Guidance

Privacy notice for election expenses claims

Updated 25 March 2024

This notice sets out how we will use your personal data, and your rights. It is made under Articles 13 and/or 14 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

1. Your data

1.1 Purpose

We are processing your personal data in relation to expenses claims submitted to the Elections Claims Unit (ECU) in relation to the costs incurred in delivering national polls, including accompanying evidence and contact details.

The personal information provided is processed for the following purposes:

• to identify members of staff that have received payments of more than £2,500 and to determine whether such payments are justified and reasonable
• to determine who has the authority to sign off forms and supporting evidence
• to confirm that forms and supporting vouchers have been signed by the Returning Officer or a deputy with full powers
• to check, verify and validate that the information provided is accurate
• to process payments of advances and final settlements to the nominated bank account
• to collect contact details for the Returning Officer and the Electoral Services Manager so that a contact list is available to the ECU, in order to ensure that queries and correspondence can be addressed to the most relevant contact
• to allow for a higher degree of transparency and facilitate the scrutiny process carried out by the ECU

Some of this information is also used by the Election Funding Team to determine the final settlement amount, especially in those instances where an overspend has occurred as a result of excessive payments made to only a few staff.

1.2 The data

We will process the following personal data:

• employee name
• national insurance numbers
• job title
• tasks undertaken
• grade
• working pattern
• employment status (full, part-time, casual, temp etc.)
• pay details
• bonuses or additional payments received
• travel costs
• travel itineraries
• subsistence payments
• training received
• period of employment
• other expenses incurred on the role
• contact details
• bank details for the Returning Officer

1.3 Legal basis of processing

The legal basis for processing your personal data is:

• it is necessary to comply with a legal obligation placed on us as the data controller, namely the scrutinising and settlement of expenses claims
• it is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the data controller. In this case, that is ensuring transparency and accountability for the money spent in delivering an election

1.4 Recipients

Your personal data may be shared by us with HM Treasury who provide the funding for national elections.

We are also required to share this information with the National Audit Office for auditing purposes.

As your personal data will be stored on our IT infrastructure, it will also be shared with our data processors who provide email and document management, and storage services.

Your contact details may be shared by us with other stakeholders. You have the right to opt-out from this data sharing at any time by contacting us directly at returningofficers.expenses@levellingup.gov.uk.

1.5 Retention

The information provided in expenses claims, and the supporting evidence, must be retained for seven years for auditing purposes and to allow for data comparison and data analysis at the next poll (elections of the same type usually take place every 4-5 years).

1.6 Where personal data have not been obtained from you

Your personal data were obtained by us from the Returning Officer, their deputy or the Electoral Service manager.

2. Your rights

You have the right to:

• object to the processing of your personal data
• request information about how your personal data are processed, and to request a copy of that personal data
• request that any inaccuracies in your personal data are rectified without delay
• request that any incomplete personal data are completed, including by means of a supplementary statement
• request that your personal data are erased if there is no longer a justification for them to be processed
• in certain circumstances (for example, where accuracy is contested) to request that the processing of your personal data is restricted
• object to the processing of your personal data where it is processed for direct marketing purposes

3. International transfers

As your personal data is stored on our IT infrastructure, and shared with our data processors, it may be transferred and stored securely outside the United Kingdom. Where that is the case it will be subject to equivalent legal protection through the use of Model Contract Clauses.

4. Contact details

The data controller for your personal data is the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). Please contact us at the following address if you wish to exercise the rights listed above, except the right to lodge a complaint with the ICO:

dataprotection@levellingup.gov.uk or

Knowledge and Information Access Team
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
2nd floor NW, Fry Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

The Data Protection Officer provides independent advice and monitoring of DLUHC’s use of personal information.

The Data Protection Officer can be contacted at dataprotection@levellingup.gov.uk or by writing to the following address:

Data Protection Officer
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Fry Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

5. Complaints

If you consider that your personal data has been misused or mishandled, you may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner, who is an independent regulator. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
 
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
casework@ico.org.uk

Any complaint to the Information Commissioner is without prejudice to your right to seek redress through the courts.