Guidance

HM Treasury Public Appointments: Privacy Notice

Published 22 December 2025

Public appointments are generally ministerial appointments to the board of a public body or advisory committee and HM Treasury advertises its public appointments on the Cabinet Office’s Public Appointments website. For the purposes of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), this means that HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office are considered joint data controllers for any personal data processed for HM Treasury’s public appointments advertised on the public appointments website.

The purpose of this notice is to set out how HM Treasury uses personal data and special category data for the purpose of public appointments and explains your rights under the UK GDPR.

1. Data subject categories

The personal data to be processed for this activity relate to individuals applying for a Treasury public appointment which has been advertised on the Cabinet Office’s public appointments website.

2. Data categories

In most cases, the following personal data will be collected for the purposes of your application:

• name, address, telephone number and email address

• date of birth

• curriculum vitae and any covering letter

• employment references

• employment history and qualifications

• other background information relevant to your application including sift and interview assessments made by the advisory assessment panel

• right to work documentation (where necessary)

• any political activity

• details of any public appointments held

• alongside your own conflicts of interest and declaration of relevant interests, this may also include information relating to your conduct or professional capacity gathered as part of departments conducting appropriate checks on information appearing in the public domain.

This list of data categories is not exhaustive and may vary, depending on the appointment you are applying for and what data you supply to us as part of your application.

3. Purpose of processing

Your personal data will be processed for the purpose of considering your application for a public appointment or reappointment in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments published by the Cabinet Office.

4. Lawful basis for processing personal data

Personal data processed for the purpose of a public appointment or reappointment complies with Article 6(1)(e) of the UK GDPR in that it is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest. This public task is that of ensuring the suitability of those applying for public appointments.

5. Special category data

We are responsible for monitoring the diversity of our public appointments by assessing any diversity data collected as part of applications. This diversity data may include your:

• race or ethnicity

• religious beliefs

• sexual orientation

• sex/gender

• political beliefs

• disability information (where applicable)

We may also ask you to supply us with any relevant health information where this may be needed to make reasonable adjustments to facilitate your access to offices and participation at events.

6. Lawful basis for processing special category data

Where we process special category data (as defined in Article 9(1) of the UK GDPR), it is for reasons of substantial public interest (under Article 9(2)(g) of the UK GDPR) and in accordance with the requirements set out in section 6(2)(b) of Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Data Protection Act 2018 (i.e., for the exercise of a function of the Crown, a Minister of the Crown, or a government department).

7. Recipients of your personal data and special category data

Data appearing in applications made via the Cabinet Office’s public appointments website, will be available to the Cabinet Office (as site owners). It will also be available to the Prime Minister’s Office as they have a role in Public Appointment work, the relevant recruiting body, and HM Treasury as the advertising department.

Applications are only seen by HM Treasury staff and/or those of organisations working on our behalf, who have a business need to see them. Where it is 3 necessary for us to use third parties to process applications on our behalf, activities they may undertake will include (but will not be limited to):

• processing your application

• advising you of the outcome of your application

• arranging interviews for successful candidates

• equality and diversity monitoring

• vetting

We may also need to share your data with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA) for the purpose of ensuring that our appointment practices are fair, open, made on merit and encourage a diverse range of candidates. How the Commissioner uses your personal data.

Others with whom we may need to share your personal data will vary, depending on the nature of the position being applied for. They may include:

• The Prime Minister’s Office

• Prime Minister’s Appointment Unit

• Cabinet Office

• The recruiting body

• The Royal Household (where applicable for Crown appointments)

• The Ministry of Justice (for some Crown appointments)

• HM Revenue and Customs for the purpose of vetting

• The organisation responsible for base line security checks.

• The Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments

• Government ministers and officials involved in public appointment work

The legal basis for the sharing of this data with these relevant organisations is the same as paragraphs 4 and 6 (above) and is in line with the Governance Code for Public Appointments.

8. Retention

HM Treasury is required to keep information provided in support of applications in order for us to complete the appointment process, satisfy the purposes of audit and to facilitate onboarding should your application be successful.

The data will only be visible to HM Treasury, Cabinet Office, and other relevant departments’ officials. Some of this data will also be available to other individuals involved in the recruitment process, including Advisory Assessment Panel members, members of the Commissioner for Public Appointments team and our IT providers.

8.1 Unsuccessful applicants

If your application is unsuccessful, the Treasury and the recruiting body will keep your application on file for 2 years following the announcement of the successful appointment. This is to allow the Treasury to; provide any requested feedback, satisfy complaints or legal challenge and provide evidence for audit purposes.

After that time your CV, letter of application, declaration of conflicts, political activity and diversity form will be destroyed. This will include all contact details that we hold for you, unless you have indicated that you would like your name to be kept on file for future public appointment opportunities.

8.2 Successful applicants

If your application is successful, the Treasury and the recruiting body will keep your application on file for the duration of your role plus 2 years. After that time your CV, letter of application, declaration of conflicts, political activity and diversity form will be destroyed.

This will include all contact details that we hold, unless you have indicated that you would like your name to be kept on file for future public appointment opportunities. You may expect to receive further privacy notices as part of the onboarding process from the body that you are appointed to.

Where we share information with Ministers’ Offices for the purposes of the public appointments process, HM Treasury will retain this information for a period of 20 years, but this will not include personal contact details.

9. Your data protection rights

You have the right to request:

• information about how your personal data are being processed and to request a copy of that personal data

• that any inaccuracies in your personal data are rectified without delay

• that your personal data are erased if there is no longer a justification for them to be processed

• in certain circumstances, for the processing of your personal data to be restricted e.g., where accuracy is contested

10. HM Treasury contact details

For general queries relating to the processing of your personal data for the purposes of your public appointment application, contact: PublicAppointments-HMT@hmtreasury.gov.uk

11. How to submit a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR)

To request access to personal data that HM Treasury holds about you, contact:

HM Treasury Information Rights Unit
Ground Orange
1 Horse Guards Road London
SW1A 2HQ
dsar@hmtreasury.gov.uk

12. Complaints

If you have concerns that your personal data has been misused or mishandled, you can contact HM Treasury’s Data Protection Officer (DPO) at:

HM Treasury Data Protection Officer
Ground Orange
1 Horse Guards Road
London
SW1A 2HQ
privacy@hmtreasury.gov.uk

If you are unhappy about Treasury’s handling of your concerns, you may contact the UK Information Commissioner’s Office at:

$A Information Commissioner’s Office Wycliffe House Water Lane Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5AF 0303 123 1113 ICO website