Healthy Homes privacy notice

This Privacy Notice should be read in conjunction with Colchester City Council’s Privacy Policy. 

This Privacy Notice provides information on how we process your personal information with regards to Disabled Facilities Grants, Home Repair Loans and other forms of financial assistance. 

Disabled Facilities Grants

Information collected

• Name
• Address
• Telephone number
• Email address
• Tenure of property
• Date of birth
• Age
• National insurance number
• Proof of residency – utility bill
• Land Registry searches
• Recommendations from Essex County Council Occupational Therapy team – including nature of disability, date of birth and works required for their disability
• Referrals from other health professionals, for example, the Hospital Discharge Hub
• Proof of ownership – copy of deeds or signed statement from solicitor
• Power of attorney documents if appropriate or documents from Essex Guardians
• Applications for planning permission and Building control permission
• Grant application form
• Financial info – including:
  • Proof of receipt of any benefits – information provided by the client from DWP and CBC and information gained directly from DWP and CBC Benefits.
  • Bank and building society statements – 3 months min
  • Proof of stocks/shares/savings
  • Proof of occupational/private pensions - statements

Agencies we might share your information with

• Occupational Therapy and Adult Social Care at Essex County Council
• External agency providing surveying services
• Contractors from our approved contractors list – client’s name, address and contact details are shared with contractors
• C360
• Charities/support agencies
• Services contracted by ECC or CBC to provide support services such as Handy Person services
• Other Health professionals

The purpose and lawful basis for processing

The lawful basis for the processing of your personal data is legal obligation. The Council has a requirement to process the above information in order to provide Disabled Facilities Grants and other forms of financial assistance under the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 and Regulations issued under this. Also, to provide further support services to vulnerable residents. We only request the minimum amount of information and ensure that is it stored securely.

Length of time we keep your information

We retain information relating to Disabled Facilities Grants for a minimum of 7 years or for the life of any conditions attached to the assistance - which may be for up to ten years after the completion of works. If you believe we are holding inaccurate information on your file you do have the right to contact us and ask for your information to be amended or removed where there is no obligation or statutory requirement for it to be kept. You can exercise this right by contacting grantsandloanssupport@colchester.gov.uk.

Home Repair Loans and other forms of financial assistance

Information collected

• Name
• Address
• Telephone number
• Email address
• Tenure of property
• Date of birth
• Age
• Recommendations from Essex County Council Occupational Therapy team – including nature of disability, date of birth and works required for their disability
• Referrals from other health professionals, for example, the Hospital Discharge Hub
• National insurance number
• Proof of residency – utility bill
• Land Registry searches
• Proof of ownership – copy of deeds or signed statement from solicitor
• Power of attorney documents if appropriate or documents from Essex Guardians
• Applications for planning permission and Building control permission.
• Financial info – including:
  • Bank and building society statements – 3 months min
  • Proof of stocks/shares/savings etc
  • Proof of occupational/private pensions - statements 
  • Proof of receipt of any benefits – information provided by the client from DWP and CBC and information gained directly from DWP and CBC Benefits

Agencies we might share your information with

• Occupational Therapy and Adult Social Care at Essex County Council 
• Contractors from our approved contractors list – client’s name, address and contact details are shared with contractors
• C360
• Charities/support agencies
• Services contracted by ECC or CBC to provide support services such as Handy Person services
• Other Health Professionals

The purpose and lawful basis for processing

The lawful basis for the processing of your personal data is legal obligation. In order to assess applications and offer home repair loans and other forms of financial assistance we need to collect the above information. The Regulatory Reform Order requires us to publish a Policy detailing our financial assistance offers. This is on the Council’s website and details what grants/loans are available and the eligibility criteria. In order to assess eligibility we only request the minimum amount of information and ensure that is it stored securely.

Length of time we keep your information

We retain information relating to other forms of financial assistance for the life of any conditions attached to the assistance - which may be ongoing in perpetuity until the property is sold. Information will also be retained for up to seven years after repayment of a loan. If you believe we are holding inaccurate information on your file you do have the right to contact us and ask for your information to be amended or removed where there is no obligation or statutory requirement for it to be kept. You can exercise this right by contacting grantsandloansupport@colchester.gov.uk

How we protect and store your personal data

We take the confidentiality of personal information very seriously and use recognised security and access controls to protect your information from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or corruption. We have procedures and processes in place to ensure that your personal information is managed appropriately.

Your information may be held outside of the UK. Where this is the case, we ensure that additional measures are in place to protect your data and to ensure that we continue to comply with data protection requirements.

Updates to this Privacy Notice

We will continually review and update this privacy notice to reflect changes in our processes and procedures, as well as to comply with changes in the law. When such changes occur, we will revise the "last updated" date on this notice. We encourage you to periodically review this notice and to be informed of how we are protecting your information.