Privacy notice for Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme

Purpose for processing your information

As part of the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ Sponsorship Scheme Westminster City Council will be working closely and sharing personal data with the Home Office, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUCH) and local partner organisations including Family Lives.   The sponsorship scheme is being delivered within the borough to meet the expectations placed upon local authorities to check that the accommodation provided by sponsors is appropriate and safe and to also check on the welfare of families placed in the accommodation when they arrive from Ukraine.  

The Council will also undertake checks including DBS or enhanced DBS checks on sponsors living in the property and checks on the sponsor’s property.

“Sponsor” or sponsors” refer to an individual, group or organisation who has been approved to accommodate a Ukrainian guest or household from Ukraine under the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme. The government privacy notice describes what personal data they will process and share with the council Homes for Ukraine visa sponsorship scheme.

The privacy notice for Family Lives can be found here

In addition to the Homes for Ukraine scheme for which the Council has specific responsibilities, we also collect personal data in relation to other people arriving in the borough from Ukraine who come to the attention of other Council services. This is to ensure we provided a coordinated approach to people who may be vulnerable and need support.

We collect the following information

To enable the Council to co-ordinate and deliver our responsibilities under the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme the following information is collected:

• Name
• Address and contact details
• Date of birth
• Financial information - if requesting the optional ‘thank you’ payment
• Property information in regard to space and facilities made available to Ukrainian guests.
• Housing Information  
• Family/Relationship Information
• Education information including schools attended
• Referral/Assessment Information
• Criminal/Prosecution information, as part of sponsor checks and DBS
• Visa status

Where relevant to a sponsorship placement or breakdown, we may process other personal data:

• Equalities Information, such as ethnicity or religion
• Health/Medical Information e.g., where a Ukrainian guest has specific medical needs.

 Your personal information is only used for a specified purpose(s) but if we intend to use it for any other new purposes, we will normally ask you first.  For instance, in some cases, the Council may wish to use your information for another purpose such as related to improving and developing services, or to prevent or detect fraud.  In any event our processing will always have a demonstrable lawful basis.  Where practicable and reasonable we will always seek to inform you of any significant proposed changes to how we process or intend to process your personal data, in order to ensure full transparency over how we handle your information

How we collect your information

Data will be downloaded from the DLUHC Foundry (central government portal). Access to the Foundry platform is strictly controlled by logging into the portal using a username and password and is only accessible to Council staff.

Family Lives will also collect additional data from the sponsors and Ukrainian guests in relation to welfare and need. The Council have developed an App which from late April 2022, will enable Family Lives to record/process data they collect on a Welfare Check Form in a secure manner

Who the information is shared with

The information collected from the DLUHC Foundry will be shared securely with our local partner organisation, Family Lives who will provide support to both sponsors and Ukrainian guests.

The following information taken from the Welfare Check will be shared back with DLUHC and the Home Office by the Council:

• That the accommodation offered exists and can be used as residential accommodation
• That the accommodation has been visited and it appears suitable for the proposed guests
• DBS checks have been initiated for all members of the sponsor’s household who require them.
• That the guest(s) expected has/have arrived in the accommodation
• That safeguarding checks, including visiting the guests in their accommodation have taken place and it can be confirmed there are no serious concerns

Information will be shared with other Council departments to ensure the appropriate services are provided to residents who are sponsors.

Legislation that applies

• Localism Act 2011 – general competence power
• Government expectations for Homes for Ukraine Scheme
• Immigration & Asylum Act 1999 – allows the council to share data with the Home Office for immigration purposes

How long do we keep your information?

The government expects retention of personal data to be within 2 years of the closure of the scheme unless DLUHC and the Home Office identifies that its continued retention is unnecessary before that point. Where existing processes such as safeguarding are used, those existing retention periods will apply.

If ongoing or additional support is needed for guest family members, the data in relation to this will be recorded on existing case management systems relevant to the service provided and fall under the specific retention periods of these systems/services.

Your rights and access to your information

You have the right to request a copy of the information that we hold about you. 

The UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 also gives you additional rights that refer to how the council holds and uses your information.

Consequently, under certain circumstances, by law you have the right to:

• withdraw consent and the right to object and restrict further processing of your data; however, this may affect service delivery to you.
• request to have your data deleted where there is no compelling reason for its continued processing and provided that there are no legitimate grounds for retaining it.
• request your data to be rectified if it is inaccurate or incomplete
• have your data transferred or copied should you move to another authority
• not be subject to automated decision-making including profiling

Find out how to submit a Subject Access Request.

Please visit our web pages for further details on how the council complies with the new Data Protection Act 2018

If you have any concerns

Please contact us if you would like to know more about the information we hold about you and how we use it.

You have a right to complain to us if you think we have not complied with our obligation for handling your personal information; please visit our website

If you are not satisfied with the Council’s response you have a right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). You can report a concern by visiting the ICO website.

Changes in your circumstances

You must notify us immediately if there are any changes in your circumstances and personal details so we can maintain an accurate and up to date record of your information.