Privacy

Privacy notice for the Devon Business Support Programme

Devon County Council (DCC) is collecting and or processing your personal data as a Data Controller under Data Protection Legislation and our ICO registration number is Z6475582. 

This privacy notice concerns the processing of personal data that takes place by the Devon Business Support Programme. Data controllers for this programme are:

  • Devon County Council
  • Growth Hub
  • East Devon District Council
  • Exeter City Council
  • Mid Devon District Council
  • Teignbridge District Council
  • South Hams District Council
  • West Devon Borough Council

This notice explains what information we collect, why we collect it and how we keep it secure. It also explains your rights and our legal obligation. Should you wish to find out more about Devon County Council’s data protection policies please contact our Data Protection Officer.

We will notify you of any changes to this privacy notice

This privacy notice was last updated on 14 July 2026. If we use your personal data for any new purposes, updates will be made to the policy information and changes communicated, where necessary in accordance with current data protection legislation.  Any queries relating to this privacy notice please contact the Data Protection Officer.

What information are we processing?

We may collect, store or otherwise process information about you which may include:

  • name and contact details
  • business name and address
  • Companies House registration or letter from HMRC confirming registration
  • demographic information (held anonymously)
  • details you share with us about your business

Purpose of collecting or processing your personal data

DCC may need to collect or otherwise process your personal data so that we can:

  • provide you with free and bespoke support under the business support programme
  • confirm eligibility for support under the business support programme
  • monitor the change in your business for the duration of the programme to effectively evaluate and measure the success and impact of the business suppor programme
  • design and deliver future business support programmes to continue to support local businesses
  • contact you in the future about business support and potential funding opportunities that you may wish to access
  • ensure that delivery of support under this programme is inclusive and caters to clients’ accessibility needs

The legal basis for us collecting your personal data

Where we are collecting personal data about you for the provision of one of the purposes outlined in this privacy notice, we rely upon:

Article 6(1)(e) – processing for the purposes of delivering a public task carried out in the public interest.

We may collect demographic data, such as age, gender, and ethnicity, to monitor access, ensure inclusivity, and evaluate the Prosper programme’s impact. This processing is carried out under the public task basis (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(e)). Where special category data is involved, (Article 9(2)(g)). 

Personal data that is collected for any of the purposes outlined in this notice is never used for direct marketing purposes and is not sold on to any other third parties.

Recipients or categories of recipients that we may share your personal data with

When processing your personal data, it may be necessary for us to share personal data with third-party organisations such as:

  • The Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government (MHCLG)
  • organisations contracted or subcontracted to complete the activities of the business support programme, including external evaluators and business support and advice providers

If we feel that it is necessary to share your personal data with professionals to ensure you or someone you work with is safeguarded from harm, we rely upon the provisions of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 and Children Act 1989 & 2004.

Where it is necessary to share medical or social care information for these purposes, we rely upon article 9(2)(h) of the General Data Protection Regulation (information necessary for medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems).

We may also need to share some personal data about you, so that we can support third party organisations to discharge their regulatory requirements. This includes organisations such as:

  • The data protection regulator (the Information Commissioner’s Office)
  • The Care Quality Commission

We may also share information to enable us to comply with court orders and other legal obligations. If this is necessary, we will only share the minimum amount of personal data needed for this purpose.

International transfers

No personal data that is processed for any of the purposes outlined in this privacy notice will be transferred to countries outside of the territorial scope of UK data protection laws.

How long will we hold your personal data?

For the purposes of the Shared Prosperity Fund, Devon County Council will retain your personal data for a maximum period of seven years, and in line with our organisation’s record retention schedules.

The Devon Business Support Programme, managed and run by DCC, is part-funded by the Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). DCC is required to retain all programme documents, including personal data, until MHCLG announces the destruction date.

Your data protection rights

Under Data Protection Legislation, you have the right to obtain a copy of their personal records held by us, this is called a Subject Access Request (SAR).

Details of how to make a request can be found here.

Further details on your rights under data protection legislation and how to exercise them.

Complaints

If you have any comments, queries or complaints about this privacy notice or the processing of your personal data please contact our Data Protection Officer.

Alternatively, if you are not happy with the way that DCC is handling your personal data, you are entitled to appeal to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO). The Information Commissioners Office enforces and oversees the Data Protection Regulations.

Contact details are below:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Email: casework@ico.org.uk

Automated decisions

No technology will be used to make automated decisions about the personal data that is processed for any of the purposes outlined in this privacy notice.