Homes for Ukraine Visa Sponsorship Scheme Privacy Notice

This privacy notice applies to Homes for Ukraine Visa Sponsorship Scheme and sets out how your personal data will be used and how it will be protected. It should be read in conjunction with the Council’s main privacy notice available on the Council’s website. 

And the home office privacy notice available from the link below:

Homes for Ukraine visa sponsorship scheme: privacy notice - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

Why we collect data 

Staffordshire County Council is working with partners to deliver the Homes for Ukraine Visa Sponsorship Scheme and the common objective of providing accommodation to those fleeing the war in Ukraine. Your personal data is being used to ensure that checks and safeguards are in place for both those fleeing the conflict and those opening their homes to them. We may also use your personal data to contact you about related matters. 

We are fully committed to complying with Data Protection Act 2018 legislation, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) We take our responsibilities seriously and use personal information fairly and safely. 

Data may be collected directly from you or it may be gathered from other sources. We may need to ask other agencies or organisations for relevant data about you to provide services or fulfil our legal responsibilities. 

The lawful basis for doing this is:

• Article 6(1)(e) of the UK GDPR – processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority 

Where it is necessary to process special categories of personal data, this will be processed under:

• Article 9(2)(g) of the UK GDPR – processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest. 

What personal information do we collect? 

Host data

• Name
• Address
• Date of Birth
• Email address
• Telephone/mobile number
• Details of property (number of bedrooms etc)
• Safeguarding checks outcomes/flags
• Immigration status of Sponsor
• Above details on individuals living in the same household as the sponsor (or a recommended sponsor)
• Above details on individuals recommended as a sponsor by another data subject providing an offer of help via DLUHC
• We may retain correspondence we have had with you relating to the scheme for the purposes outlined in this privacy notice

Guest data

• Name
• Age
• Date of Birth
• Sex
• Email address
• Telephone number
• Nationality
• Potential family members
• Passport number (and related details)
• Address Main applicant will be staying at if not with the Sponsor 

How we use your personal data 

Data received will be used to: 

Conduct suitability checks including:

• Pre-arrival and post-arrival checks
• Accommodation checks
• Address validation checks
• Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks
• Any other checks required to assess sponsor suitability 

Deliver services including to:

• Understand the needs of the Host and the Guests
• Maintain and update your customer records or contact details
• Contact you directly where necessary
• Obtain your opinion and feedback about the services and support we are providing
• Ensure that we fulfil our legal obligations 

Sometimes we may not be able to provide a service if you do not provide data. 

How your data will be shared 

Where necessary, information may be shared with other organisations and partners. In such cases, the information provided is only the minimum necessary. These organisations are required to retain your information in a secure manner and only use it to undertake the services they provide. 

Staffordshire County Council will share your information with:

• Internal Services, eg adult and children’s safeguarding
• District & Borough Councils within Staffordshire supporting the scheme.
• Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
• Individuals and agencies who are required to provide reference checks, eg Disclosure and Barring Service, Home Office
• Care Commissioning Group so they can contact you about health services that Guests in the UK are able to access
• Any other agencies as required for, and compatible with, the purpose described in this privacy notice
• Providers of learning programmes for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) where this has been requested 

If necessary your information may need to be shared with the following according to your assessed need.

• Internal support services, eg Adult and children’s social care.
• Statutory services, eg DWP, education provision and housing.
• Voluntary agencies and Community Groups who work closely to provide support to Sponsors and Guests 

Any sharing of personal data is always done:

• on case-by-case basis
• using the minimum personal data necessary
• with the appropriate security controls in place
• in line with legislation 

Your information will not be passed to other organisations for marketing or sales purposes or for any commercial use without your prior express consent. 

How long will we keep this information for? 

In accordance with the principle of data minimisation and as instructed by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), we shall delete relevant personal data as required by the records retention schedules and within 2 years of the closure of the scheme unless DLUHC and the Home Office identifies that its continued retention is unnecessary before that point. 

Other information

Details of your Information Rights can be found on the main privacy notice. 

Further details of how we protect your information can be round on the main privacy notice. 

How to contact us 

Please contact us if you have any questions about our privacy policy or information we hold about you, or if you have a complaint about privacy or misuse of data. 

For details, please follow the link below to the Council’s main Privacy Notice: 

How to contact us - Staffordshire County Council