Alternative energy support schemes privacy notice

It is necessary for the council to gather, collect, store and process personal information relating to the 2 government energy support schemes:

• Energy Bill Support Scheme (EBSS) - Alternative Funding
• Alternative Fuels Payment (AFP)

As a public authority,  the council takes your rights and freedoms seriously and will only release information when required under law or with your consent.  Further information about your rights, how to contact the Data Protection Officer, how long information is held or how we process your personal information can be found in the council's overarching privacy notice.
 

Information we may collect

The personal data we collect from you includes:

• application reference number
• name (and any contact details for any third-party individual supporting or making the application on your behalf)
• date application received
• outcome of application and reason for decision-making
• assurance evidence in line with the energy schemes guidance (such as bank account details, Council Tax records, UK Driving licence, utility bill, care home invoice, tenancy agreement)
• payment fraud or error, money recovered and subsequent fraud and error reporting

Special category data is not 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 you (or third-party individuals acting on your behalf) in connection with the applications, including, but not limited to, information relating to your ethnic origin or data concerning health or age.

We process this information to support the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding Service; specifically to confirm your identity; facilitate payment and prevent, detect and investigate fraud and errors. We may also assess your liability for council tax on the property you have stated as your sole and main residence on the application. We return this information to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) for the purpose of processing applications for support funding.

We also get some of your information from BEIS and this is detailed in the Privacy Notice - Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) Alternative Funding service (Great Britain) on GOV.UK along with the lawful basis for processing your personal data under this scheme.

We also process this information to support the delivery of the Alternative Fuel Payment Alternative Funding to domestic energy consumers scheme; specifically to conduct quality checks, monitor, and evaluate the effectiveness of the scheme, prevent fraud, and publish information for transparency on the use of public funds. We return this information to the Secretary of State for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) for the purpose of processing applications for support funding. We also get some of your information from DESNZ and this is detailed in their privacy notice (TBA when live) along with the lawful basis for processing your personal data under this scheme.

We have a data-sharing agreement with BEIS and DESNZ to facilitate this arrangement.