The Council provides services for local communities and the people who live in them. Undertaking this work means that we must collect and use information about the people we provide services to and keep a record of those services. Because we collect and use personal information about individuals we must make sure that they know what we intend to do with their information and who it may be shared with.
We have summarised in this privacy notice some of the key ways in which we use your personal information for European Social Fund Project purposes. This information should be read in conjunction with the Council’s corporate privacy notice and the Welsh Government's Privacy Notice which can be found here https://gov.wales/privacy_policy/?lang=en
1. Who we are, what we do.
The Council receives European Social Funding (ESF) to deliver the following projects:
- Communities for Work
- Inspire 2 Work
- Ignite
- Platform 1
- Staying Well @ Work
These projects provide mentoring support and coaching, and training and qualifications to people seeking work, training or further education, who are unemployed or not in education or training aged from 16 to any age.
The Staying Well @ Work project is designed to help individuals with disabilities or work limiting health conditions to re-enter the workplace following a sickness absence.
In order for to us to deliver these projects (in line with the terms of the grant funding) and to provide you with the best possible support we need to collect and use personal information about the people who attend our programme.
2. What and whose personal information we hold?
We hold information about past and present people who have taken part in our ESF Projects.
The types of information we collect and use will typically include:
- Contact details, including name, address, telephone numbers and email address.
- Identifying details, including date of birth and national insurance number.
- Information that confirms your right to live and work in the UK such as a passport; birth certificate and National Insurance Number and Department for Work and Pensions benefit details.
- Information about the person’s family, dependents or personal circumstances, for example, marital status; caring responsibilities.
- Information about the person’s health, for example, a medical condition which creates a barrier in relation to gaining employment.
- Education and qualifications.
- We also collect and hold information that is generated during the attendance on ESF Projects such as; training, support provided; details of conversations, and any other events that happen that you tell us about.
3. Where does the service get my information from?
We obtain this personal information directly from the person who is taking part in the project. It is collected via the ESF Project enrolment form.
We may also receive information (for example, contact details) from the organisation that is making a referral to the ESF Project on behalf of the individual.
We also generate our own information about you while you are on project. For example details of conversations, training, events you tell us about that are important to you and the support we provide as well as any qualifications you achieve.
4. What we will do with your personal information?
We use this information to:
- Process the referral onto the chosen project
- Provide advice, support and guidance
- Find suitable training.
- Arrange volunteering or work experience placements.
- Produce and provide reports to the Welsh European Funding Office to demonstrate that the Project is being run correctly and in accordance with the terms of the funding.
- To evaluate ESF projects in RCT in line with grant funding requirements.
5. What is the legal basis for the use of this information?
Data Protection law says that we are allowed to use and share personal information only where we have a proper and lawful reason for doing so.
Our lawful basis for processing personal information to deliver ESF Project is:
- To undertake our official council duties and to satisfy our legal obligations under the following legislation:
REGULATION (EU) No 1304/2013 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 17 December 2013 on the European Social Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1081/2006
6. Does the service share my personal information with any other organisation?
As mentioned above we work with a number to trusted partner organisations to deliver the projects, agree funding and to demonstrate that the Project is being run correctly and in accordance with the terms of the funding:
- The project fund provider – Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO) who are the Data Controllers
- We work in partnership with Welsh Government with Department of Work and Pensions, Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council, Wales Council for Voluntary Action who act as ‘the project fund managers’.
- Internal Council services such as our Finance Department
- Sometimes we ask other providers to deliver some parts of the Projects, and we share information with these organisations. For example the YMCA, Armed Forces Training, Adult Learning Wales, ARC training, Rubicon.
- External evaluation organisations.
7. How long will my information be kept?
We will only keep your personal information for as long as we need it to administer the Fund and to deal with any questions or complaints that we may receive about this, unless the law requires us to keep it for a longer period.
In practice, this means that your personal information may be retained for as long as you (or any beneficiary who receives benefits after your death) are entitled to benefit from the Fund and for a period of 10 years after closure of the Projects.
The Welsh European Funding Office have let us know that they expect us to retain our records for 10 years after the Project has ended. For example if the Project end date is December 2020, we must retain your record until December 2030.
8. Your information, your rights
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) gives you important rights, including the right to access the personal information the services hold about you.
View further details on your information rights and how to exercise them.
9. Contact us
If you have any concerns or would like to know more about how the service using your personal information please contact us in one of the following ways:
By email : Syd.b.dennis@rctcbc.gov.uk (ESF Programme Manager)
By telephone : 01443 01443 425751
In writing: Ty Elai, Dinas Isaf East, Williamstown, Tonypandy, CF40 1NY