Grants and Funding forms part of Economic Development and Culture, Leisure and Wellbeing and Climate Change teams and this document explains how information will be held about you and processed by Grants and Funding.
This notice should be read in conjunction with our Privacy Policy.
How do we get your information?
Most of the personal information we process is provided directly by you when you act as the main contact or authorised representative for a project applying for funding or grants through Wealden District Council. This information is typically supplied via application forms, online systems such as Wealden Community Lottery or Crowdfunder, supporting documentation, correspondence, meetings, or online submission systems.
We may also receive personal information indirectly from other sources where relevant to the assessment, administration, or monitoring of funding, including:
- Other officers or departments within Wealden District Council
- Other local authorities or public sector bodies
- Government departments or agencies
- Gatherwell, via the Wealden Community Lottery website
- Partner organisations involved in the delivery or oversight of the project
- Organisations or individuals providing references, match funding, or supporting evidence.
- Crowdfunder
This information is used only where necessary and in line with data protection legislation.
What personal data do we process and why
The personal information we process about you will vary depending on the funding or grant service being provided and your role as the main contact for a project. The information we collect and use falls within the following categories:
- Name
- Job title / role within the project or organisation
- Organisation name
- Postal address
- Email address
- Telephone number
- Date of birth
- Profession or area of expertise
- Details of your role and responsibilities within the project
- Information about your organisation or partnership arrangements
- Grant funding amounts requested or awarded
- Project budgets and financial forecasts
- Bank or payment details (where funding is approved)
- Match funding or income information linked to the project
- References or supporting statements
- Project progress reports and outcomes
- Photographs or case studies (where provided and agreed)
If you use online application systems, we may collect:
- Website usage statistics
- Technical information such as IP address (where applicable)
Information relating to health and wellbeing and other special category data
In order to administer funding and grants and meet our statutory and legal obligations in respect of these services, we may also need to process sensitive, or “special category” personal data about you, which could include data related to:
- Health and/or disability information
This information is only processed where it is necessary, for example:
- To ensure reasonable adjustments or accessibility support are in place
- To meet equality monitoring requirements associated with specific funding programmes
We use disability information when we need it to carry out our public duties or use the Council’s official powers. This is our lawful basis under Article 6 of the UK GDPR. Because disability information is special category data, we also rely on Article 9(2)(g), which allows us to use it when this is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest. Under Schedule 1, Part 2 of the Data Protection Act 2018, the relevant conditions are statutory and government purposes and, where appropriate, equality of opportunity or treatment.
Why we collect personal information about you
We use this personal information for the following purposes:
- To process, assess, deliver, and manage funding and grant applications, including issuing decisions and administering payments
- To communicate with you about your application, including requesting additional information, providing updates, and monitoring project progress
- To train and manage our employees who are responsible for delivering and administering funding and grant services
- To investigate and respond to enquiries, concerns, or complaints relating to funding decisions or grant management
- To monitor and review the quality and effectiveness of our funding programmes and services
- To support research, reporting, and planning in the development or improvement of current and future funding and grant schemes
- To meet statutory, legal, audit, and accountability obligations, including the prevention and detection of fraud
Lawful basis for processing your personal data
We process your personal data where it is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the Council. This includes:
- Assessing funding and grant applications
- Making funding decisions
- Monitoring the use of public funds
- Evaluating funded projects and their outcomes
- Administering payments and monitoring compliance with funding conditions
This lawful basis is relied upon for the core administration of Council‑run funding and grant schemes.
In some limited circumstances, we may rely on your consent to process personal data. This may include:
- Use of photographs, case studies, or testimonials for publicity or promotional purposes
If we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time by contacting informationgovernance@wealden.gov.uk.
Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.
Who do we share your data with?
The data you provide may be disclosed with other departments of the Council or external organisations for related purposes or as required by law. We may share information with the following types of organisations:
- Other departments and services within Wealden District Council
- Partner organisations involved in the delivery, monitoring, or oversight of funded projects
- Other local authorities
- Gatherwell (for Wealden Community Lottery only)
- Government departments and agencies
- Funding bodies or organisations contributing match funding
- Crowdfunder (for Crowdfunder related funds only)
- External auditors and regulatory bodies
- Fraud prevention and law enforcement agencies, where required
- IT and system providers acting as data processors on behalf of the Council
In some circumstances, such as under a court order, we are legally obliged to share information, and we may also share information with the Police and other enforcement agencies for the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection, or prosecution of criminal offences.
We may also share information internally, in order to verify or confirm your personal details, to ensure our records are accurate and up-to-date. Data held by this service will only be used by other internal departments or services when we are satisfied there is a lawful basis for doing so and is considered fair.
Do we use data processors?
Data processors are third parties who provide certain parts of our services for us. We have contracts in place with them and they cannot do anything with your personal information unless we have instructed them to do so. Our current data processors for this service are listed below:
Data Processor | Purpose |
IT systems and software:
| Used to manage funding and grant applications |
Cloud hosting and data storage services |
|
Payment and processing services | For the administration of grant payments |
Microsoft 365 | Document management and communications systems |
Transfer of personal data
Your personal data may be transferred to other organisations or jurisdictions where necessary to deliver our services or meet our legal obligations. Any such transfers will be carried out in accordance with data protection laws and appropriate safeguards will be applied to ensure your information remains secure and protected. This may include the use of approved contractual clauses, adequacy decisions, or other legally recognised transfer mechanisms designed to maintain the confidentiality, integrity, and security of your personal data.
Automated decision making
Planning Policy, Economic Development and Climate Change Directorate does not use automated decision making in respect of your personal data.
Retention period
We process your personal data for the above purposes for no longer than necessary and in accordance with current legislation and the Councils Retention Schedule.
Only in exceptional circumstances will we hold your information for longer, for example a pending court case. All information will be held securely and disposed of confidentially.
Anonymising your data
Your personal information may be converted into statistical or aggregated data that ensures that you cannot be identified from it. Anonymised data means it cannot be linked back to you as an individual and may be used to conduct research and analysis. This includes the preparations of statistics for use in our reports.
Your rights
Your rights are set out in the Data Protection legislation and include:
- the right to access your personal information, to request rectification or erasure of certain personal
- information and to object to processing in certain circumstances
- the right to withdraw any consent you may have given to process your personal information
- the right to complain to the Information Commissioner if you feel we are processing your personal information unlawfully
- the right to restrict processing activity in certain circumstances
- the right to object to certain types of processing activity
If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact our Information Governance team on informationgovernance@wealden.gov.uk in writing or by completing our online form.
If you are dissatisfied with how we have used your personal data, you have a right to complain to the Information Commissioner Office
Data Protection Officer
If you have any questions or concerns about how your personal data is handled, you can contact our Data Protection Officer (DPO) at dataprotection@wealden.gov.uk