR Article 6 (1) (e) Public Task – we collect and lawfully process your personal data as it is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in us.
  • UK GDPR Article 9 (2)(g) Reasons of substantial public interest (with a basis in law)

What type of information is collected from you

The types of information we hold and process includes:

  • names
  • addresses
  • contact information
  • dates of birth
  • financial information and bank account details
  • housing costs
  • landlord/tenancy information
  • appointees/representatives details
  • information contained on documents that are provided as evidence of  identity/residence -
    • utility bills
    • driving licences
    • care home invoices
    • UK driving licence

The information will be collected from:

  • The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)
  • applicants and their appointees/representatives
  • landlords and care homes

The above list is not exhaustive. The Council will only ask for personal information that is appropriate to enable us to deliver our services. In some cases you can refuse to provide your details if you deem a request to be inappropriate. However, you should note that, this may impact on our ability to provide some services to you.

Who your information may be shared with (internally and externally)

We do not make your personal information available to companies for marketing purposes.

We will not transfer the personal data shared by BEIS to any third party who is not a Partner under the signed data sharing agreement without BEIS’ prior written consent.

It may be shared where the law allows and in order to maintain accuracy, detect fraud and protect public funds.

Automated decision making

Your personal data may be subject to automated decision making. Initial eligibility checks will be made for the prevention and detention of fraud for example, to determine whether a payment has already been made under the main EBSS scheme or whether another application is in progress. Bank account verification assurance checks will also take place to ensure payments are made to the correct bank account.

How long the Council keeps your information (retention period)

We will only retain your personal information for 7 years in line with BEIS retention policy.

Once your data is no longer needed it will be securely and confidentially destroyed or disposed of the data in line with retention schedules.

How the Council protects your information

Your data is stored securely on our systems and accessed only by authorised officers using their own username and password created in line with pre-defined user credentials. Personal data is also held in electronic files on the council’s network drives. These are only accessible through personal logon credentials and access privileges to specific drives. Access to our council sites require a personal electronic pass to access staff only areas. The Council has strict procedures for the way this is done. Any and all information about you is treated as confidential and with respect. There are also clear rules and guidance about storing, recording and sharing information which staff receive training on.

The Council will not transfer your personal data outside the EU without your consent.

The Council have implemented generally accepted standards of technology and operational security in order to protect personal data from loss, misuse or unauthorised alteration or destruction.  

Please note however that where you are transmitting information to us over the internet this can never be guaranteed to be 100% secure.  

The Council will notify you promptly in the event of any breach of your personal data which might expose you to serious risk.

Your rights

You have the following rights under the Data Protection Legislations:

  • To access your personal data
  • To be provided with information about how your personal data is processed
  • To have your personal data corrected
  • To have your personal data erased in certain circumstances
  • To object to or restrict how your personal data is processed
  • To have your personal data transferred to yourself or to another business in certain circumstances
  • To be told if the Council have made a mistake whilst processing your data and the Council will self-report breaches to the Commissioner.

How you can access, update or correct your information

The Data Protection law gives you the right to apply for a copy of information about yourself. This is called a ‘Subject Access Request'.

If you wish to see a copy of your records you should contact the Data Protection Officer. You are entitled to receive a copy of your records free of charge, within a month.

In certain circumstances access to your records may be limited, for example, if the records you have asked for contain information relating to another person.

The accuracy of your information is important to us to be able to provide relevant services more quickly. The Council is working to make our record keeping more efficient. In the meantime, if you change your address or email address, or if any of your circumstances change or any of the other information the Council holds is inaccurate or out of date, please email us or write to us at:

Revenues and Benefits
Cotswold District Council
Council Offices, Cirencester, GL7 1PX
Email: customer.services@cotswold.gov.uk

Further information

If you would like to know more about how the Council uses your information, or if for any reason you do not wish to have your information used in any of the ways described in this privacy notice, please contact the Data Protection Officer at data.protection@cotswold.gov.uk.

For more information about data protection please visit: www.cotswold.gov.uk/about-the-council/council-data-and-access-to-information/data-protection  

If you are concerned about the way the Council is handling your personal information you can contact the Information Commissioner (ICO): https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

The Council reserve the right to update this privacy notice from time to time by publishing a new version on our website.

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© Cotswold District Council 2024