We take your privacy seriously and will only keep and use your personal information for reasons law requires or allows. The Council is the data controller for the personal information we hold about you in relation to Housing Assistance. In order to comply with data protection legislation we want to be sure you understand how we use this information.

The purposes for which the data will be used

• To help us understand what daily activities are challenging for you due to your health and disability, and to identify your needs and requirements for home adaptation.
• To determine your eligibility for a Disabled Facilities Grant or other assistance available through our Housing Assistance Policy.
• For residents in the South Staffordshire District Council (SSDC) area, to determine your eligibility for assistance available through SSDC’s Housing Assistance Policy.
• To compile, approve and pay a valid grant application on your behalf.
• To organise adaptations by procuring contractors, architects, equipment suppliers or by working with your housing provider to approve a landlord’s grant application.
• To initiate support when required by referring a client to services such as income or benefits advice, fuel poverty advice, social services for example.

We can do this because Section 23 of the Housing, Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 Chapter 53, says that we must approve and pay a valid application for a Disabled Facilities Grant. The Regulatory Reform Order 2002 says that the local housing authority can provide assistance to help people to adapt their living accommodation, and that assistance can be provided in any form.

With the client’s consent, we may share your data with relevant agencies such as an Occupational Therapy assessment supplier, a housing provider, architect, equipment supplier or works contractor, local authority departments including housing options, planning, building control, revenues and benefits, and land charges.

The Housing Assistance service is hosted by Stafford Borough Council on behalf of Stafford Borough Council (SBC) and South Staffordshire District Council (SSDC). Information relating to clients residing in the SSDC area will be shared with South Staffordshire District Council. Information relating to clients residing in the SBC area will not be shared with SSDC. Anonymised statistical reporting will be made available to SSDC for the purpose of monitoring the quality and performance of the shared service.

Anonymised data may also be shared with central government through the submission of annual statistical returns. Anonymised data may be shared with Staffordshire County Council in respect of certification of grant expenditure, as the Disabled Facilities Grant allocation is awarded via the Better Care Fund.

In rare instances we may also be required to share your data in other cases where the law requires or allows us to.

How long we will keep your information

We only keep this data for the time specified in our retention schedule or as required by law.

• Landlord and Tenant applications - records retained for 5 years from certified completion of the grant.
• Owner’s applications - records retained for 10 years from certified completion of the grant.
• Cancelled applications - records retained for 5 years from the date of cancellation.

Data protection law provides you with certain rights, however not all of these rights will be available to you in all situations, particularly where we process your information as part of one of our statutory duties. Where we are under a legal duty to use data for a particular purpose you will not have the right to prevent it being used in that way.

A full list of the rights you may have, under data protection law, is given in the 'Your Rights' section. For specific enquiries regarding personal data which we process you can contact the Data Protection Officer on dpo@staffordbc.gov.uk or at Civic Centre, Riverside, Stafford ST16 3AQ.

If you wish to complain about how your personal information has been handled by Stafford Borough Council then please contact the Data Protection Officer in the first instance using the details above. If you are not satisfied you can submit a formal complaint to the Council via Complaints.

Finally you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at:

The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, Tel: 0303 123 1113 or you can visit their website at ico.org.uk.

You can also find details of how we handle your personal information by visiting
www.staffordbc.gov.uk/PrivacyNotice

For any general enquiries you can contact the council by phone on 01785 619000, via email info@staffordbc.gov.uk or by writing to us at Civic Centre, Stafford Borough Council, Riverside, Stafford, ST16 3AQ.