Privacy and Adult Skills Fund

The Adult Skills Fund including Free Courses for Jobs and Tailored Learning programmes are used to support eligible adults to access education, skills training and learning opportunities. This includes provision that helps adults improve their employment prospects, progress in work, develop essential skills, access further learning, support personal development and participate more fully in their communities.

This Privacy Notice explains how Buckinghamshire Council, as the data controller, will use the personal information we receive or collect about you access devolved Adult Skills Fund, Free Courses for Jobs or Tailored Learning provision funded or managed by the Council.

This notice should be read alongside:

• the Department for Education Individualised Learner Record Privacy Notice;
• Buckinghamshire Council’s corporate Privacy Notice;
• the privacy notice provided by your college, training provider, adult learning provider, community learning provider or other organisation delivering your course;
• the Learning Records Service Privacy Notice, where a Unique Learner Number or Personal Learning Record is used

We can hold the following information:

• your name;
• your contact details, including address, phone number and email address;
• contact we have had with you, such as correspondence, complaints or enquiries;
• your date of birth;
• your postcode and residency information;
• your Unique Learner Number, where applicable;
• learner reference numbers or provider reference numbers;
• programme eligibility details;
• course, programme and qualification details;
• whether your learning is funded through Adult Skills Fund, Free Courses for Jobs or Tailored Learning;
• course start date, planned end date and actual end date;
• attendance, participation, completion, achievement and progression information;
• prior attainment and qualification information;
• employment status and employment outcome information;
• information about fee remission, funding entitlement or learner support;
• evidence needed to confirm eligibility, participation, completion or achievement.

Where relevant to your learning, funding eligibility, support needs, audit or equality monitoring, we may also hold:

• disability or learning difficulty information;
• health or additional support information;
• ethnicity or equality monitoring information;
• information about barriers to learning, work or progression;
• information about support needs linked to accessing or completing learning;
• safeguarding, complaint or incident information where relevant.

We may get this information from you, your college or training provider, your adult learning or community learning provider, the Department for Education, the Learning Records Service, awarding organisations, other public bodies or our own Council records.

We will only collect or receive the information needed for Adult Skills Fund, Free Courses for Jobs or Tailored Learning purposes, including funding requirements, provider management, audit, assurance, monitoring and reporting.

We need your information to:

• confirm eligibility for Adult Skills Fund, Free Courses for Jobs or Tailored Learning provision;
• check residency, age, prior attainment, employment status or other funding eligibility criteria;
• manage Adult Skills Fund, Free Courses for Jobs and Tailored Learning funding;
• assess, approve and monitor provider delivery plans;
• validate provider funding claims and payments;
• monitor learner starts, participation, retention, completion, achievement and progression;
• monitor outcomes from Adult Skills Fund, Free Courses for Jobs and Tailored Learning provision;
• monitor provider performance and compliance with contracts or grant agreements;
• check that public funding is being used correctly;
• carry out audit, assurance, fraud prevention and error correction checks;
• support equality, diversity and inclusion monitoring;
• understand whether provision is meeting local skills priorities, learner needs and community learning priorities;
• evaluate the impact of Adult Skills Fund, Free Courses for Jobs and Tailored Learning in Buckinghamshire;
• report to government, auditors, regulators and internal Council governance boards;
• respond to complaints, enquiries, concerns, safeguarding matters or suspected irregularities where relevant;
• meet statutory, funding, public accountability and record-keeping requirements

The lawful basis for processing personal information under the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR is:

• Article 6(1)(e): processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in Buckinghamshire Council.

We do not usually rely on consent as the lawful basis for processing learner information for Adult Skills Fund, Free Courses for Jobs or Tailored Learning funding, eligibility, audit, assurance, payment, monitoring, evaluation or statutory reporting purposes. However we acknowledge that when collecting your personal data this was with your consent (and in the case of special category data with explicit consent).

If we need to use your special category information, such as health, disability, learning difficulty or ethnicity information, we can use it where an appropriate UK GDPR Article 9 condition applies. This may include:

• Article 9(2)(a): explicit consent
• Article 9(2)(g): substantial public interest, with a basis in law

The relevant condition under Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018 is paragraph 6 (statutory function).

We do not routinely process criminal offence data for Adult Skills Fund, Free Courses for Jobs or Tailored Learning purposes. If criminal offence data is processed, this will only be where necessary and lawful, for example in relation to safeguarding, fraud prevention, legal claims, complaints, audit or investigation of suspected irregularity and will be done on the basis of statutory function as set out in paragraph 6 of Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018.

We may share your information, where appropriate and lawful, with:

• the college, training provider, adult learning provider, community learning provider or other organisation delivering your course;
• the Department for Education;
• the Learning Records Service;
• awarding organisations or qualification bodies, where relevant;
• other government departments or public bodies responsible for education, skills, employment, audit, assurance or public funding;
• third parties contracted by Buckinghamshire Council to work on behalf of the Council to support Adult Skills Fund, Free Courses for Jobs or Tailored Learning delivery, data management, audit, finance, reporting, evaluation or contract management;
• external auditors or funding assurance bodies;
• Ofsted or other regulators, where required;
• other relevant services within the Council, including finance, audit, safeguarding, complaints, legal services, information governance and counter-fraud;
• other local authorities or public bodies where necessary for cross-border learning, eligibility checks, safeguarding, fraud prevention, audit or assurance;
• other bodies in connection with the prevention of crime, criminal or legal investigations or proceedings, including fraud, the National Fraud Initiative or regulatory functions.

We will only share information where there is a lawful reason to do so. We will only share the information needed for the purpose and will make sure appropriate safeguards are in place.

We will not sell your personal information.

We will securely hold your information and only keep it for as long as needed for Adult Skills Fund, Free Courses for Jobs and Tailored Learning funding, contract or grant management, audit, assurance, fraud prevention, reporting, complaints, legal claims and public accountability purposes.

Learner information will be retained in line with Buckinghamshire Council’s corporate retention schedule and any Adult Skills Fund, Free Courses for Jobs, Tailored Learning, Department for Education, audit or contractual requirements that apply.

Where information is no longer needed, it will be securely and confidentially disposed of.

The Department for Education has separate retention arrangements for ILR data, which are explained in the DfE ILR Privacy Notice.

We do not carry out any solely automated decision making in relation to this information.

You have legal rights over your information. For details of those rights, see Buckinghamshire Council’s corporate Privacy Policy.

Your rights will differ depending on our lawful basis for processing your personal information.

Buckinghamshire Council

The Gateway
Gatehouse Road
Aylesbury
HP19 8FF

Email: [email protected]