Business Grants privacy notice

Data we collect

• Name
• Business address
• Email address
• Telephone number
• Bank account details
• Business Rates account number
• Companies House number
• VAT registration number
• Business type
• Number of employees
• Date business established
• Information on trading
• Information on income/loss
• Bank statements/lease agreements/mortgage agreements
• Other forms of evidence

Why we collect and use this information

The Government has introduced a range of business support grants in response to Covid-19..

The personal information you provide when applying for a business grant will allow the Council to determine whether your business is eligible to receive financial assistance in according with government guidance and criteria.  We will use your information to verify your identity where required, and contact you by post, e-mail or phone and to maintain our records.

We will not be able to process your grant application without the personal data you provide to us.

Why we are allowed to use your data

The legal basis we rely on to process your personal data is GDPR Article 6.1(a) processing is necessary for the performance of a contract with you, or to take steps to enter into a contact with you, and (e) processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.

Who we can share your data with

The Council are required by law to protect the public funds we administer and may use your information for the prevention and detection of crime – including fraud and money laundering. We are also legally obliged to share certain data with other public bodies, such as the Cabinet Office as part of the National Fraud Initiative and HMRC for tax purposes and will do so where the law requires this. 

Information relating to all business grants will be passed to the Government including the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy for monitoring and evaluation purposes, as well as for prevention and detection of fraud and/or other criminal activities and for suspension and/or recovery of the grant where necessary.  The Government may share information for the purpose of counter fraud activity and debt recovery with other government departments, agencies and/or local authorities. 

We may confirm information about you and your account from credit referencing agencies to confirm account validity and your identity. If you provide false or inaccurate information, we will record this. We and other fraud prevention agencies may use and search these records to prevent fraud and money laundering.

To enable us to provide our service to you we may share your information with other

Council services to ensure our records are accurate and up to date, to improve the standard of services we deliver, and to perform our statutory duties.

If there is an overpayment of grant, or the grant application is found to be erroneous or fraudulent, the Council will be obliged to recover the overpayment from you. We will always try to contact you first to make a formal arrangement to recover any overpayment.  Where this is unsuccessful, we may pass your information onto debt recovery agents to enforce any collection of money not repaid.

Your personal data will be treated with the strictest confidence and will only be accessible to those who need it to access it for the above purposes.  Where other departments of the Council have a legal right to data we hold, information shall be provided which is relevant to their legal powers.

When computers make any decisions about you

Not applicable

When your data gets sent to other countries

Not applicable

Further information

We will only keep your personal information for the minimum period necessary.

The Government have stated that details of business grant payments made must be kept securely for 6 years.  After which time the information will be deleted from our systems. 

You have the right to contact us and ask for your information to be removed where there is no obligation or statutory requirement for it to be kept. For enquiries about this privacy notice and for deletion of data held under consent please email ctax@wyreforestdc.gov.uk