EBBS and AFP Alternative Funding privacy notice

Read the privacy notice for Energy Bills Support Scheme & Alternative Fuel Payment Alternative Funding.

When you make an application for the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBBS) or the Alternative Fuel Payment (AFP) Alternative Fundingyou will need to provide the Council with some personal data or information.

As the 'data controller' for the personal information - or data - we hold about you, South Ayrshire Council decides how your personal information is used/processed, and what it is used for. This statement provides more details about this and provides information on how to get in touch with us if you need to know more.

Your personal data - what is it?

Personal data is information relating to a living person who can be identified from that data. Identification can be based on the information alone, or in conjunction with any other information. The processing of personal data is governed by the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and supplemented by the Data Protection Act 2018.

What Personal Data will we collect from you?

To enable us to process your funding request we will have received personal information about you from the Department of Energy Security & Industrial Strategy (DESNZ), formally the Department for Business Energy & Industry Strategy (BEIS). The information we will receive consists of a validated application for EBBS (AF) or AFP (AF) containing data listed below:

Essential Data	Data which may be received depending on circumstances
Name	Health conditions
Type of Accommodation you live in	Racial or Ethnic Origin
Address
Email Address
Telephone Number (Mobile/Landline)
Date of Birth
Bank Account Details
Evidence you have uploaded in support of your application on the www.gov.uk application portal

For more information on how EBBS process your information can be found at www.gov.uk and search 'Apply for energy bill support if you do not get it automatically'

How will we use your information?

We have been provided with your personal information to allow us to confirm your eligibility for EBBS (AF) or AFP (AF) and pay it to you if you are eligible. We also use your information to verify your identity where required, contact you by post, email or telephone and to maintain our records. The sharing of the data between local authorities and DESNZ is for the purpose of administration, delivery, reporting, monitoring, evaluation and fraud prevention necessary within the scheme. This may also include an assessment of your liability for council tax on the property you have stated as your sole or main residence on the application (see Privacy Notice here: https://www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/article/52845/Revenues-Services-privacy-notice).

What is the legal basis for using/sharing your information?

We provide these services to you as part of our statutory function as your local authority. Processing is necessary under the terms of the UK GDPR for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the data controller as per Article 6(1) (e) of the UK GDPR. You can find more details of our role on our website at https://www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/privacy-notices/.

Special category data will not be expressly requested in connection with applications for the scheme, but it is possible that co-incident collection and sharing of special category data could occur as a result of information provided by applicants (or third-party individuals acting on your behalf) in connection with applications. To the extent that special category data is collected, it will be processed for reasons of substantial public interest as set out in Article 9(2) (b) of the UK GDPR and meets a condition in Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018.

Who will we share your information with?

We are legally obliged to safeguard public funds, so we are required to verify and check your details internally for fraud prevention. We may share this information with other public bodies e.g. the Audit Commission for the same purpose. We are also legally obliged to share certain data with other public bodies, such as HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and will do so where the law requires this. We will also generally comply with requests for specific information from other regulatory and law enforcement bodies where this is necessary and appropriate. We will share this information with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

How long do we keep hold of your information?

We keep your personal data for no longer than reasonably necessary to deal with your application. We will retain your data in line with our Corporate Retention Schedule as follows:

Purpose we collect your personal data	Trigger - event that prompts start of retention period	How long we hold your data
Application for EBBS or AFP Alternative Funding	Date of your application	7 years

What are your rights?

The lawful basis for processing/using your personal data directly impacts which rights are available to you. For example, some rights will not apply, when we are processing your information under contract (Article 6 (1) (e)) we are not required to:

erase your personal information
enable the right to data portability

However, you do have the following rights and can ask us to:

correct your personal information if it is inaccurate;
complete your personal information if it is incomplete; and
restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.

You also have the right to object to the processing of your personal information and the right to access your information.

What are the consequences of failing to provide personal information?

Where the provision of your information to the Council is a statutory or contractual requirement, or a requirement necessary to enter into a contract, you are obliged to provide the information. If you fail to provide this information we will not be able to process your application therefore we will be unable to award funding.

What about Automated Decision- Making?

The Council does not use profiling or automated decision-making. Some processes are semi-automated (such as data matching for the prevention or detection of fraud), but an actual person will always be involved before any decision is reached affecting any individual.

Do you require this statement in a different format?

Please contact us if you require this information in an alternative format.

How can you get in touch with us?

If you wish to obtain any records held by the Council relating to you, or if you have any general data protection queries, please contact the Council's Data Protection Service at:

Data Protection Officer
South Ayrshire Council
County Buildings
Wellington Square
Ayr
KA7 1DR

Email: DataProtection@south-ayrshire.gov.uk
Telephone: 01292 612 223

Are you dissatisfied with the way your Personal Information has been handled?

If you are unhappy with the way we have dealt with your personal information, you can complain to the Council's Data Protection Officer using the contact details noted above.

If you remain dissatisfied after contacting us, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner (https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/):

Information Commissioner's Office - Scotland Queen Elizabeth House
Sibbald Walk
Edinburgh
EH8 8FT

Email: Scotland@ico.org.uk
Telephone: 0303 123 1115

If you have no internet access

Please contact us at the above postal address or telephone number if you wish to have copies of any of the above information and you do not have access to the internet. We will endeavour to let you have hard copies of the information.