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The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) is an obligation on energy suppliers aimed at helping households cut their energy bills and reduce carbon emissions by installing energy saving measures. Participating Local Authorities have a legislative requirement to issue a Statement of Intent (SoI) which defines qualifying criteria.
To determine if households qualify for assistance, under the terms of the SoI, consent for the use of personal data must be provided by the resident. Business partners have been appointed, by the Council to undertake the work, they will also collect the required evidence to support applications for ECO4 Flex and GBIS declarations.
Council business partners
As joint controllers of the information required for ECO4 Flex and GBIS, both the Council and its business partners are required to comply with data protection legislation. Ensuring that individuals are informed about how their information will be used, who it will be shared with and how long it will be kept for.
The type of information gathered for both ECO4 Flex and GBIS
The personal data that will be collected on behalf of the Council for ECO4 Flex and GBIS to establish low income and vulnerability to the cold will include:
- name, address, and date of birth
- proof of benefits
- proof of income for all householders – for example, most recent tax return / P60 -P45 /last 3 month wage slips, most recent annual income pension statement, last 3 bank statements
- proof of property ownership
- proof of health-related issues (signed Ofgem template sent from NHS registered email required)
Documentation collected will be limited to information supporting your eligibility for the scheme.
What we do with your information
In line with the principles of data protection, your information will be retained and used for as long as is necessary. Where the information is no longer required or within three years of the project ending, your information will be anonymised, for statistical use, in line with North Ayrshire Council’s policies and processes. Your information will be securely transferred and stored with in a secure location. The referring contractor will also be responsible for ensuring the continued protection of your information and credentials, ensuring that these are only used by authorised personnel for purposes as agreed by the Council.
Who has access to your information?
Information collected for the purposes of ECO4 Flex and GBIS will not be used for any other Local Authority purpose unless the law allows this. The Council/business partners will share this information with the relevant obligated energy supplier, Ofgem and Department for Energy Security and Net-Zero (ESNZ) for audit purposes. Your name and address will also be shared with relevant sub-contractors and warranty providers. The Council will share this information where necessary with other organisations where it is appropriate to protect public funds and/or prevent fraud. You can find more about fraud against the Council and what information we gather and how it is used.
Withdrawal of consent
If you change your mind before installation has been started, you can withdraw from the ECO4 Flex and GBIS by contacting your referring contractor, who will also instruct the Council to delete your information. Please note that once your energy efficiency measure has been installed you are then unable to withdraw your consent for your data being shared under these schemes.
Your information will only be used as the law allows. Further information about how the Council manages personal information can be found within the North Ayrshire Council Privacy Policy.
To find out more about how Ofgem will use your information, please look at the Ofgem ECO4 Privacy Notice and Great British Insulation Scheme Privacy Notice. If you require any further information, email North Ayrshire Council Energy and Sustainability Department (ECO4 Flex and GBIS).