Common Ground Award: privacy notice
Published 28 August 2026
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2026
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/common-ground-award-2026-to-2027-prospectus/common-ground-award-privacy-notice
The following is to explain your rights and give you the information you are entitled to under UK data protection legislation.
1. The identity and contact details of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and our Data Protection Officer
MHCLG is the data controller. The Data Protection Officer can be contacted at dataprotection@communities.gov.uk.
2. What personal data we are collecting and why
- lead contact full name
- lead contact organisation and role
- lead contact email address
- lead contact telephone number
The lead contact is the individual who is making an application to the fund on behalf of an organisation.
This data will enable MHCLG to complete the following tasks:
- assessing submitted applications
- contacting all organisation applicants using their provided contact details with notification of the result of their application
- contacting successful organisations using their provided contact details in order to make arrangements for payment of funding
- contacting successful organisations throughout the funding period, including to ask them to complete monitoring and evaluation forms
- If applying as part of a consortium, we will collect contact details of the lead organisation who will make the application on behalf of the consortium. For each application from consortiums, we will ask for the names of participating member organisations, including any Companies House and/or Charity Commission numbers.
- share the data with Cabinet Office for use in their Spotlight tool to complete due diligence checks on applicants
- contacting applicants to opt-in to the Community of Practice
- contacting applicants who have chosen to opt-in to the Community of Practice
3. Lawful basis for processing the data
The data protection legislation sets out when we are lawfully allowed to process your data. The lawful basis that applies to this processing is Article 6(1)(e) of the GDPR – the processing is necessary for MHCLG to perform a task in the public interest.
The data to be processed by MHCLG is required for the delivery of the Common Ground Award. The data is necessary to ensure that bids for funding can be assessed and funding to successful organisations can be awarded, monitored and evaluated.
4. With whom we will be sharing the data
Your personal data will be shared with the Cabinet Office for use in their Spotlight tool which completes due diligence checks on applicants.
Public announcements: Personal data, for example an individual’s name or contact details, will not be published as part of any potential funding award announcement.
5. For how long we will keep the personal data, or criteria used to determine the retention period.
Your personal data will be held by MHCLG for the purposes of delivering the Common Ground Award. Personal data will only be held until the funded activities are fully delivered, and end-of-year monitoring reports have been submitted to MHCLG. However, if an organisation has chosen to opt-in to the Community of Practice, we will hold contact details until the organisation chooses to no longer participate in the Community of Practice, or the Community of Practice ends, whichever is earlier.
6. Your rights, e.g. access, rectification, erasure
You have rights that affect what happens to your personal data. You have the right to:
a. know how your personal data is being used, who it is being shared with, and how long it will be kept
b. access and receive a copy of your personal data
c. ask to have your personal data updated or corrected, if it is incorrect or incomplete
d. object to particular types of use of your personal data
e. complain to the ICO (see below)
7. Sending data overseas
Your personal data will not be sent outside of the EU/EEA.
8. Automated decision making
We will not use your personal data for any automated decision making.
9. Storage, security and data management
MHCLG will ensure that there are appropriate technical and organisational controls (including physical, electronic and managerial measures) in place to protect personal data. Any data held by MHCLG will be stored in a secure government IT system.
10. Complaints and more information
When we ask for or do something with your personal data, we will keep to the law, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation, Data Protection Act 2018 and Data Use and Access Act 2025.
You have a right to make a complaint to MHCLG if you consider that, in connection with your personal data, there is an infringement of the data protection legislation. If you want to make a complaint, or make a request to access your data, or another request in relation to your rights, or if otherwise you are not happy with how we are using your personal data, you can contact dataprotection@communities.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the department’s response, or you still have a concern about the way in which MHCLG has handled your personal data, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office to make a complaint using their website service https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/data-complaints-complaints/check-if-you-can-complain/ or by telephoning 0203 123 1113.
Further information about your data protection rights can also be found on the Commissioner’s website: https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/