Privacy Policy - Green Solutions

Privacy Notice for participants taking part in Green Solutions in affiliation with BEAS (Business Energy Advice Service).

This Privacy Notice sets out how your personal data is processed by Staffordshire County Council and partners associated with the delivery of the scheme, such as the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and Local Partners. This notice relates to data collected under Green Solutions and the Business Energy Advice Service (BEAS or the Scheme).

We have created this policy which covers how we

• Collect
• Use
• Share
• Transfer
• Look after

….your data. The policy also gives you information on how to contact us, and lets you know your rights as a data subject.

Why we collect your data and how it will be used.

The purpose(s) for which we are processing your personal data is to support the delivery and administration of the BEAS and gather data to inform future policies on energy demand reduction, including a potential nationwide Business Energy Advice Service and specifically, as part of the energy assessments and/or grants awarded in connection with this Scheme. Delivery and administration of the scheme may require linking of your data to other datasets held by DESNZ. When you express an interest in the available schemes and support via the online Expression of Interest Form, the personal data that is captured will only be used to deliver support and guidance to you under this scheme and for the purposes outlined above. Your data may also be used for statistical, research and fraud prevention purposes.

Your data may also be used for monitoring and evaluation purposes, including:

• longer term research and evaluation related to the BEAS, for example conducting surveys and matching to other data sources to which the Government has access which cover your site (energy consumption) and business (turnover, staffing).

We are responsible for managing the information we hold and we recognise that this information is important to you.  We take our responsibilities seriously and use personal information fairly, correctly and safely in line with the legal requirements set out by the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).  Anyone who receives information from us is also under a legal duty to do the same and has a set of data protection clauses included in their contract.

Because we collect and process personal information about individuals, we are registered as a ‘Data Controller’ under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). This means that we must make sure you know what we intend to do with your information and who it could be shared with.

As Data Controller our contact details are:

Staffordshire County Council

Staffordshire Place 2

Tipping Street

Stafford, ST16 2DH

How we collect data

Your data will initially be collected when you make a submission via our Express an Interest Form, personal details collected via this form will include:

• Contact details such as email and phone numbers
• Contact name
• Position within a company
• Company Address

We may gather data from other sources, and we may need to ask other agencies or organisations for relevant data about you to fulfil our legal responsibilities or to provide services.

Legal basis of processing 

Under Data Protection Laws, we must have a valid basis in law to process your personal data. Data processed as part of the support provided to you is done so for the following reasons:

• Enable Staffordshire County Council and other partners to carry out our responsibilities to effectively manage the spending of public funding, including, an assessment as to whether this expenditure has enabled DESNZ to meet its objectives under the scheme.
• Enable DESNZ to evaluate the effectiveness of existing and future policies;
• Support DESNZ’ functions and departmental responsibilities relating to carbon reduction and Net Zero as defined by the Climate Change Act (2008);

The legal basis for processing your personal data is that processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public task and interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the data controller under Article 6(1)(e) of the UK GDPR, such as:

• the exercise of a function of the Crown, a Minister of the Crown, or a government department
• the exercise of a function conferred on a person by an enactment
• the exercise of a function of either House of Parliament
• the administration of justice for the assessment of potential awarding of grant funding

The legal basis for processing your personal data for evaluation and research purposes – including sharing with research agencies and matching to other datasets - is also for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest; however, these powers are enhanced under Article 89 of the UK GDPR.

Where this evaluation research involves processing of personal data in addition to that already collected for delivery of the Scheme, you will be given the opportunity to opt in to that research at the point of registration for the scheme. By providing your consent, our evaluation contractor may call, email or write to you to invite you to take part in a survey or interview, as well as provide you with more information about what the research will involve.

Data will be used to ensure use of public funds has delivered value for money, and realised intended benefits, including to inform policy making in the fields of energy efficiency, fuel poverty, and health. It will also support DESNZ’ functions relating to carbon reductions under the Climate Change Act 2008.

How we share your data

We work closely with other partners to help deliver the support available under this scheme and therefore we will share personal data with our partners that has been provided to us by yourself when you express an interest in support available. Partners that we share data with are involved in the funding and delivery of the BEAS. The Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) may also share details with Central Government Departments and with research organisation(s) appointed by them to conduct policy research and evaluation.

We may share your data if we are required to do so by law, for example by court order or to prevent fraud or other crime.

Partners that we work with on the delivery of this scheme include:

• The West Midlands Combined Authority
• East Staffordshire Borough Council
• South Staffordshire District Council
• Stafford Borough Council
• Aston University Consortium
• The Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero (DESNZ)

Processing in respect of the Scheme Delivery Partners will be addressed in their respective Privacy Notices.

How we look after your data

Under the General Data Protection Regulations we have a legal duty to protect any information that we hold about you. We take measures to safeguard your data and apply security standards and controls to prevent any unauthorised access to it. Information which you have provided the council will be stored securely. It will only be used for the purpose(s) stated when the information was collected.

The amount of time data is kept before being disposed of will vary depending on why it was collected, how it is used, and various UK laws. Information processed by Staffordshire County Council in relation to this scheme will be retained for 12 years from end of support date.  Our retention and disposal schedules provide more details about how long we keep data.

What are your rights?

Under the UK GDPR you, as the Data Subject, you have the right to:

• access the information we hold about you. This information is usually provided free of charge but we may charge depending on the administrative costs of providing the information.  You have the right to request this in machine-readable form so that it can, if required, be transferred to a third party.
• request that we rectify any information about you that is incorrect. Simple inaccuracies, such as address changes will be made. Depending on the purpose for processing, records (including statements and opinions) may not be changed. However, there may be the option for you to provide a supplementary statement which will be added to the file.  
• request that records we hold about you are erased.
• restrict processing of the information we hold about you if you have an objection to that processing, whilst your objection is investigated.
• request that any information that you have provided to us is given back to you in a format that you can give to another service provider if required.
• object to processing of your personal information including automated decision-making and profiling.
• Make a complaint to a supervisory authority if you are not satisfied with how the information held about you has been handled.  

How to contact us

Please contact us if you have any questions about our privacy policy or information we hold about you, or if you have a complaint about privacy or misuse of data.

Email:  Data Protection Officer

Post to:

If you wish to contact The Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero regarding how they process your personal data, you can do so by contacting dataprotection@energysecurity.gov.uk . Address details are listed below:

If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are processing your personal data not in accordance with the law you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)