Household support fund grant framework privacy notice

1. Council contact details

1.1 North Northamptonshire council

Registered Office:
Sheerness House
41 Meadow Road
Kettering
NN16 8TL

1.2 In September 2021, the Government announced that vulnerable households in England will be able to access the Household Support Fund. The fund provides help for households facing challenges with the cost of living. The fund has been extended to 31 March 2024.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has allocated Household Support Fund money to local authorities in England. Local authorities administer the fund on behalf of the Government to help vulnerable households access support to help with the rising costs of energy, food, water and other related essentials.

NNC is the data controller for the purposes of assessing eligibility, administering and making payments from its Household Support Fund allocation that it received from DWP.

1.3 The Household Support Fund team can be contacted at [email protected].

2. Information that we hold

2.1 North Northamptonshire Household Support Fund Grant Framework

A ‘grant’ is a financial award that the council makes from Household Support Fund which has been allocated by Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to local authorities. The grant is awarded to successful third-party organisations to support households in crisis in North Northamptonshire. Third party organisations can include Community and Voluntary Organisations, Town and Parish councils, Registered Charities and to other bodies.

Personal data is being collected as an essential part of the application process, so that we can contact you regarding your application and for monitoring purposes. We may also use it to contact you about matters specific to the Fund and will use it for monitoring and evaluating successful applications.

We currently collect and process the following information about an applicant to award Household Support Fund Grant Funding:

applicant or organisation name
contact details including address, telephone number and email address
financial details including bank account number and sort code
public liability insurance certificate and other relevant documents

2.2 There is further regarding the Household Support Fund.

3. How the information is obtained

3.1 Most of the personal information we process is provided to us directly by you, when you complete the North Northamptonshire Household Support Fund Grant Funding application form for 2023 to 2024.

3.2 There are a number of reasons why we need to collect and use your personal information. Generally, we collect and use personal information where:

it is necessary to meet our legal obligations
the processing is necessary for us to perform a task in the public interest - this function has a clear basis in law under the s50-51 Internal Market Act 2020
you have requested a service from us
you have entered into a contract with us
it is necessary for law enforcement reasons and to prevent and detect fraud or crime

3.3 Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) we are relying on Article 6(1) (e) to process personal information, as it is a task in the public interest. This means that it has a basis in the law and is often a statutory duty. We have also been given guidance by the Government (GOV.UK website) which requires us to deliver the Household Support Fund. We also have duties under the Care Act 2014, Children’s Act 2004, and Education Act 1996.

Where applicants tell us about their medical situation or provide details about their health. The UK GDPR lawful basis is Article 9 (a) – Explicit consent.

3.4 Where we need to collect personal data by law, or under the terms of an agreement we have with you; and you fail to provide that data when requested, we may have to cancel the service you have with us. We will, however, notify you if this is the case at the time.

4. What we do with the information

4.1 We use the information that you have given us in order to process submitted grant applications and monitor and evaluate project delivery and impact on beneficiaries.

4.2 For audit and monitoring purposes, we will record the number and type of awards made from the Household Support Fund. We will also report on how the Household Support Fund has been spent to North Northamptonshire councillors. This monitoring does not include any personal data.

The DWP requires local authorities to report on how the Household support Fund is spent using its Management Information (MI) Return Form. They do not require local authorities to provide any personal data.

We also use the information to review and evaluate the scheme. We will do this by using anonymised information and will not identify anyone.

4.3 If required and lawful to do so under the applicable legislation, we will share your information with other North Northamptonshire council departments such as:

finance to process the payment
project delivery team
evaluation panel members – grant funding panel and oversight board
revenue and Benefit for the prevention and detection of crime and fraud

4.4 We will share personal information with law enforcement or other authorities if required by applicable law. Any information sharing is undertaken in accordance with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

4.5 We do not use automated decision making for this processing. Automated decision-making is where decisions are made about you without any human influence on the outcome.

4.6 There is no profiling undertaken in relation to this processing. Profiling is where you analyse parts of an individual’s personality, behaviour, interests and habits to identify their preferences, make predictions or decisions about them.

5. How long we keep your information for and how we securely dispose of it after use

5.1 We keep your personal information for community funding purposes for 7 years (6 years plus current), in line with the council’s Retention Schedule.

5.2 We will securely dispose of your information in line with retention periods.

6. How we store your information

6.1 Your information is securely stored on the council’s systems, in which the servers are UK based.

7. Your data protection rights

7.1 The law gives you a number of rights to control what personal information is used by us and how we can use it. For further information, please see our Corporate Privacy Notice - Section 15.

7.2 Please be aware that your rights may differ depending on the lawful basis for processing your personal data.

8. Who to contact

8.1 If you would like further information about how we use your personal information, or you wish to exercise one of your data rights or you wish to complain about the use of your personal information please contact the Data Protection Officer.

8.2 If you are still dissatisfied once you have contacted the Data Protection Officer, you have the right to complain to the ICO.

The ICO’s address:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Helpline number: 0303 123 1113

9. Changes to this privacy notice

9.1 Privacy notices are live documents, which will be updated or revised in line with legislation.

9.2 This privacy notice was published on Thursday 12 October 2023.

Last updated 06 November 2023