Advice Shop Privacy Notice

Who is responsible for your information?

All personal information is held and processed by West Lothian Council in accordance with data protection law.

What information do we need?

West Lothian Council will collect personal information in relation to your enquiry. As you have requested that the Advice Shop provide you with a service we will need to collect some personal information about you, your family and any other dependents. This information is needed to complete benefit claims to help maximise your income.  We need the information to assist with any issues you may have with money, debt, housing or energy. We will need information to support you to appeal any decisions made by the Department of Work and Pensions which you think are wrong and to represent and provide advocacy for those facing court action. We will also need this information to help us apply for additional financial help on your behalf, from charities, fuel banks, grants and other sources of financial or other assistance. 

Only the relevant information for your enquiry will be collected.

• Your name, address, telephone number, email address, national insurance number, date of birth;
• All medical information necessary for your case;
• If required for your case, information about people living with you - details of their income, allowances, savings,  investments and if necessary health conditions;
• Depending on your case other information needed to assist with your enquiry:
  • Bank details;
  • Your landlord details;
  • Details of debt owed to creditors;
  • Evidence of income and expenditure;
  • Housing information;
  • Energy supplier information

Who will we share your information with?

To assist you, any information that has to be shared will be discussed with you and, only information specific to your case will be shared where necessary with:

• The Department for Work and Pensions
• Scottish Government Bodies:
  • Mortgage to Rent
  • Debt Arrangement Scheme
  • Accountant in Bankruptcy
• West Lothian Council Services:
  • Social Policy;
  • Finance & Property Services;
  • Education Services;
  • Housing, Customer and Building services;
  • Planning, Economic Development and Regeneration
• Registered Social Landlords
• National Health Service
• Your Creditors;
• Energy suppliers;
• Partner and funding organisations; Macmillan Cancer Support, Scottish Legal Aid Board, European Social Funding
• Charitable organisations - where you may be entitled to a grant.
• Support services in the Community for other forms of support where you have agreed to be referred
• Scottish Courts and Tribunals Services
• Council volunteers for the delivery of goods received via an agreed Advice Shop referral to other agencies.

We will tell you who we are sharing your information with and the reason we are sharing the information.

How long do we keep your information?

The council will only keep your information for a maximum of seven years unless there is a funding requirement to keep your information longer:

• Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS) greater than the duration of your payment plan
• European Social Funding greater than 10 years

After this time your information will be securely destroyed.

Providing accurate information

It is important that we hold accurate and up to date information about you in order to assess your needs and advise appropriately. If any of your details have changed, or change in the future, please ensure that you tell us as soon as possible so that we can update your records. We are legally obliged to safeguard public funds so we are required to verify and check your details for fraud prevention, we may share personal information internally and with other public bodies.

Your rights and further information

You have a number of rights under data protection law, including the right to request your information and to request that the information be amended or, in some circumstances, erased if incorrect.

If you have any questions or concerns about how your information is used please contact the duty manager on 01506 283000 or email advice.shop@westlothian.gov.uk (opens new window)

You can also contact the Data Protection Officer, West Lothian Council, West Lothian Civic Centre, Howden South Road, Livingston, West Lothian, EH54 6FF, email: DataProtectionOfficer@westlothian.gov.uk (opens new window)

More information about data protection and how it applies to you, including how you can make a complaint, is available from the Information Commissioner's Office.