Adult Skills Fund

To comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), where personal data relating to a data subject is collected, Lancashire County Council would like to provide you with the following details.

Contact details of this Lancashire County Council service:

Note that for queries intended for this specific service, do not contact the Data Protection Officer (DPO) mailbox, instead please direct your query to the following point of contact:

adultskillsfund@lancashireskillshub.co.uk

Reasons for processing your personal data

We process your personal data to support the delivery of publicly funded adult education and skills provision and to ensure that the programme operates effectively, fairly and transparently. This includes:

• Assessing eligibility and entitlement to access funded learning and support

• Administering and allocating public funding to training providers based on verified participation and outcomes

• Managing and monitoring delivery, including tracking attendance, achievement and progression

• Ensuring quality, performance and accountability, including contract management, audit, fraud prevention and compliance with funding rules

• Understanding outcomes and improving services, using analysis and reporting to inform future planning and commissioning of education and skills provision

• Supporting progression into further learning or employment, including linking participation across related programmes where appropriate

• Meeting legal and regulatory obligations placed on public authorities in relation to education, funding, and use of public money

• Promoting equality of access and support, including monitoring participation and outcomes across different groups

• Collecting learner feedback and evaluating learner experiences to understand the effectiveness of provision, identify areas for improvement, and inform future commissioning and service development

This processing is necessary to carry out public functions relating to education, skills and economic development, and to ensure that public funding is used responsibly and delivers value to individuals and communities.

Use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies

We are increasingly utilising AI technologies to process your personal data. This is primarily utilised within Lancashire County Council using Microsoft Copilot Web and Microsoft Copilot 365. Please consult our Artificial Intelligence privacy notice for more details of how we use these specific platforms.

We do not use AI to make automated decisions. There is always a human intervention to review and approve any outputs from the AI tools. Decisions are not made solely by automated means.

We use artificial intelligence (AI) tools in a limited and controlled way to support the administration and management of the Adult Skills Fund. These tools are used to assist staff with tasks such as summarising information, drafting documents and communications, analysing trends in data, and producing reports.

AI tools help improve efficiency and consistency in how we deliver the service, but they are only used as a support mechanism. We do not rely on AI to make decisions about you. Any outputs generated by AI are reviewed and validated by trained staff before they are used, and we do not use AI to determine eligibility for funding, approve payments, or take actions that would have a legal or significant effect on you.

Where possible, we minimise the use of personal data when using AI tools and use anonymised or aggregated information instead. Access to AI tools is restricted to authorised staff, and their use is governed by council policies, security controls and data protection requirements.

Legal basis for processing personal data

The legal basis for processing your personal data, in accordance with the UK GDPR Article 6, is:

(e) Public Task: the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority.

We process your personal data as part of delivering publicly funded education and skills provision. This includes assessing eligibility, administering funding, monitoring participation and outcomes, and ensuring appropriate use of public resources.

This basis is supported by legislation and statutory frameworks that give public authorities responsibility for education, skills and economic development, including:

• the Education and Skills Act 2008 and related education legislation

• the Local Government Act 1972 and Localism Act 2011, which provide powers for councils to deliver public services

• devolution arrangements and associated orders, which transfer responsibility for adult education funding to combined authorities

• Department for Education funding rules and national frameworks governing publicly funded adult education

In some circumstances, we may also rely on:

(c) Legal Obligation: where processing is necessary to comply with legal or regulatory requirements.

This includes obligations relating to audit, inspection, reporting, record keeping, and the prevention or detection of fraud, supported by legislation such as:

• the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014

• the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015

• the Data Protection Act 2018 and wider public accountability requirements

We do not rely on consent, contract, vital interests, or legitimate interests as the basis for delivering this service.

Legal basis for processing special categories of personal data

The legal basis for processing special categories of personal data relating to you, in accordance with the UK GDPR Article 9, is:

(g) Substantial Public Interest: processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest.

We process certain sensitive personal data where this is necessary to support the delivery of publicly funded education and skills services, including ensuring fair access to learning, providing appropriate support, and monitoring participation and outcomes across different groups.

This processing is supported by UK law, including:

• the Data Protection Act 2018 (Schedule 1), which sets out the conditions and safeguards for processing special category data in the public interest

• the Equality Act 2010, which places duties on public authorities to promote equality of opportunity and monitor outcomes across protected characteristics

• legislation and policy frameworks relating to education and skills, which require public authorities to support learners with additional needs and ensure inclusive access to provision

In limited circumstances, we may also rely on:

(b) Employment, social security and social protection: where processing is necessary to support access to education, training, or employment-related support as part of wider social and economic programmes, as permitted under the Data Protection Act 2018.

We do not rely on consent for core processing of special category data in this service, as this processing is necessary to deliver the programme and meet statutory and public interest obligations.

Legal basis for processing criminal offence data

Processing of information relating to criminal convictions and offences is not a routine part of delivering this service. However, such data may be processed in limited and exceptional circumstances where it is necessary to support safeguarding, investigations, audit activity, or the prevention and detection of fraud or misuse of public funds.

Where we process this type of data, we do so in accordance with:

• Article 10 of the UK GDPR, which permits processing of criminal offence data where it is carried out under the control of official authority or authorised by law

• Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018, which provides the specific conditions and safeguards for processing

The relevant conditions under Schedule 1 may include:

• Paragraph 6 – Statutory and government purposes, where processing is necessary for the exercise of a function of a public authority

• Paragraph 10 – Preventing or detecting unlawful acts, including fraud or financial irregularity

• Paragraph 18 – Safeguarding of children and individuals at risk, where necessary to protect individuals from harm

This processing is also supported by wider legislation relating to public accountability and safeguarding, including:

• the Local Government Act 1972 and Localism Act 2011, which enable councils to carry out public functions and investigations

• the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, supporting audit and oversight of public funds

• relevant safeguarding and public protection frameworks

Any processing of criminal offence data is carried out only where it is necessary and proportionate, with strict access controls and appropriate safeguards in place.

Information we process about you

We may process a range of personal information about you where it is necessary to deliver and manage the Adult Skills Fund. This can include:

• Basic personal details such as your name, date of birth, and unique learner identifiers

• Contact information such as your address, email address, and telephone number

• Eligibility information such as residency status, prior qualifications, and information needed to confirm your entitlement to funded learning

• Learning and participation information such as course enrolment details, attendance, progress, and achievement

• Employment and economic information such as employment status or benefit-related indicators where relevant to eligibility or outcomes

• Equalities and monitoring information such as ethnicity, gender, or other characteristics used to monitor access and outcomes

• Health or support needs information where necessary to provide appropriate support or reasonable adjustments during your learning

• Feedback, survey responses and evaluation information that you provide about your learning experience, including any comments or suggestions you choose to share

We only process the information that is necessary to deliver the service, monitor outcomes, and ensure public funding is used appropriately.

Recipients of the personal data that we process about you

We may share your personal data with organisations that support the delivery, funding, and oversight of adult education services where this is necessary and lawful. These may include:

• Department for Education and Department for Work and Pensions to support funding, validation, and national reporting

• Education and training providers delivering your learning, to manage enrolment, delivery, and outcomes

• Partner organisations involved in employment and skills programmes, where this supports your progression into further learning or work

• Local authorities and combined authorities, where they are involved in commissioning, delivering, or overseeing services

• Audit, inspection, and regulatory bodies, to ensure public funds are used appropriately and services meet required standards

• IT system providers and service suppliers, who support secure systems and data processing on our behalf

• Training providers and evaluation partners, where necessary to review learner feedback, improve service quality and assess programme effectiveness

We only share the minimum personal data necessary for each purpose, under appropriate agreements, and in line with data protection law. All sharing is governed by contracts or information sharing agreements and limited to what is necessary. Personal data is not shared in bulk.

Any transfers to another country

Your personal data is not routinely transferred outside the United Kingdom.

Where information is processed using cloud-based systems or digital services, these are configured to store and process data within the UK or in countries that provide an adequate level of data protection under UK law.

If, in exceptional circumstances, a transfer outside the UK is required, this will only take place where appropriate safeguards are in place, such as legally recognised data protection agreements, to ensure your information is protected to an equivalent standard.

Retention periods

Lancashire County Council will only store your information for as long as is legally required or, where there is no specified legal requirement, in line with established best practice and retention schedules. Retention periods are aligned with Department for Education funding rules, audit requirements, and council retention schedules.

Your rights

If you want to exercise any of these rights, then you can do so by contacting:

Information Governance Team
Lancashire County Council
PO Box 78
County Hall
Preston
PR1 8XJ

Email: dpo@lancashire.gov.uk

To ensure that we can deal with your request as efficiently as possible you will need to include your current name and address, proof of identity (a copy of your driving licence, passport or two different utility bills that display your name and address), as much detail as possible regarding your request so that we can identify any information we may hold about you, this may include your previous name and address, date of birth and what council service you were involved with.

Identity and contact details of the data controller

• Lancashire County Council, PO Box 78 County Hall, Fishergate, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 8XJ

Contact details of the data protection officer

• Our Data Protection Officer is Joanne Winston. You can contact her at dpo@lancashire.gov.uk or Lancashire County Council, PO Box 78 County Hall, Fishergate, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 8XJ

Further information

For more information about how we use personal information see Lancashire County Council's full privacy notice.

You may also receive privacy information from your training provider and from the Department for Education. This forms part of a layered approach to transparency, where information is provided at different stages of your interaction with the programme.

If you wish to raise a complaint on how we have handled your personal data, you can contact the Information Governance team who will investigate the matter.

Lancashire County Council, PO Box 78 County Hall, Fishergate, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 8XJ or email: dataprotection@lancashire.gov.uk

If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are processing your personal data not in accordance with the law you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).