Data protection and privacy

Crisis and resilience fund privacy notice

Liverpool City Council is committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that your personal information is used fairly, lawfully, and transparently.

This privacy notice explains how we use your personal information when you apply for, or are considered for, support from the Crisis and Resilience Fund.

Data controller

Liverpool City Council is the data controller for the personal information we collect and use in relation to the Crisis and Resilience Fund.

Why we collect your information

We use your personal information to:

  • Assess eligibility for support under the Crisis and Resilience Fund
  • Make decisions about awards and payments
  • Administer and deliver financial or practical assistance
  • Prevent and detect fraud and protect public funds
  • Meet our legal, safeguarding, and audit responsibilities

What information we collect about you

To administer the Crisis and Resilience Fund, we may collect the following information:

  • Your name, address, date of birth, and contact details
  • Information about your household and dependants
  • Financial information, including income, benefits, debts, and essential expenditure
  • Details about your circumstances, need for support, and vulnerability
  • Information held by other council services where it is relevant and lawful for us to do so

Some of this information may include special category personal data, for example information relating to health or vulnerability, where this is necessary to assess support needs.

Our lawful basis for processing the personal data

We process your personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).
The lawful bases we rely on are:

  • Article 6(1)(e) – Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority
  • Article 9(2)(g) – Where special category data is processed, this is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest, including safeguarding individuals who may be at risk

Consent

When you apply for support from the Crisis and Resilience Fund we will ask for your consent to process your information telling you why consent is required and what the information will be used for.

In these circumstances you will have the right to withdraw your consent at any time and ask us to erase the information that you provided under that consent, which we will do unless we are required by law to process and/or retain your information

Do I have to provide this information and what will happen if I don't?

If you cannot provide some or all of the information required, we may not be able to process your application for support from the Crisis and Resilience Fund.

Who we share your information with

To fulfil our duties in administering the Crisis and Resilience Fund and providing support to residents, we may need to share your information with other parties where the law allows us to do so.
We sometimes need to share your information within the Council or with other organisations. We will only share your information when necessary and where the law permits. We will only share the minimum information required for the purpose.

For Crisis and Resilience Fund matters, we may share your information with:

  • Other Liverpool City Council services, where this is permitted under data protection legislation, to support decision making, safeguarding, or the delivery of assistance
  • The council’s Benefits Service, to verify benefit entitlement or income information where relevant to eligibility
  • Central government departments, such as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), to verify information, in government returns or where required to administer government funded support schemes
  • Partner organisations or commissioned service providers who support the delivery of crisis assistance on the Council’s behalf
  • Accounts Receivable or Finance services, where necessary to process payments, grants, or recover overpayments
  • Auditors and regulators, to ensure transparency, accountability, and appropriate use of public funds
  • The National Fraud Initiative, for the purposes of preventing and detecting fraud

In certain circumstances, we may also share your information with other individuals or organisations. For example, where sharing information would help protect a vulnerable person, address a safeguarding concern, or prevent or detect crime.

If you tell us that you believe you are vulnerable, we may share proportionate information with the Council’s Adult Social Care, Children’s Services, Public Health and/or Mental Health Services, where necessary, to confirm vulnerability, ensure appropriate support is in place, and notify a support worker where relevant.

We may also lawfully share information with the Police, law enforcement bodies, tax authorities, or other government or fraud prevention agencies where they are carrying out public functions or fulfilling a legal obligation.

We may use information from credit reference agencies for the purposes of:

  • Preventing or detecting fraud or crime
  • Protecting public funds
  • Verifying information provided as part of an application for support

How long we keep your information

Your information will be kept only for as long as necessary to administer the Crisis and Resilience Fund and to comply with legal, financial, and audit requirements.

Retention periods are set in accordance with Liverpool City Council’s corporate retention schedule.

How we protect your information

We have appropriate technical and organisational measures in place to protect your personal information, including:

  • Secure IT systems and controlled access
  • Staff training on confidentiality and data protection
  • Policies and procedures to safeguard personal data

Will this information be used to make automated decisions about me?

No

Will my information by transferred abroad?

No

What rights do I have when it comes to my data?

You have a number of rights that are set out on the How to access your data page of this section.

These rights are not absolute and may be limited where we are required by law to process your information.

Where can I get advice?

View our Help and advice page for more information.

Changes to this notice

We may update this privacy notice from time to time to reflect changes in legislation or service delivery. Any updates will be published on the Liverpool City Council website.