Skip to main content

Privacy policy

Privacy Notice for the Enterprising Durham Programme

(https://www.durhamstartups.co.uk )

This notice is dated 30th November 2023.  We will update this privacy notice as required.

This Privacy Notice explains your rights and gives you the information you are entitled to under the Data Protection Act 2018.

​This Privacy Notice only applies to personal data which could be used to identify you personally, not any other data that you provide in connection with the Enterprising Durham Programme (“the Programme”)

  1. The identity of the data controllers 

Durham County Council (“the Council”), North East Enterprise Agency Ltd  (“NEEAL) are joint data controllers for all personal data you submit.

Durham County Council, County Hall, Aykley Heads, Durham, DH1 5UZ (Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) reference: Z1808275)

NEEAL Limited is registered in England and Wales with company number 06208517. Suite A, Wearfield, Enterprise Park East, Sunderland SR5 2TA  (ICO reference: Z2803413)

This programme is funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (“UKSPF”). The Council has been designated as a ‘Lead Authority’ in Great Britain for the UKSPF under which we will deliver the Programme.

  1. What information do we collect about you 

The information we hold will have been provided by you, either when you register for and access services from the Programme, including when you contact us or we contact you, for example by:

  • Online enquiry form
  • Telephone enquiry
  • Email
  • Face to face meetings
  • Business cards
  • Online & in person, registration
  • Mailing list
  • Webchat and/or video conferencing such as Microsoft Teams

Please note that calls may be recorded for training and quality assurance purposes.

We collect, store and process personal data about you, for example your name, job title, email address and telephone number, as well as details about your business, for example company size, turnover, sector and growth plans.

  1. Why do we need the information

Your personal data is being collected to comply with UK Government requirements on Lead Authorities to undertake accountable body responsibilities for the delivery of UKSPF.

​This includes the responsibility to ensure the UKSPF is properly spent, in line with the Council’s legal duties.

We use your information to enable us to deliver the Programme and manage our relationship with you effectively, lawfully and appropriately.

  1. Legal basis for processing your personal data

We will process all data according to the provisions of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and all applicable laws and regulations relating to the processing of Personal Data and privacy, including, where necessary, the guidance and codes of practice issued by the Information Commissioner and any other relevant data protection regulations (together “the Data Protection Legislation (as amended from time to time)”).

The Data Protection Legislation sets out when we are lawfully allowed to process your data.

​The lawful basis that applies to this processing is Article 6 (1) (e) of the UK GDPR; in practice, the administration of Prosperity Fund matters from start to finish is a task carried out in the public interest and under the official authority vested in the Council – the data you supply is necessary for the performance of this task.

The information will be used to deliver business services to you and manage contracts as follows:

  • To deliver services to you as part of the Programme;
  • To help you and your business. We will use it to provide business support services and to advise you on your business, which we will do through our delivery partners who are part of the Programme ;
  • We will also use the information for audit and management information purposes, to report to our Funder (UK Government) and to produce statistics and to promote the success of the project; and
  • To notify you about changes to our services.

We also use your information for the following legitimate business reasons:

  • To measure the quality of our services and improve them; for example, through customer satisfaction, monitoring and evaluation of our services – we may use a third party to carry this out on our behalf;
  • To help us service customers’ needs more effectively and to develop and maintain meaningful relationships, recognising the different ways in which we have interacted with you and the range of services you have received;
  • To send you updates about the service you have registered for;
  • To better understand the local business market and analyse our impact on the wider economy;
  • To ensure we meet our targets and other contractual commitments; and
  • To prevent and detect fraud and irregularity.
  • You may be able to object to these uses by contacting us.
  1. With whom we will be sharing the data

We may share your information with our delivery partners so that we can support you through the Programme t, or with our own auditors for auditing purposes.  We will disclose your information to regulatory or enforcement authorities if asked to do so, or to a third party in the context of actual or threatened legal proceedings.

As well as our employees, officers, auditors and other agents, as part of the process deliver the Programme we may share your personal data with relevant government departments including:

  • ​Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC)
  • Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
  • Department for Education (DfE)
  • Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
  • His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC)

Data may also be shared in line with the Council’s Governance and Assurance structures put in place for the effective management and administration of UKSPF in County Durham.

​This includes:

  • County Durham Economic Partnership Plus Board and the UKSPF Technical Funding Group
  • Experts invited from outside the UKSPF Technical Funding Group to assist consideration of a specialist proposal
  1. How long we will keep the personal data

Your personal data and information/evidence provided will be held for up to six years from the closure of the 3-year UKSPF Programme.

This is currently estimated to be March 2032.

  1. Your rights, e.g. access, rectification, erasure

​Subject to certain conditions, you have the following rights in relation to the personal data that we hold about you:

  • to obtain a copy of your personal data;
  • to restrict or object to our use of your personal data;
  • to ask us to delete or correct your personal data;
  • where you have provided consent, to withdraw it;
  • to transfer your personal data to another data controller; and
  • to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you think we are not handling your personal data fairly or in accordance with the law.

Please also let us know (using our contact details below) if there are any changes to your information, or if you notice any mistakes in the information that we hold about you as this helps us to keep it up to date and reliable.  We may contact you from time to time to check whether the information we have on you is still accurate and up to date.

You can also contact us if you want to be added to, or removed from, our mailing lists.

  1. Where do we store your information

Personal data is predominantly stored in the UK or the European Union; however, where we process Personal Data elsewhere we shall ensure it is protected and transferred in a manner consistent with legal requirements and in accordance with adequacy agreements and / or appropriate safeguards (i.e. International Data Transfer Agreements).

  1. Automated decision making

We will not use your data for any automated decision-making.

  1. Contact details

The Council’s DPO (Data Protection Officer) can be contacted at [email protected] if required.

  1. Complaints and more information

You have a right to lodge a complaint with the independent Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you think we are not handling your data fairly or in accordance with the law. You can also contact the ICO for independent advice about data protection, privacy and data sharing. The ICO’s contact details are provided below.

If you are not happy with how we are using your personal data, you should first contact us by e-mail to: [email protected].

If you are still not happy, or for independent advice about data protection, privacy and data sharing, you can contact:

​The Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane Wilmslow, Cheshire

SK9 5AF

​Telephone: 0303 123 1113 or 01625 545 745

https://ico.org.uk

Use of Cookies

A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we store on your computer, smartphone or other device for accessing the internet, whenever you visit a website. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer’s hard drive. The term ‘cookies’ can be used inter-changeably with other terms such as pixels, snippets which are all used to track individuals on our website.

Information about our use of cookies

Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve your experience.

Upon entry to our website, a cookie banner will be displayed asking for your consent to the use of cookies. We use this express consent as the lawful basis for the use of cookies in addition to those that are essential for basic website functionality.

You will have the option to individually manage your cookie settings across the Analytics, Functional and Advertising categories. You will have the opportunity to revisit your preferences at any time and amend your consent, through the use of our cookie settings tool. Note: when using an incognito or private browsing session, your cookie preferences are unlikely to be remembered and you will likely be asked to provide your consent on your next visit to our website.

This information provides statistical data about our visitors browsing actions and patterns, and does not identify any individual. For the same reason, we may obtain information about your general internet usage by using a cookie file which is stored on your computer. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer’s hard drive. They help us to improve our website and to deliver a better and more personalised service.

This website uses the following cookies:

  • Essential – these cookies enable core functionality such as security, verification of identity and network management.  These cookies cants be disabled.
  • Marketing – These cookies are used to track advertising effectiveness to provide a more relevant service and deliver better ads to suit your interests.
  • Functional – these cookies collect data to remember choices users make to improve and give a more personalised experience.
  • Analytical – these cookies help us to understand how visitors interact with out website, discover errors and provide a better overall analytics.

Managing cookies within your internet browser:

To find out more on cookies generally and about how to restrict or block the cookies this site uses, please visit www.aboutcookies.org.