Who will own my data once I submit it?
Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council
Why do you need my information?
We collect your personal data to carry out an assessment of your financial situation before offering support through the Knowsley Crisis Payment scheme. This assessment helps us understand your individual circumstances and tailor the services we provide to best support you.
Specifically, we use your information to:
- Assess your crisis and determine whether you are eligible for a Crisis Payment.
- Refer you to specialist financial support with Citizens Advice Knowsley if required.
- Refer you to specialist employment and skills support with Knowsley Works.
- Determine whether you might be eligible for any additional benefits and signpost you accordingly.
- Refer you to other discretionary support schemes which may be able to support you.
Applications made to the Knowsley Crisis Payment scheme are made through the Funding Connect portal, operated by Evouchers. The scheme is funded by the Crisis and Resilience Fund from the Department for Work and Pensions. This is provided to Knowsley Council through section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003.
What Personal Information do we collect?
The Knowsley Crisis Payment Scheme is funded by the Crisis and Resilience Fund. The Crisis Payment scheme is designed to provide immediate assistance to residents facing a financial shock including disaster, accident or health emergency, household relationship breakdown, essential item breakdown or unexpected loss of income. Awards through the scheme are designed to help residents experiencing a financial crisis, or situations that put them at risk of financial crisis.
For the Knowsley Crisis Payments Scheme to assess eligibility and offer support we may collect all, or some, of the following information from you:
- Name
- Date of Birth
- Relationship Status
- Address
- Council Tax Reference Number
- Household make up
- Details of Crisis
- Benefit situation
- Uk/Non-UK National
- Student/Non Student
- Health and Employment Details
- Disability information
- Ethnicity
- Gender
- Sexual Orientation
- Sight Loss
- Caring Responsibilities
- Sick Pay Information
- Property Details
- Bills and Debt Information
- Income, Investments and Savings Information
- Bank Statements
- Tenancy Agreement
- ID documents
- National Insurance numbers
What allows you to use my information?
Under data protection legislation, the council must identify what is called a lawful basis for using personal data. The processing of this Personal Data is necessary for the Council to deliver a Crisis Payment scheme in line with the Crisis and Resilience Fund guidance issued by the Department for Work and Pensions. Funding is provided under Section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003 which requires all authorities to administer the Crisis and Resilience Fund and specifically a Crisis Payment scheme. Crisis Payments are a mandatory element of this Fund.
GDPR Article 6 (1)(e) permits the processing of Personal Data where it is necessary for the Council to perform a task in the public interest or for its official functions, and the task or function has a clear basis in law. The public task in this case is the distribution of the Crisis and Resilience Fund as required by Central Government to eligible individuals and families as part of a Crisis Payment scheme.
Article 9 of the GDPR prohibits processing sensitive personal data, known as ‘special category data’. However, processing is permitted where one of the specific conditions set out in Article 9 (2) applies.
As a part of your crisis payment application, you may be asked to provide evidence which includes special category data, such as information about your health, or lifestyle. For example, you may have experienced a disaster or had an accident which has resulted in a financial crisis and as part of your application, you will be asked to provide evidence of this. The evidence you provide may include some ‘special category data’ such as information about your health, whether this is relevant to your Crisis Payment application. This is to help us determine whether you meet the criteria of the Crisis Payment scheme.
We rely on Article 9 (2)g of the Data Protection Act 2018 ‘substantial public interest’, condition 6 – statutory or Government purposes, which permits the processing of special category data where the relevant requirements are met. This allows us to process special category data as part of our Crisis Payment scheme. Funding for this is provided under Section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003.
How will decisions about my application be made?
When you apply for a Crisis Payment, some of the information you provide will be checked automatically against the eligibility criteria for the scheme. For example, your postcode may be checked to establish whether you live within Knowsley, and information about your income will be checked against the relevant eligibility threshold.
If the information you provide does not meet the initial eligibility criteria, your application may be automatically declined at this stage.
If you do not agree with an automated decision or believe that the information used to make the decision is incorrect or does not reflect your circumstances, you can request that your application is reviewed by a member of Council staff. You will have the opportunity to provide further information or explain your circumstances, and a member of staff will consider this before a final decision is made. Contact Compliments, complaints and feedback | Knowsley Council or visit Knowsley Council's website and search compliments, complaints and feedback.
Who will my information be shared with?
You will be given the option to consent to your information being shared with Citizens Advice Knowsley or Knowsley Works. Your information will only be shared with them if you give us consent to do so. Once you give us consent to share your information with either or both of these, we will pass your details on. For Knowsley Works, this will be sent by internal email. For Citizens Advice Knowsley, this will be via a secure referral page. We will record the number of referrals we make to Citizens Advice Knowsley and Knowsley Works but will not be given any further information about you from either of these. If you wish to withdraw any consent you have given for us to share your details with Citizens Advice Knowsley or Knowsley Works you should contact us at crisispayments@knowsley.gov.uk as soon as possible after consent has been given. You should include your name and address and confirm that you would like to withdraw consent. You should tell us whether you wish to withdraw consent from sharing your information with Citizens Advice Knowsley or Knowsley Works or both.
Note - once your application has been completed, we will aim to assess your eligibility and share any information within 48 hours but your claim could be assessed quicker. This means that even if you tell us that you would like to withdraw consent, your information may have already been shared. If it has been shared and you decide you do not wish to engage with Knowsley Works or Citizens Advice Know, you are not obliged to engage with them. Your application for a Crisis Payment will not be affected.
When you complete an application for a Crisis Payment, your information will be held by Evouchers who operate the Funding Connect portal. All applications for a Crisis Payment will be made through the Funding Connect portal, whether they are made online or by telephone. We will use the Funding Connect portal to assess your eligibility for a Crisis Payment and to make the award to you if you are eligible. We will share your information with other parts of Knowsley Council where we think you may be entitled to further support or discretionary financial assistance. An example is the Council Tax Reduction Scheme delivered by Knowsley Council. If you qualify for a Crisis Payment but are not in receipt of Council Tax Reduction, we will share your details to see if you may be eligible for this additional support.
Do I have to provide this information and what will happen if I don’t?
Eligibility criteria apply to the Crisis Payment scheme. This is in line with the Crisis and Resilience Fund guidance issued by the Department for Work and Pensions which outlines the circumstances in which a Crisis Payment may be awarded, and the locally agreed Knowsley Crisis Support Scheme. If you do not provide the information requested, we will not be able to assess your circumstances against this eligibility, and you will not be able to receive support through this scheme. The legal obligation is provided by Section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003 which requires all authorities to administer the Crisis and Resilience Fund. Crisis Payments are a mandatory element of this Fund.
How long will you keep this data for and why?
We will keep your personal data for a period of five years after the Crisis Payment scheme has ended, in line with the Council’s data retention policies and statutory requirements. The Crisis Payment scheme will run until March 29, and your personal data will be retained for a period of 5 years from this time. Should the Crisis Payment scheme be extended beyond March 29, this 5-year retention period will commence from the date the scheme closes. This retention period covers the purposes of administering the Knowsley Crisis Payment Scheme, including assessing eligibility, making and administering payments, responding to enquiries, complaints or appeals, preventing fraud and misuse of public funds, and meeting audit and reporting requirements.
Once your information is no longer required for these purposes, and the period noted above has elapsed, it will be securely deleted in accordance with the Council’s data retention policies and data protection legislation.
How will my information be stored?
Data will be stored by Evouchers for the duration of the Knowsley Crisis Payment Scheme and for a further 5-year period after the scheme has closed. When the scheme ends, the data will be securely deleted.
Will this information be used to take automated decisions about me?
Yes, automated decisions will apply to residents who are ineligible for support through the Knowsley Crisis Payment Scheme. Specifically, this will affect applicants who do not meet the scheme criteria either because they are not resident in Knowsley or do not meet the scheme household income requirements. Decisions related to the evidence presented by applicants as supporting evidence of their situation or financial crisis and not automated.
Will my data be transferred abroad and why?
Data held by Evouchers is stored on AWS servers in Dublin.
What rights do I have when it comes to my data?
Under the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018/ UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), you have the following rights with regards to your personal data: -
- The right to subject access – you have the right to see a copy of the personal data that the council holds about you and find out what it is used for
- The right to rectification – you have the right to ask the council to correct or remove any inaccurate data that we hold about you
- The right to erasure (right to be forgotten) you have the right to ask the council to remove data that we hold about you
- The right to restriction – you have the right to ask for your information to be restricted (locked down) on council systems
- The right to data portability – you have the right to ask for your data to be transferred back to you or to a new provider at your request
- The right to object – you have the right to ask the council to stop using your personal data or to stop sending you marketing information, or complain about how your data is used
- The right to prevent automated decision making – you have the right to ask the council to stop using your data to make automated decisions about you or to stop profiling your behaviour (where applicable).
To find out more about your rights under the DPA 2018/UK GDPR, please visit the Information Commissioner’s website.
You can request a copy of your data or ask questions about how it is used by visiting our website here.
By email to: Inforights@knowsley.gov.uk
Or in writing to:
Data Protection Officer
Knowsley Council
Westmorland Road
Huyton
L36 6GA
Who can I complain to if I am unhappy about how my data is used?
You can complain directly to the Council’s Data Protection Team by writing to: -
Data Protection Officer
Knowsley Council
Westmorland Road
Huyton
L36 6GA
Or email: data.protection.officer@knowsley.gov.uk
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office using the following details: -
The Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 54 57 45
Website: www.ico.org.uk