Vital-Energy Company Obligation (ECO) Flexibility privacy notice

ECO Flexibility eligibility scheme is council-run scheme within Leeds. Referred to as ECO4 Flex, the scheme offers energy efficiency measures to eligible homes within the areas shown below, to improve energy efficiency, lower bills and reduce carbon emissions. The scheme is run jointly with Vital, the contractor appointed by the council and sub-contractor Cenergist, appointed by Vital to collect the data on behalf of Vital.

Leeds City Council operates own scheme under ECO4 Flex scheme in the following areas:

• Lincoln Green District Heating scheme in Burmantofts
• Clustering for Warmth Project, Clusters 1 to 5

The data controller for this project

Leeds City Council is the data controller for all personal data you provide as part of this scheme.  Cenergist, the sub-contractor appointed by Vital is the data processor to deliver the scheme for Leeds City Council.

The data we will collect

We only collect and use the minimum amount of personal information required when delivering this scheme. Depending upon which route an application is submitted under, we will use all or some of the personal information below:

• name, address and contact details
• household income data, benefits data, health data
• property data

Why we process your data

We use your information to:

• assess your eligibility to the scheme
• verify the eligibility of your property
• handle your query
• monitor and research
• prevent fraud

All the data collected during the scheme will be treated in strict confidence and in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The data provided by you will not be used for any purpose, other than this scheme.

Legal basis for processing

We will process your data based on your consent in accordance with UK GDPR Article 6(1)(a). The processing shall be lawful only if and to the extent that the following applies:

• the data subject has given consent to the processing of their personal data for one or more specific purposes

Withdrawing your consent

You have the right to withdraw your consent from participating in the scheme at any time. Withdrawing your consent will not affect any services or benefits you receive as a tenant of the Council. However, it may mean you will not be eligible for any energy efficiency measures to your home to improve energy efficiency, lower bills, and reduce carbon emissions. If you decide that you no longer wish to participate in the scheme, please contact us.

Data retention, storage and destruction

Our data retention policies and procedures are designed to help ensure that we comply with our legal obligations in relation to the retention, storage and deletion of personal data.

We will only use your personal information whilst delivering the service to you and to deal with any questions or complaints that we may receive about this unless the law requires us to keep it for a longer period. In practice, this means that your information will be kept for seven years and then deleted.

Who we can share your data with

We will share your data with agencies shown below as follows:

• Cenergist who will use this information to consider whether or not you meet the eligibility for ECO4 Flexibility scheme (They collect the details of income, savings and health conditions and send it to us to assess your eligibility and provide a declaration) (They also install the measures).
• Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) who administers ECO4 Flex scheme will receive householders' name, address, and the eligibility route.
  

In addition, we will share your personal data:

• where such disclosure is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject;
• in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person;
• for the purposes of security and prevention of fraud and other criminal activity;
• where such disclosure is necessary for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims, whether in court proceedings or in an administrative or out-of-court procedure.

Automated decision making

Your data will not be used for any automated decision making, including profiling.

Your rights

Your principal rights under data protection law are:

• the right to access - you can ask for copies of your personal data
• the right to rectification - you can ask us to rectify inaccurate personal data and to complete incomplete personal data
• the right to erasure - you can ask us to erase your personal data
• the right to restrict processing - you can ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data
• the right to object to processing - you can object to the processing of your personal data
• the right to data portability - you can ask that we transfer your personal data to another organisation or to you
• the right to complain to a supervisory authority - you can complain about our processing of your personal data
• the right to withdraw consent - to the extent that the legal basis of our processing of your personal data is consent, you can withdraw that consent

These rights are subject to certain limitations and exceptions. You can learn more about the rights of data subjects through the Information Commissioner's Office.

You may exercise any of your rights in relation to your personal data by written notice to us, using the contact details set out below.

When your data gets sent to other countries

The information you provide will not be transferred to another country outside of the EU.

Contact us

Any queries in relation to this project should be forwarded to:

Data Protection Officer

Our privacy notice is available to view.

Changes to this notice

We keep our privacy notice under regular review. We will notify you of significant changes to this notice by email or other means as appropriate. This privacy notice was last updated 27 July 2023.