Vital-Energy Company Obligation (ECO) Flexibility privacy notice

Who is the data controller for the information we collect

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

Leeds City Council is the data controller for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 2018 and other regulations including the UK General Data Protection Regulation, which means it determines what your data is used for and why it is collected. Cenergist, the sub-contractor appointed by Vital, is the data processor to deliver the scheme for Leeds City Council.

This privacy notice is provided to meet the requirements of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) to explain how we process your personal data in delivering ECO Flexibility eligibility scheme, what information we collect about you when you use our service, how we use that information and who we may share it with.

The contact details of the data controller are Leeds City Council, Merrion House, 110 Merrion Way, Leeds, LS2 8BB.

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

How do we collect information about you

We collect information about you from you directly (eg by asking you to complete one of our forms, via the telephone through our contact centre or face-to-face). We may also obtain your information from other sources such as

  • ECO contractors affiliated with Leeds City Council
  • other public authorities
  • NHS Trusts

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

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.

Lawful 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/service 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 can we 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

The following rights under data protection law are available under the UK GDPR

  • 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
  • the right to erasure - where 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 data portability (where you can ask that we transfer your personal data to another organisation or to you
  • the right to object to processing (where you can object to the processing of your personal data) and
  • 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 your rights through the Your individual rights and how to exercise them and the Information Commissioner’s Office website.

You may exercise any of the above rights in relation to your personal data by writing to us, using the contact details provided below.

When your data gets sent to other countries

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

Contact us 

Any queries in relation to this Privacy Notice should be forwarded to

email: homeenergyhelp@leeds.gov.uk

Data Protection Officer

Aaron Linden
Head of Information Management and Governance - Data Protection Officer
Leeds City Council
Merrion House
110 Merrion Way
Leeds
LS2 8BB
DPO@leeds.gov.uk

The council privacy notice is available to view privacy notice.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with the way in which your information has been handled you should speak with the specific service in the first instance.

Any data protection complaints about how the council has processed your personal data, will be handled in accordance with the council’s Complaints Policy. You can find out how to submit a complaint by visiting this link Complaints, compliments and feedback - let us know.

If we cannot resolve your complaint, you can refer to the Information Commissioner if you consider that there has been an infringement of data protection legislation. Further details can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website.

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 December 2024.