No Use Empty scheme
This notice explains what personal data (information) we hold about you, how we collect, how we use and may share information about you. We are required to give you this information under data protection law.
Who we are
We are part of Kent County Council. When we collect and use personal information we are regulated under the General Data Protection Regulation which applies across the European Union (including in the United Kingdom) and we are responsible as ‘controller’ of that personal information for the purposes of those laws. Our Data Protection Officer is Benjamin Watts.
Personal information we collect and use
Information collected by us
The purpose of the No Use Empty Initiative is to offer interest free loans to help refurbish derelict empty properties and bring them back into use to provide homes.
In the course of processing your application for a loan we collect the following personal information when you provide it to us:
- name
- address
- contact details including email addresses, if you have enquired about a loan
- personal information, when you apply for a loan e.g. copy of passport or driving licence, utility bills, bank or building society statements, credit card statements and pay slips
- company accounts
- self-employed accounts
- company information, including Companies House registration details
- information about your property ownership
- financial information (for the payment of the loan).
How we use your personal information
We use your personal information to:
- assess the eligibility of your application
- process your loan application.
How long your personal data will be kept
We will keep your personal data:
- as long as is necessary to meet the purpose for which it was originally collected
- as long as you want to receive the e-newsletter from us.
Reasons we can collect and use your personal information
The provision of personal and/ or sensitive data is required from you to enable us to process your loan application.
As a contractual basis for collecting your personal data, if you do not provide us with this information required as identified then we are unable to process the loan and it will be rejected.
Keep 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 authorised 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.
Who we share your personal information with
- Invicta Law Limited for the purposes of them providing services on behalf of KCC in the production of legal agreements and associated documents in accordance with a loan administered by No Use Empty
- credit reference agencies for verifying information you have given to us
- mortgage companies who have charges secured on a property owned by you that you have offered KCC security on.
- local authorities in Kent.
We will share personal information with law enforcement or other authorities if required to do so by applicable law.
How long your personal data will be kept
We will hold your personal information for six years to comply with any statutory or legal obligations or for audit purposes before it is securely destroyed.
Your rights
Under GDPR you have rights which you can exercise free of charge which allow you to:
- withdraw your consent at any time
- 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 request)
- ask us to correct any mistakes in the information we hold about you
- object to direct marketing
- make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office
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. Please note that your request may delay or prevent us delivering Inside Track 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 GDPR.
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
Please 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, at dpo@kent.gov.uk, or write to: Data Protection Officer, Sessions House, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1XQ.
GDPR also gives you right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. The supervisory authority in the UK is the Information Commissioner who may be contacted on 03031 231113.
Read our corporate privacy statement.