Privacy

View the Surrey Heath Borough Council privacy notices.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme privacy notice

We have summarised in this privacy notice some of the key ways in which we use your personal data in relation to the UK Homes for Ukraine scheme. This information should be read in conjunction with the SHBC main privacy notice.

Who we are, what we do

We know that many people across Surrey Heath Borough will want to help and show support for the people of Ukraine. There are lots of organisations who are helping in the humanitarian crisis and appeal.

The council is committed to take Ukrainian people through the UK Government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme.

This scheme will support Ukrainian people with Housing, Education, Health and integration into the community, as well as supporting the people who volunteer to sponsor Ukrainian people and their families.
It must be noted that during this time Councils have to quickly change the way in which they are working to continue to provide you with the support and services you need.  We will always follow advice and guidance from the UK Government when making any changes to the way in which we provide you with the support you need.

What personal information do we collect and hold?

If you are Ukrainian or a person/family sponsoring a Ukrainian person , the types of information the council holds and processes about you will typically include, but is not limited to:

Ukrainian people

  • Name
  • Address
  • Contact details including telephone number, email address,
  • Date of birth
  • Visa / Passport Information
  • Family members information, including any children
  • Disability / medical / health information
  • Ethnicity / race
  • Information relating to any safeguarding concerns
  • The name of a school any children will be attending
  • Religion
  • Photographic images
  • Pre-paid card number

Sponsor family 

  • Name
  • Address
  • Details of family members that live at the property, to include ages
  • Contact details including; telephone number, email address
  • Information relating to any safeguarding, security checks and home assessments required for your suitability to provide support
  • Bank details to process the monthly thank you payment
  • Criminal allegations, convictions or offences
  • We will also be holding information regarding the condition of sponsors’ homes.
  • This information is required to ensure that provision is put in place and people are supported appropriately.
  • Criminal offence data will be processed under the 28 conditions of Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018 which are available for the processing of criminal offence data and set out in paragraphs 1 to 37. This information is processed as part of suitability checks.

How we get the personal information and why we have it

  • We will receive, from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), details of Surrey Heath residents who have applied to become a sponsor through the Homes for Ukraine scheme and where already matched, details of the guests.
  • The data received will be used to conduct suitability checks and for the administration of payments associated with the scheme.
  • The council will undertake the following:
  • pre-arrival and post-arrival checks;
  • accommodation checks;
  • address validation checks;
  • Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks; and
  • any other checks required by to assess your suitability as a host.

In addition to the checks above the council will also:

  • provide support to Ukrainian guests and hosts (for example safeguarding, assistance in accessing public services, assistance in accessing education, employment and training and community integration) and
  • administer funds associated with the scheme (for example sponsor and guest financial payments).

We receive information directly, or indirectly, from the following sources:

  • you as an individual by:
  • our online form
  • email
  • telephone
  • in person.
  • Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
  • Disclosure and Barring Service
  • Public Protection Partnership

How the law allows us to use your personal information

Under the UK GDPR, the lawful basis we rely on for processing the information is Article 6 UK GDPR:

  • (a) your consent
  • (c) we have a legal obligation
  • (e) we need it to perform a public task

Special category data 

Special category data is being processed under Article 9 UK GDPR:

  • (a) your consent
  • (g) processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest
  • (h) processing is necessary for provision of health or social care treatment

Your consent

Where we use consent to process your personal data, we will explain to you what we are asking you to agree to and why.

If we have consent to use your personal data, you have the right to remove it at any time.

If you want to remove your consent, please contact data.protection@surreyheath.gov.uk and we will deal with your request.

If you remove your consent, we are unlikely to be able to provide continued services to you.

Legal obligation and public tasks

The public tasks we carry out, and the legal obligations we are subject to, are found in the:

  • Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
  • Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016
  • Children and Families Act 2014
  • Children and Social Work Act 2017
  • Children Act 1989
  • Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act
  • Health and Social Care Act 2012

Who we share your information with

Information held by the council may be shared with the following organisations:

  • Internal council services such as: Housing/Finance/Communities
  • Adult social care
  • Children’s social care
  • Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS checks)
  • Welfare and housing
  • Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
  • Home Office
  • Police
  • Public Protection Partnership
  • other hosts where consent is provided
  • charities, where consent is provided
  • local voluntary organisations and faith groups
  • other organisations as necessary to provide the services outlined as part of the scheme

We share the information in order to provide the services outlined above as part of the scheme for:

  • safeguarding purposes including accommodation checks and doorstep visits;
  • welfare support including the provision of initial essentials to the guest;
  • host support network; and
  • general administration including support payments.

How we store your personal information

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

How long we retain your information

We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. 

For information transferred from central government, the retention period will be up to 2 years after closure of the scheme, as per Memorandum of Understanding (published by DLUHC).

For personal data held by the council for its own functions, the retention period will be as set out in our retention and disposal schedule.

Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have rights we need to make you aware of. The rights available to you depend on our reason for processing your information. Further information can be found at Your Legal Rights  

How to complain

If you have any concerns about our use of your personal information, you can make a complaint to us at data.protection@surreyheath.gov.uk (link sends email).

You can also complain to the ICO if you are unhappy with how we have used your data by:

  • visiting the ICO website
  • phoning the ICO helpline on 0303 123 1113
  • writing to:

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF