Your Personal Data
Argyll and Bute Council will act as the ‘Data Controller’ for the personal data you provide to us. The Data Protection Officer, who is responsible for ensuring personal data is managed in accordance with data protection legislation, can be contacted as follows:
Data Protection Officer, Argyll and Bute Council, Legal and Regulatory Support, Kilmory, Lochgilphead PA31 8RT. Email: data.protection@argyllbute.gov.uk
Telephone: 01546 605522
Why do we need this information?
This local authority is administering business support. You are giving us your personal information in the Business Funding Enquiry Form (BFEF) to allow us to determine whether your business is eligible to receive funding or expert help and to administer that to your business.
We also use your information to verify your identity where required, contact you by post, email or telephone, maintain our records and send you information on our other services, including the Council’s Business Gateway support or business support services delivered by our partners.
The lawful basis for collecting your information in these circumstances is: -
Article 6(1)(a) - Consent - by completing the application form you are consenting to us processing your personal data for the assessment and administration of your application for support.
Article 6(1)(b) - Contract - Processing your personal information is necessary for the performance of a contract with you.
What will we do with your information?
We will share your information with any supplier we appoint to deliver business support to you.
We are legally obliged to safeguard public funds, so we are required to verify and check your details with other service areas within the Council for fraud prevention. We may share this information with other public bodies (and also receive information from these other bodies) for fraud checking purposes.
We are also legally obliged to share certain data with other public bodies, such as HMRC and will do so where the law requires this. We will also generally comply with requests for specific information from other regulatory and law enforcement bodies where this is necessary and appropriate. Your information is also analysed internally to help us improve our services.
We may also share your personal information with our service delivery partners to enable them to assist in the delivery of business advice & support services to you. These partners include Scottish Enterprise, Highlands & Islands Enterprise and Skills Development Scotland.
The Council has a number of AI (Artificial Intelligence) systems in use, most notably Microsoft Copilot. These systems are used as productivity assistants and the data is kept securely within the Council Network.
These AI systems do not make decisions for the Council. All AI-generated content requires to be manually checked/verified before it is used operationally.
How long do we keep your information for?
Your information will be held for up to 7 years and after this period it will be destroyed under secure arrangements. If your application is not successful, it will be destroyed after 3years. More information on our retention schedule is provided on the Council website (www.argyll-bute.gov.uk ) or can be provided in paper format on request.
Automated Decision Making
No automated decision making will take place.
Your Rights
When you provide information to the Council, you will have the following rights:
- to withdraw consent at any time, where the legal basis specified above is consent (not applicable)
- to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office – see below for details
- to request access to your personal data – please contact the Data Protection Officer if you wish to submit a request.
- to data portability, where the Legal basis specified above is i) consent or ii) performance of a contract (not applicable)
- to request rectification or erasure of your personal data, as far as the legislation permits – please contact the Data Protection Officer and provide details of what data you wish to be rectified or erased.
You can find out more about your rights in relation to data protection here: www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/data-protection or from the Data Protection Officer by telephone or in writing, as detailed above.
Information Commissioner’s Office
The ICO is the UK’s independent body set up to uphold information rights.
Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF Telephone: 0303 123 1113 Email: casework@ico.org.uk
The Information Commissioner’s Office – Scotland, 45 Melville Street, Edinburgh, EH3 7HL Telephone: 0303 123 1115 Email: scotland@ico.org.uk
