This Privacy Notice should be read in conjunction with Colchester City Council’s Privacy Policy.
This privacy notice explains how we process your personal information for:
- Mandatory and Discretionary Disabled Facilities Grants
- Home Repair Loans
- other forms of financial assistance
Mandatory and Discretionary Disabled Facilities Grants
Information we collect
We may collect:
- name
- address
- telephone number
- email address
- property tenure
- date of birth
- age
- national Insurance number
- proof of residency, such as a utility bill
- land Registry searches
- recommendations from Essex County Council Occupational Therapy team, including the nature of disability, date of birth and works required because of the disability
- referrals from other health professionals, such as the Hospital Discharge Hub
- proof of ownership, such as a copy of deeds or signed statement from a solicitor
- power of attorney documents, if appropriate
- documents from Essex Guardians, if appropriate
- applications for planning permission and building control permission
- grant application form
We may also collect financial information, including:
- proof of receipt of any benefits, including information provided by the client from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Colchester City Council (CCC)
- information gained directly from DWP and CCC Benefits
- bank and building society statements, for a minimum of 3 months
- proof of stocks, shares or savings
- proof of occupational or private pensions, such as statements
Who we may share your information with
We may share your information with:
- Occupational Therapy and Adult Social Care at Essex County Council
- an external agency providing surveying services
- contractors from our approved contractors list
- C360
- charities and support agencies
- services contracted by Essex County Council or Colchester City Council to provide support services, such as Handy Person services or specialist services relating to the delivery of our financial assistance
- other health professionals
Where we use contractors from our approved contractors list, we may share the client’s name, address and contact details with them.
Why we use your personal data
The lawful basis for processing your personal data is legal obligation.
The Council must process this information to provide Disabled Facilities Grants and other forms of financial assistance under the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 and regulations issued under this.
We also use this information to provide further support services to vulnerable residents.
We only ask for the minimum amount of information and store it securely.
How long we keep your information
We keep information relating to Disabled Facilities Grants for a minimum of 7 years, or for the life of any conditions attached to the assistance.
This may be for up to 10 years after the completion of works.
If you believe we are holding inaccurate information on your file, you have the right to contact us and ask for your information to be amended or removed where there is no obligation or statutory requirement for it to be kept.
You can exercise this right by emailing grantsandloanssupport@colchester.gov.uk.
Home Repair Loans and other forms of financial assistance
Information we collect
We may collect:
- name
- address
- telephone number
- email address
- property tenure
- date of birth
- age
- recommendations from Essex County Council Occupational Therapy team, including the nature of disability, date of birth and works required because of the disability
- referrals from other health professionals, such as the Hospital Discharge Hub
- National Insurance number
- proof of residency, such as a utility bill
- Land Registry searches
- proof of ownership, such as a copy of deeds or signed statement from a solicitor
- power of attorney documents, if appropriate
- documents from Essex Guardians, if appropriate
- applications for planning permission and building control permission
We may also collect financial information, including:
- bank and building society statements, for a minimum of 3 months
- proof of stocks, shares, savings or similar financial assets
- proof of occupational or private pensions, such as statements
- proof of receipt of any benefits, including information provided by the client from DWP and CCC
- information gained directly from DWP and CCC Benefits
Who we may share your information with
We may share your information with:
- Occupational Therapy and Adult Social Care at Essex County Council
- contractors from our approved contractors list
- C360
- charities and support agencies
- services contracted by Essex County Council or Colchester City Council to provide support services, such as Handy Person services or specialist services relating to the delivery of our financial assistance
- other health professionals
Where we use contractors from our approved contractors list, we may share the client’s name, address and contact details with them.
Why we use your personal data
The lawful basis for processing your personal data is legal obligation.
We need to collect this information to assess applications and offer Home Repair Loans and other forms of financial assistance.
The Regulatory Reform Order requires us to publish a policy setting out our financial assistance offers. This policy is available on the Council’s website and explains what grants and loans are available, and the eligibility criteria.
We only ask for the minimum amount of information needed to assess eligibility and store it securely.
How long we keep your information
We keep information relating to other forms of financial assistance for the life of any conditions attached to the assistance.
This may be ongoing until the property is sold.
Information will also be kept for up to 7 years after repayment of a loan.
If you believe we are holding inaccurate information on your file, you have the right to contact us and ask for your information to be amended or removed where there is no obligation or statutory requirement for it to be kept.
You can exercise this right by emailing grantsandloanssupport@colchester.gov.uk.
How we protect and store your personal data
We take the confidentiality of personal information seriously.
We use recognised security and access controls to protect your information from:
- unauthorised access
- loss
- misuse
- alteration
- corruption
We have procedures and processes in place to make sure your personal information is managed appropriately.
Your information may be held outside the UK. Where this happens, we make sure additional measures are in place to protect your data and to continue to comply with data protection requirements.
Updates to this privacy notice
We regularly review and update this privacy notice to reflect changes in our processes and procedures, and to comply with changes in the law.
When changes are made, we will update the last updated date on this notice.
You should review this notice from time to time to stay informed about how we protect your information.
Page last reviewed: 7 May 2026