Who we are
We are a local authority established under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 and have our headquarters at Newtown St Boswells, TD6 0SA.
You can contact us by:
- phone: 0300 100 1800
- email CustomerAdvice@scotborders.gov.uk
Our Data Protection Officer can be contacted using the above details or by emailing dataprotection@scotborders.gov.uk.
Why do we need your information?
We need your personal information to determine if you are entitled to the Tenant Grant Fund.
What types of information we are collecting from you
We are required to collect personal information and use this information to provide this service to you.
The kinds of personal information we are collecting include:
- name
- address
- national insurance number
- date of birth
- phone number
- email address
If you do not provide us with the information we have asked for then we will not be able to provide this service to you.
How we will use your information
We also use your information to verify your identity where required, contact you by post, email or phone and to maintain our records.
We are collecting and using this information for the performance of a task which is carried out in the public interest.
Who we may share your information with
Your information will be accessed by our staff who need to do so in order to provide the service described above. We are legally obliged to safeguard public funds so details will be checked internally for fraud prevention and verification purposes and may be shared with other public bodies for the same purpose.
Personal data provided for applications for services administered and/or provided by us may be shared with, or obtained from the following organisations (in addition to any other disclosure required by a Court of Law or in response to a valid request by, normally, a law enforcement agency):
- our staff employed to administer Housing Benefit, Council Tax Support, Discretionary Housing Payment and Scottish Welfare Fund.
- your landlord of the address the application is in respect of
- other council services
- other local authorities
- the Department of Work and Pensions
Provided consent is given, we may make a referral to your current landlord, Citizen’s Advice Scotland Stepchange. Consent can be withdrawn at any point by contacting our Customer Advice and Support Service.
Your information may also be shared and analysed internally in order to provide management information, inform service delivery reform and similar purposes to meet our duty to achieve best value and continuous service improvement.
In general we do not transfer personal data outside either the UK or the European Economic Area (EEA) and on the rare occasions when we do so, we will inform you. We will only transfer data outside the UK and the EEA when it is satisfied that the party which will handle the data and the country it is processing it in will provide adequate safeguards for personal privacy.
Decision Making
We do not use profiling or automated decision-making processes. A human decision maker will always be involved before any decision is reached in relation to you.
Information you have given us about other people
If you have provided anyone else's details on this form, please make sure that you have told them that you have given their information to us. We will only use this information to contact those people to assess your own entitlement to this service. If they want any more information on how we will use their information they can view our privacy statement.
How long do we keep your information for?
We will keep your information for five years.
Your Rights
You have the right to request access to any personal data held about you by us. You can also request that we restrict the use of your information or even object to any further processing. You can do this by contacting the Data Protection Officer. We will respond to your request within 30 calendar days.
For more information on your rights please visit our website or if you would like a hard copy of this information, please contact us using the contact details provided above.
How to raise a complaint
We aim to directly resolve all complaints about how we handle personal information. If your complaint is about how we have handled your personal information, you can contact our Data Protection Officer by email dataprotection@scotborders.gov.uk or phone 0300 100 1800.
However, you also have the right to lodge a complaint about data protection matters with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), who can be contacted by:
- post: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
- phone: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545745
- website
If your complaint is not about a data protection matter you can find details on how to make a complaint on our website.