Skip to main content
Guidance

Democratic Engagement Fund: Privacy notice

Published 8 June 2026

Applies to England

© Crown copyright 2026

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/democratic-engagement-fund-prospectus/democratic-engagement-fund-privacy-notice

The following is to explain your rights and give you the information you are entitled to under UK data protection legislation. 

Note that this section only refers to personal data (your name, contact details and any other information that relates to you or another identified or identifiable individual personally). 

The identity of the data controller and contact details of our Data Protection Officer     

This privacy notice explains your rights and gives you the information you are entitled to under UK data protection legislation.   

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is the data controller. The Data Protection Officer can be contacted at dataprotection@communities.gov.uk.

What personal data we are collecting and why   

Your personal data is being collected because you have applied through the Democratic Engagement Fund process to design, test and deliver place-based interventions that will strengthen democratic engagement and enable more inclusive participation in our democracy.  

The following personal data is being collected for this purpose:  

  • lead contact name, email and contact number 
  • partner organisations and roles (where relevant) 

We will collect the following organisational data, where it contains any personal data, we will process in line with the above purpose: 

  • organisation name, address and website  
  • organisation type and registration details (where applicable)  
  • financial details 

Where you reference case studies in your application, please ensure that any data is anonymised and does not identify individuals who have accessed or benefitted from your work. 

Sensitive types of personal data 

Please do not share special category personal data or criminal offence data via this platform. By ‘special category personal data’, we mean information about a living individuals: 

  • race 
  • ethnic origin 
  • political opinions 
  • religious or philosophical beliefs 
  • trade union membership 
  • genetics 
  • biometrics  
  • health (including disability-related information) 
  • sex life; or 
  • sexual orientation

By ‘criminal offence data’, we mean information relating to a living individual’s criminal convictions or offences or related security measures. 

Please also do not share any information about yourself, your business or your organisation that you are not happy to be shared with MHCLG.  

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 UK GDPR; that processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller; data being processed belongs to business contacts processed during the routine course of business of a government department. In this case it is necessary for the exercise of MHCLG’s functions in delivering government-funded programmes to support democratic engagement. 

With whom we will be sharing your personal data 

Your personal data will be used for the administration and delivery of the Democratic Engagement Fund. This includes: 

  • assessing applications and determining eligibility for funding 
  • carrying out due diligence checks, including fraud prevention and assurance 
  • administering and delivering the grant programme 
  • monitoring funded activity and programme performance 
  • evaluating the impact of the fund, including through research and analysis 
  • administering attendance at Democratic Engagement Fund workshops where you choose to sign up 

It may also be shared with an independent research organisation appointed by MHCLG, for evaluation purposes; if this occurs, we will update this privacy notice and inform you before any data is shared. 

If you attend one of the Democratic Engagement Fund workshops we will use Eventbrite as a data processor. As part of the sign-up process, you will be asked for your name and contact details, we ask that you use organisational contact information, where possible. See Eventbrite’s Data Processing Addendum. 

For how long we will keep your personal data 

If your application is unsuccessful, your data will be held for 6 months after the bidding window for the Democratic Engagement Fund closes on the 31 August 2026. 

If your application is successful, we will hold your data until 31 August 2028  

Your rights, for example, access, rectification, restriction, objection 

The data we are collecting is your personal data, and you have rights that affect what happens to it. You have the right to: 

  • know that we are using your personal data 
  • see what data we have about you 
  • ask to have your data corrected, and to ask how we check the information we hold is accurate 
  • complain to the ICO 

In some circumstances you may also have the right to withdraw your consent to us having or using your data, to have all data about you deleted, or to object to particularly types of use of your data. We will tell you when these rights apply. 

Your personal data will not be transferred overseas unless you choose to sign up to the optional Eventbrite workshop, where it may be processed in the United States under Eventbrite’s data protection safeguards. Further information is available in Eventbrite’s privacy notice.  

Your personal data will not be used for any automated decision making. 

Storage, security and data management 

Your personal data will be stored in a secure government IT system. Where data is shared with third parties, as set out in MHCLG’s privacy notice. We require third parties to respect the security of your data and to treat it in accordance with the law. All third parties are required to take appropriate security measures to protect your personal information in line with our policies. 

Complaints and more information 

When we ask you for information, we will keep to the law, including the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK General Data Protection Regulation. 

If you are unhappy with the way the Department has acted, you can make a complaint. 

If you want to make a Subject Access Request, another request in relation to your rights, or if you have any concerns with how we are using your personal data, you should first contact dataprotection@communities.gov.uk. 

If you remain concerned, or would like independent advice about data protection, privacy and data sharing, you can contact: 

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

Telephone: 0303 123 1113 or 01625 545 745 

https://ico.org.uk/

Back to top