Notice

Use of Valuations Office Agency (VOA) data in the National Energy Efficiency Data-framework statistics: privacy notice

Updated 25 August 2023

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 UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).

Your data

We will process the following personal data, related to each domestic property in England and Wales:

  • property address and related property identifiers
  • council tax band
  • high-level property characteristics (for example number of rooms, floor area, type of dwelling, availability of parking, presence of central heating)

Purpose

We are processing your personal data to enable the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) to analyse household energy consumption and efficiency, for the purposes of supporting the development and evaluation of government energy policies.

Processing is necessary for the production of statistics and research related to energy consumption in England and Wales, as required to enable DESNZ to effectively manage and evaluate energy policy. This task is carried out in the public interest and in the exercise of official authority vested in the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Recipients

Your personal data will be shared with DESNZ contractors (and if applicable their sub-contractors) where required for the delivery of work that DESNZ has contracted out.

Your personal data may be shared with other government departments or public authorities where such sharing is permitted in law and aligned with the delivery of the DESNZ departmental objectives or those of the other government departments or public authorities which whom the data is shared.

We may share your data if we are required to do so by law, for example by court order or to prevent fraud or other crime.

As your personal data will be stored on DESNZ IT infrastructure it will also be shared with our data processors Microsoft and Amazon Web Services.

Retention

Your personal data will be kept by us for as long as required to support the reproduction of official statistics that are generated using this data, and where required for analysing long-term trends in energy consumption and efficiency.

Automated decision making

Your personal data will not be subject to automated decision making.

Data source

Your personal data were obtained by us from the Valuations Office Agency (VOA).

Your rights

You have the right to:

  • 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) 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
  • object to the processing of your personal data

International transfers

Your personal data will be processed in the UK.

Your personal data will be processed in the European Economic Area (EEA), or by an international organisation.

Where your personal data is processed in the EEA or outside UK, the following safeguards will be in place: reliance on Model Contract Clauses.

As your personal data is stored on our IT infrastructure and shared with our data processors Microsoft and Amazon Web Services, it may be transferred and stored securely in the UK and European Economic Area. Where your personal data is stored outside the UK and EEA, it will be subject to equivalent legal protection through the use of Model Contract Clauses.

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
Email: icocasework@ico.org.uk
Contact form
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Textphone: dial 18001 followed by 0303 123 1113

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

Contact details

The data controller for your personal data is the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).

You can contact the DESNZ Data Protection Officer at:

DESNZ Data Protection Officer
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
3-8 Whitehall Place
London
SW1A 2EG

Email: dataprotection@energysecurity.gov.uk