Age Friendly Microgrants privacy notice

We keep this privacy notice under regular review and was last updated on 22 June 2026.

We respect your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy notice will inform you as to how we look after your personal data and tell you about your privacy rights and how the law protects you.

Who we are

We collect, use and are responsible for certain personal information about you. When we do so we are regulated under the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (‘UK GDPR’) and the Data Protection Act 2018. We are responsible as ‘controller’ of that personal information. Our Data Protection Officer is Benjamin Watts.

We have commissioned Involve Kent, a voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisation in Kent to deliver the Age Friendly Kent Microgrants, part of the Age Friendly Communities (AFC) work led by our Public Health team. The AFC microgrants provide small grants to support local, community-led projects that help make Kent more age-friendly (for example by reducing isolation, improving wellbeing, and strengthening age-friendly environments). Involve Kent will support delivery of the microgrants by advertising the grants, receiving and processing applications, carrying out eligibility and verification checks, supporting grant payments, and gathering monitoring information on our behalf.

The personal information we collect and use

Information collected by us

In the course of administering the microgrants, Involve Kent collect personal information when you provide it to them. They collect:

• name, address and contact details of organisation
• name, role and contact details of contact person
• microgrant application information (for example, eligibility information, project details, monitoring information and any supporting evidence you choose to provide)
• banking or payment details for the organisation (or named account holder)
• information required for audit, verification, and payment processing.

We collect information from Involve Kent. We collect:

• microgrant applications, eligibility checks, award decisions, payments and monitoring/verification information
• feedback or evaluation responses collected by Involve Kent or the evaluation partner.

How we use your personal information

Your personal information is used to:

• administer the microgrants, including receiving and assessing applications and communicating decisions
• carry out proportionate checks to prevent fraud and ensure funds are awarded and used appropriately (where necessary)
• provide guidance and support to applicants and grant holders about the programme requirements and delivery of funded projects
• evaluate, impact assess, and quality assure the services we provide
• process grant payments and, where applicable, reimburse eligible project costs in line with the grant conditions
• communicate information to you about Age Friendly Communities opportunities, events and other initiatives
• promote the Age Friendly programme on social media and other marketing methods for case studies (with consent)
• respond to enquiries and comments.

Reasons we can collect and use your personal information

The following lawful basis is relied on when collecting your personal information:

• 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 vested in the controller.

How long your personal data will be kept

Your personal information will be held for the duration of the programme (30 April 2028) plus 12 months.

Who we share your personal information with

Involve Kent will share anonymised data with academic or research partners commissioned to conduct a process evaluation of the scheme to learn about how it was implemented, what worked, and what didn't work.

We will share personal information with law enforcement or other authorities if required by applicable law or in connection with legal proceedings.

We will share personal information with our legal and professional advisers in the event of a dispute, complaint or claim. We rely on Article 9(2)(f) where the processing of special category data is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims or whenever courts are acting in their judicial capacity.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR you have rights which you can exercise free of charge which allow you to:

• know what we are doing with your information and why we are doing it
• ask to see what information we hold about you (Subject Access Requests)
• ask us to correct any mistakes in the information we hold about you
• object to direct marketing
• make a complaint to the Information Commissioners Office
• withdraw consent (if applicable).

Depending on our reason for using your information you may also be entitled to:

• ask us to delete information we hold about you
• have your information transferred electronically to yourself or to another organisation
• object to decisions being made that significantly affect you
• object to how we are using your information
• stop us using your information in certain ways.

We will always seek to comply with your request. However, we may be required to hold or use your information to comply with legal duties. Your request may delay or prevent us delivering a service to you.

For further information about your rights, including the circumstances in which they apply, see the guidance from the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on individuals’ rights under the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation.

If you would like to exercise a right, please contact the Information Resilience and Transparency Team at data.protection@kent.gov.uk .

Keeping your personal information secure

We have appropriate security measures in place to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost, or used or accessed in an unauthorised way. We limit access to your personal information to those who have a genuine business need to know it. Those processing your information will do so only in an authorised manner and are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We also have procedures in place to deal with any suspected data security breach. We will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected data security breach where we are legally required to do so.

Contact

Contact the Information Resilience and Transparency Team at data.protection@kent.gov.uk to exercise any of your rights, or if you have a complaint about why your information has been collected, how it has been used or how long we have kept it for.

You can contact our Data Protection Officer, Benjamin Watts, through email or post at:

UK GDPR also gives you right to lodge a complaint with Information Commissioner, who may be contacted via the Information Commissioner's website or call 03031 231113.

Read our corporate privacy statement.