Privacy policy

We collect and use the details you give us so we can help you; under data protection law, we rely on your consent to collect and process your personal information and your special category information. You can choose to remain anonymous if you like, and this will not prevent you from using this service. In addition, you can decide which data you wish to share, and that which you do not wish to share; again, this will not affect your ability to use this service.

We will only ask you for information which is relevant, which may relate to or reveal information about your:

• Name and contact details (including your telephone number and full address);
• Date of Birth;
• Gender identity;
• National Insurance Number
• Marital status;
• Physical or mental health;
• Ethnic origin

If you have provided us with consent to collect any or all of the above information, but you later change your mind, you can contact us at any time by phone – 028 9064 5919, or by email – [email protected] to withdraw your consent. Just tell us what personal information you don't want us to store and we'll delete it.

If you request deletion of your records and once this is carried out, please note that we are unable to investigate any complaints relating to your case due to lack of evidence.

How we use your information

The information you provide to us will be used to answer your query and to provide you with the most relevant advice with regards to your current circumstances. It may also be used for the following purposes:

• For training and quality;
• To investigate complaints;
• To get feedback from you about our services
• To help us improve our services

We use some information to create statistics about who we're helping and identify what problems are the most common. This information is always anonymised - you can't be identified.

We share this information with funders, regulators, government departments and publicly on our blogs, reports, social media, press releases, and at our Annual General Meetings. 

The statistics also inform our policy research, campaigns, or media work.

If we're concerned about yours or someone else's safety

Under Article 6(1)(d) GDPR (‘Vital Interests’), if we are concerned that your life or that of someone else is in imminent danger, we will share all necessary information and personal data with the relevant emergency service(s) in order to protect your life, or that of someone else.

Storing your information

Whether you contact us by phone, in person or by email, your personal data and relevant information about your enquiry (such as copies of letters, or details about your issue and the advice you were given) will be stored in a secure case management system – AdvicePro.  We retain this information for 3 years from the date we close your case.

ACM solutions, who develop, manage and provide the helpdesk services for AdvicePro, have released the following commitments to the GDPR:

• All of their staff and those of our hosting provider are familiar with GDPR and their personal responsibilities.
• All members of staff are trained on Data Protection issues on commencement of employment and this is updated as and when regulations change or are updated.
• All data is held within the UK on servers based in Dundee and Aberdeen.
• All storage is secure and their hosting provider has GDPR procedures in place.
• They have a notification process in place for any breach.
• AdvicePro provides appropriate tools to allow all customers to properly enact the right to erasure process.
• AdvicePro provides functionality to allow the details of a client to be extracted in a machine readable format (XML).
• ACM Solutions, who develop, manage and provide the helpdesk services for AdvicePro and our current hosting partner (BrightSolid Ltd) are ISO27001 accredited.

Call Transcribing

Advice NI uses an AI transcribing tool called Wyser Assist to transcribe calls and provide call summary notes. This is done so that there is a clear record of the Advice given, for yours and our benefit. We may use fully anonymised versions of the Transcripts for training and quality purposes, to improve our services to you.

The summary note will be stored in our secure case recording database – Advice Pro. The adviser will review the summary note to ensure it contains no errors.

We will ask for your permission to use the Transcribing tool. If you had given us the permission and the tool has been switched on, but you changed your mind, please let your Adviser know and they will ensure it is switched off and the transcript removed.

Wyser transcribing tool is a product developed by Wyser AI, who are a company based in UK holding ISO27001 Standard as well as Cyber Security Plus Standard.

Wyser AI hold a copy of each recording for 48 hours after the call is made, after which it is automatically deleted. Wyser AI do not access any of the recordings unless explicitly asked by Advice NI - for example, to address any issues with the transcript accuracy.

The recording application used by Advice NI to make the recording will hold the transcript and summaries for 30 days before the automatic deletion if not manually deleted. Advice NI Advisers and Managers will, however, monitor the application to ensure that there are deleted as soon as they are uploaded on the Case Recording Database.

Contact us about your information

If you have used this service, you can contact us at any time and ask us:

• What information we've stored about you;
• To change or update your details;
• To delete your details from our records;
• To send you a copy of your personal data as well as other supplementary information. This information will be sent to you electronically unless you request otherwise.
• To send you any personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format – this will be provided in XML format, which is an industry standard format which can be read be electronic systems. You may also ask us to transmit this data directly to another data controller.

Making a complaint

If you are unhappy about how we obtain or process your data, you should raise you concern with us in the first instance, either in writing:

For the attention of the Data Officer
Advice NI
First Floor
Forestview
Purdy’s Lane
BT8 7AR

 via email:

[email protected]

or, via telephone:

028 9064 5919

We take all complaints seriously and we will investigate any concerns you raise thoroughly, and provide you with a timely response. Following this, if we have been unable to resolve your complaint, you can then raise it further with the Information Commissioners Office:

The Information Commissioner’s Office – Northern Ireland
3rd Floor
14 Cromac Place,
Belfast
BT7 2JB
Tel: 028 9027 8757 / 0303 123 1114
Email: [email protected]

When you contact our Debt Advice Service, we collect personal information about you so we can help you with your debts. In doing so, we rely on having a ‘legitimate interest’ under GDPR; in other words, we need you to provide certain information otherwise we would be unable to provide this service to you; this information may include:

• Your name and contact details (including your telephone number and full address);
• Your Date of Birth;
• Your gender identity;
• Your marital status;
• Your housing status;
• Details about your debts, creditors and any associated reference numbers;
• Details about your sources of income and expenditure;
• Details about your family circumstances which are relevant to you situation;
• Proof of identity

We will however, always ask for your consent to process or store information about your: 

• Physical or mental health conditions
• Ethnic origin
• Religion
• Sexual orientation
• Nationality

You will still be able to use the Debt Advice Service if you do not give us consent to process or store all or any of this data. Where you have provided consent, it can be withdrawn at any time by contacting us:

In writing:

Advice NI
First Floor
Forestview
Purdy’s Lane
Belfast
BT8 7AR

By telephone:

028 9064 5919

By email:

[email protected]

This automatic right to withdraw your consent only applies to consent based processing. Where we rely on our legitimate interests to process your data (for example to process your name, address etc…), you can ask us to stop processing it, however we will only stop processing your data where we are satisfied that your rights override our legitimate interests.

If you request deletion of your records and once this is carried out, please note that we are unable to investigate any complaints relating to your case due to lack of evidence.

How we use your information

The main reason we need your information is to work out which debt solutions or plans are best for you. It may also be used for the following purposes:

• For training and quality;
• To investigate complaints;
• To get feedback from you about our services
• To help us improve our services 

We use some information to create statistics about who we're helping and identify what problems are the most common. This information is always anonymised - you can't be identified. 

We share this information with funders, regulators, government departments and publicly on our blogs, reports, social media, press releases, and at our Annual General Meetings. 

The statistics also inform our policy research, campaigns, or media work.

We might use your contact details to get in touch about your experience of our service or ask you to take part in surveys or research - we'll only do this if you give us permission.

After your case is concluded, your Adviser will ask you to complete a feedback survey, which they will send to you via text or email. The survey is anonymous and helps us improve our Services. You are not obliged to complete the survey.

There is an option, in the survey, to leave your contact details, if you feel your case needs a follow up. Only where you clearly indicate that you wish to be contacted again, the Adviser will attempt to reach you.

If we're concerned about yours or someone else's safety  

Under Article 6(1)(d) GDPR (‘Vital Interests’), if you tell us that your life or that of someone else is in imminent danger, we will share all necessary information and personal data with the emergency services in order to protect your life, or that of someone else.

Storing your information

Whether you contact us by phone, in person or by email, your personal data and relevant information about your enquiry (such as copies of letters, or details about your issue and the advice you were given) will be stored in a secure case management system – AdvicePro.  We retain this information for 7 years from the date we close your case.

ACM solutions, who develop, manage and provide the helpdesk services for AdvicePro, have released the following commitments to the GDPR:

• All of their staff and those of our hosting provider are familiar with GDPR and their personal responsibilities.
• All members of staff are trained on Data Protection issues on commencement of employment and this is updated as and when regulations change or are updated.
• All data is held within the UK on servers based in Dundee and Aberdeen.
• All storage is secure and their hosting provider has GDPR procedures in place.
• They have a notification process in place for any breach.
• AdvicePro provides appropriate tools to allow all customers to properly enact the right to erasure process.
• AdvicePro provides functionality to allow the details of a client to be extracted in a machine readable format (XML).

ACM Solutions, who develop, manage and provide the helpdesk services for AdvicePro and our current hosting partner (BrightSolid Ltd) are ISO27001 accredited.

Call transcribing

Advice NI uses an AI transcribing tool called WyserAssist to transcribe calls and provide call summary notes. This is done so that there is a clear record of the Advice given, for yours and our benefit. We may use anonymised version of the Transcripts for training and quality purposes, to improve our services to you.

The summary note will be stored in Advice NI secure case recording database – Advice Pro. Adviser will review the summary note to ensure it contains no errors.

You have a right to object to this processing – please let the Adviser know if you would like the transcription tool not to be used and it can be switched off.

Wyser transcribing tool is a product developed by Wyser AI, who are a company based in UK holding ISO27001 Standard as well as Cyber Security Plus Standard. Wyser AI hold a copy of each recording for 48 hours after the call is made, after which it is automatically deleted. Wyser AI do not access any of the recordings unless explicitly asked to by Advice NI - for example, to address any issues with the transcript accuracy.

The recording application used by Advice NI to make the recording will hold the transcript and summaries for 30 days before the automatic deletion, if not manually deleted. Advice NI Advisers and Managers will, however, monitor the application to ensure that there are deleted as soon as they are uploaded on the Case Recording Database.

When you use our Webchat

When you contact us using the Webchat, accessible from Advice NI website Debt Service section, you will be asked to enter your name and your Debt query in the Webform. The name will show as you entered it. The Webchat is powered by 3CX, who store the information on their server for 30 days. After that, the information is deleted from 3CX servers. Please see 3CX Privacy Notice for more information about their processing https://www.3cx.com/company/privacy/

Advice NI Advisers are required to copy the content of the chat into the Case Notes, to be able to demonstrate that correct Advice was given. If your query requires a repeated contact, any sort of casework or representation etc. we may need to ask you to provide more information. The information we may collect is listed in full in Par. 1 of this Debt Service Privacy Notice. We will never ask for any information that we don’t need, and we will always explain to you why we need it. As outlined above, Adviser will always get your consent to process any sensitive data. Please also see the section ‘Storing your Information’ to learn more about how long we keep your data and what systems and safeguards we use

When we share your information

Sometimes we share your personal information with other organisations, for example where you require assistance in relation to something that is outside the scope of the Debt Advice Service. We will always get your permission before doing this, and we will never pass on your details to another agency without your permission, save for when it is necessary for the protection of life. (See “If we're concerned about yours or someone else's safety” above)

Where necessary to progress your case, we will share your information with your creditors so but only where you have agreed to this in advance. It is necessary for us to share your information with your creditors where, for example, you have instructed us make offers of repayments on your behalf, or to request that any interest and charges on your accounts be suspended pending an offer of repayment. 

Contact us about your information

If you have used this service, you can contact us at any time and ask us:

• What information we've stored about you;
• To change or update your details;
• To delete your details from our records;
• To send you a copy of your personal data as well as other supplementary information. This information will be sent to you electronically unless you request otherwise.
• To send you any personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format – this will be provided in XML format, which is an industry standard format which can be read be electronic systems. You may also ask us to transmit this data directly to another data controller.

Making a complaint

If you are unhappy about how we obtain or process your data, you should raise you concern with us in the first instance, either in writing:

For the attention of the Data Officer
Advice NI
First Floor
Forestview
Purdy’s Lane
BT8 7AR

via email:

[email protected]

or, via telephone:

028 9064 5919

We take all complaints seriously and we will investigate any concerns you raise thoroughly, and provide you with a timely response. Following this, if we have been unable to resolve your complaint, you can then raise it further with the Information Commissioners Office:

The Information Commissioner’s Office – Northern Ireland
3rd Floor
14 Cromac Place,
Belfast
BT7 2JB
Tel: 028 9027 8757 / 0303 123 1114
Email: [email protected]

When you contact our Business Debt Advice Service, we collect personal information about you so we can help you with your debts. In doing so, we rely on having a ‘legitimate interest’ under GDPR; in other words, we need you to provide certain information otherwise we would be unable to provide this service to you; this information may include:

• Your name and contact details (including your telephone number and full address);
• Your Date of Birth;
• Your gender identity;
• Your marital status;
• Your housing status;
• Details about your debts, creditors and any associated reference numbers;
• Details about your sources of income and expenditure;
• Details about your family circumstances which are relevant to you situation;
• ​Proof of identity

We will however, always ask for your consent to process or store information about your: 

• Physical or mental health conditions
• ethnic origin
• religion
• trade union membership
• ​sexual orientation

You will still be able to use the Business Debt Advice Service if you do not give us consent to process or store all or any of this data. Where you have provided consent, it can be withdrawn at any time by contacting us:

In writing:

Advice NI
First Floor
Forestview
Purdy’s Lane
Belfast
BT8 7AR

By telephone:

028 9064 5919

By email:

[email protected]

This automatic right to withdraw your consent only applies to consent based processing. Where we rely on our legitimate interests to process your data (for example to process your name, address etc…), you can ask us to stop processing it, however we will only stop processing your data where we are satisfied that your rights override our legitimate interests.

If you request deletion of your records and once this is carried out, please note that we are unable to investigate any complaints relating to your case due to lack of evidence.

How we use your information

The main reason we need your information is to work out which debt solutions or plans are best for you. It may also be used for the following purposes:

• For training and quality;
• To investigate complaints;
• To get feedback from you about our services
• ​To help us improve our services 

We use some information to create statistics about who we're helping and identify what problems are the most common. This information is always anonymised - you can't be identified. 

We share the information with funders, regulators, government departments and publicly on our blogs, reports, social media, press releases, and at our Annual General Meetings. 

The statistics also inform our policy research, campaigns, or media work.

We might use your contact details to get in touch about your experience of our service or ask you to take part in surveys or research - we'll only do this if you give us permission.

After your case is concluded, your Adviser will ask you to complete a feedback survey, which they will send to you via text or email. The survey is anonymous and helps us improve our Services. You are not obliged to complete the survey.

There is an option, in the survey, to leave your contact details, if you feel your case needs a follow up. Only where you clearly indicate that you wish to be contacted again, the Adviser will attempt to reach you.

If we're concerned about yours or someone else's safety

Under Article 6(1)(d) GDPR (‘Vital Interests’), if you tell us that your life or that of someone else is in imminent danger, we will share all necessary information and personal data with the emergency services in order to protect your life, or that of someone else.

Storing your information

Whether you contact us by phone, in person or by email, your personal data and relevant information about your enquiry (such as copies of letters, or details about your issue and the advice you were given) will be stored in a secure case management system – AdvicePro.  We retain this information for 6 years from the date we close your case.

ACM solutions, who develop, manage and provide the helpdesk services for AdvicePro, have released the following commitments to the GDPR:

• All of their staff and those of our hosting provider are familiar with GDPR and their personal responsibilities.
• All members of staff are trained on Data Protection issues on commencement of employment and this is updated as and when regulations change or are updated.
• All data is held within the UK on servers based in Dundee and Aberdeen.
• All storage is secure and their hosting provider has GDPR procedures in place.
• They have a notification process in place for any breach.
• AdvicePro provides appropriate tools to allow all customers to properly enact the right to erasure process.
• ​AdvicePro provides functionality to allow the details of a client to be extracted in a machine readable format (XML).

ACM Solutions, who develop, manage and provide the helpdesk services for AdvicePro and our current hosting partner (BrightSolid Ltd) are ISO27001 accredited.

Call transcribing

Advice NI uses an AI transcribing tool called WyserAssist to transcribe calls and provide call summary notes. This is done so that there is a clear record of the Advice given, for yours and our benefit. We may use anonymised version of the Transcripts for training and quality purposes, to improve our services to you.

The summary note will be stored in Advice NI secure case recording database – Advice Pro. Adviser will review the summary note to ensure it contains no errors.

You have a right to object to this processing – please let the Adviser know if you would like the transcription tool not to be used and it can be switched off.

Wyser transcribing tool is a product developed by Wyser AI, who are a company based in UK holding ISO27001 Standard as well as Cyber Security Plus Standard. Wyser AI hold a copy of each recording for 48 hours after the call is made, after which it is automatically deleted. Wyser AI do not access any of the recordings unless explicitly asked to by Advice NI - for example, to address any issues with the transcript accuracy.

The recording application used by Advice NI to make the recording will hold the transcript and summaries for 30 days before the automatic deletion, if not manually deleted. Advice NI Advisers and Managers will, however, monitor the application to ensure that there are deleted as soon as they are uploaded on the Case Recording Database.

​When we share your information

Sometimes we share your personal information with other organisations, for example where you require assistance in relation to something that is outside the scope of the Debt Advice Service. We will always get your permission before doing this, and we will never pass on your details to another agency without your permission, save for when it is necessary for the protection of life. (See “If we're concerned about yours or someone else's safety” above)

Where necessary to progress your case, we will share your information with your creditors so but only where you have agreed to this in advance. It is necessary for us to share your information with your creditors where, for example, you have instructed us make offers of repayments on your behalf, or to request that any interest and charges on your accounts be suspended pending an offer of repayment. 

Contact us about your information 

If you have used this service, you can contact us at any time and ask us:

• What information we've stored about you;
• To change or update your details;
• To delete your details from our records;
• To send you a copy of your personal data as well as other supplementary information. This information will be sent to you electronically unless you request otherwise.
• ​To send you any personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format – this will be provided in XML format, which is an industry standard format which can be read be electronic systems. You may also ask us to transmit this data directly to another data controller.

Making a complaint

If you are unhappy about how we obtain or process your data, you should raise you concern with us in the first instance, either in writing:

For the attention of the Data Officer
Advice NI
First Floor
Forestview
Purdy’s Lane
BT8 7AR

via email:

[email protected]

or, via telephone:

028 9064 5919

We take all complaints seriously and we will investigate any concerns you raise thoroughly, and provide you with a timely response. Following this, if we have been unable to resolve your complaint, you can then raise it further with the Information Commissioners Office:

The Information Commissioner’s Office – Northern Ireland
3rd Floor
14 Cromac Place,
Belfast
BT7 2JB
Tel: 028 9027 8757 / 0303 123 1114
Email: [email protected]

We collect and use the details you give us so we can help you; under data protection law, we rely on your consent to collect and process your personal information and your special category information. You can choose to remain anonymous if you like, and this will not prevent you from using this service. In addition, you can decide which data you wish to share, and that which you do not wish to share; again, this will not affect your ability to use this service.

We will only ask you for information which is relevant, which may relate to or reveal information about your:

• Name and contact details (including your telephone number and full address);
• Date of Birth;
• Gender identity;
• National Insurance Number
• Marital status;
• Physical or mental health;
• ​Ethnic origin;

If you have provided us with consent to collect any or all of the above information, but you later change your mind, you can contact us at any time by phone – 028 9064 5919, or by email – [email protected] to withdraw your consent. Just tell us what personal information you don't want us to store and we'll delete it.

If you request deletion of your records and once this is carried out, please note that we are unable to investigate any complaints relating to your case due to lack of evidence.

How we use your information

The information you provide to us will be used to answer your query and to provide you with the most relevant advice with regards to your current circumstances. It may also be used for the following purposes:

• For training and quality;
• To investigate complaints;
• To get feedback from you about our services
• ​To help us improve our services

We use some information to create statistics about who we're helping and identify what problems are the most common. This information is always anonymised - you can't be identified.

We share this information with funders, regulators, government departments and publicly on our blogs, reports, social media, press releases, and at our Annual General Meetings. 

The statistics also inform our policy research, campaigns, or media work.

If we're concerned about yours or someone else's safety

Under Article 6(1)(d) GDPR (‘Vital Interests’), if we are concerned that your life or that of someone else is in imminent danger, we will share all necessary information and personal data with the relevant emergency service(s) in order to protect your life, or that of someone else.

Storing your information

Whether you contact us by phone, in person or by email, your personal data and relevant information about your enquiry (such as copies of letters, or details about your issue and the advice you were given) will be stored in a secure case management system – AdvicePro.  We retain this information for 7 years from the date we close your case.

ACM solutions, who develop, manage and provide the helpdesk services for AdvicePro, have released the following commitments to the GDPR:

• All of their staff and those of our hosting provider are familiar with GDPR and their personal responsibilities.
• All members of staff are trained on Data Protection issues on commencement of employment and this is updated as and when regulations change or are updated.
• All data is held within the UK on servers based in Dundee and Aberdeen.
• All storage is secure and their hosting provider has GDPR procedures in place.
• They have a notification process in place for any breach.
• AdvicePro provides appropriate tools to allow all customers to properly enact the right to erasure process.
• AdvicePro provides functionality to allow the details of a client to be extracted in a machine readable format (XML).
• ​ACM Solutions, who develop, manage and provide the helpdesk services for AdvicePro and our current hosting partner (BrightSolid Ltd) are ISO27001 accredited.

Contact us about your information

If you have used this service, you can contact us at any time and ask us:

• What information we've stored about you;
• To change or update your details;
• To delete your details from our records;
• To send you a copy of your personal data as well as other supplementary information. This information will be sent to you electronically unless you request otherwise.
• ​To send you any personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format – this will be provided in XML format, which is an industry standard format which can be read be electronic systems. You may also ask us to transmit this data directly to another data controller.

Making a complaint

If you are unhappy about how we obtain or process your data, you should raise you concern with us in the first instance, either in writing:

For the attention of the Data Officer
Advice NI
First Floor
Forestview
Purdy’s Lane
BT8 7AR

via email:

[email protected]

or, via telephone:

028 9064 5919

We take all complaints seriously and we will investigate any concerns you raise thoroughly, and provide you with a timely response. Following this, if we have been unable to resolve your complaint, you can then raise it further with the Information Commissioners Office:

The Information Commissioner’s Office – Northern Ireland
3rd Floor
14 Cromac Place,
Belfast
BT7 2JB
Tel: 028 9027 8757 / 0303 123 1114
Email: [email protected]

Sustainable Energy Communities NI is focused on the empowerment of Communities to take control of their energy and low carbon futures by supporting them to adopt sustainable energy community model. The project will develop an Energy Master Plan with the Community and with support from the project partners. SECNI is a project delivered by Advice NI, in partnership with local Communities.

Purpose and lawful basis for processing personal data

Our purpose for processing your personal data is to engage with local communities to deliver Sustainable Energy Communities Project. Advice NI is the Data Controller for any personal data shared with us, which we process in relation to the Project.

Advice NI works in partnership with local community centres, who may reach out to you to offer participation in the Programme that they run jointly with AdviceNI.

Accordingly, your local Community Centre is a Data Controller in their own rights, for any personal data they process.

Some of the data may be processed by both AdviceNI and your local Community Centre, in which case both entities may be joint Data Controllers in certain Project activities.  

The lawful basis for AdviceNI processing your personal data is ‘consent’. This means you need to give us permission before we process your personal data. You can withdraw your consent at any time, and we will stop processing your data when this happens.

How to get involved and what data will be processed?

There are several different ways you can get involved with the SEC.

At present, you can get involved in the Project through your local Community Centre, or by contacting SEC via Advice NI website form.

When you contact SEC through Advice NI website

When you contact through the Advice NI website, we will ask you to complete a contact form, including the following information;

• First name
• Surname
• Contact details: email address and phone number
• Postcode Area – so that we know what SEC support may already exist in your community.

The form will ask for your consent to process the above personal data, as well as a separate permission to:

• send you our monthly Newsletter
• send you a Project Survey
• contact you with more tailored communication about the Project, relevant to your specific query.

You can choose to receive some, all or none of the communications above.

The Project Survey is anonymous but will give you an option to share your contact details, to further engage in the Project.

When you contact SEC by taking part in our events

If you are participating in SEC events organised by your local Community Centre, you will be asked to complete a paper form, including your first name, surname, email address and telephone number.

On the form, will ask for your consent to send you communications from SEC, including;

• Monthly Newsletter
• Project Survey
• other, tailored communication about the Project, relevant to your specific interest or skills

If you are willing to get involved as a SEC leader, we will ask for your consent to publish your contact details in your community.

Photographs

If you are participating in our events, we will ask for your consent to take your photograph. You do not have to consent to the photographs being taken. When photos are being taken you will have the opportunity to leave the room.

Home Visits

In future, we are hoping to offer energy assessments and advice to individual households. To arrange and carry out such visits, we will ask that you share with us your details, as follows;

• first name
• surname
• contact details such as email and telephone number and
• the address of the property where the assessment is to take place.

Your contact details and address will not be shared with anyone else and will be securely stored on our systems.

Storing your information

We store your personal information in a secure database, with the access limited to relevant personnel of the Project, as well as Advice NI Data Officer.

How we share your data?

AdviceNI will never share your personal details without your explicit consent.

With your consent, we may ask to share your personal details with your local Community Organisations, for example in a scenario where you would like to get locally involved with the SEC Project.

Some members of the public may wish to become SEC leaders in their communities, in which case they may consent to sharing their first name, surname and contact details with wider community, via Newsletter, website post, social media. We will never share these without your explicit consent, and we will delete the contacts from all channels if you withdraw your consent.

How long do we process your data for?

All the data you share with Advice NI is stored securely and will be kept for one year after the closure of the Project. The project is currently scheduled to conclude in March 2026, but may be subject to extension. This Privacy Notice will be updated to include the new timelines as soon as they are known.

You can withdraw your consent at any time, by contacting [email protected] or [email protected]

If you do so, your personal data will be permanently removed from our systems.

Making a complaint

If you are unhappy about how we obtain or process your data, you should raise you concern with us in the first instance, either in writing:

For the attention of the Data Officer
Advice NI
First Floor
Forestview
Purdy’s Lane
BT8 7AR

Or by email, to [email protected]

We take all complaints seriously and we will investigate any concerns you raise thoroughly, and provide you with a timely response. Following this, if we have been unable to resolve your complaint, you can then raise it further with the Information Commissioners Office:

The Information Commissioner’s Office – Northern Ireland

3rd Floor

14 Cromac Place,

Belfast

BT7 2JB

Tel: 028 9027 8757 / 0303 123 1114

Email: [email protected]

By subscribing to these updates, you have given your active consent. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link or emailing [email protected]. The information we process is limited to the following:

• Your primary contact name
• The name of the organisation you work for/volunteer at
• The email address you use to subscribe to these updates, and;
• A log of whether you open the emails and clicked on link

Making a complaint

If you are unhappy about how we obtain or process your data, you should raise you concern with us in the first instance, either in writing:

For the attention of the Data Officer
Advice NI
First Floor
Forestview
Purdy’s Lane
BT8 7AR

via email:

[email protected]

or, via telephone:

028 9064 5919

We take all complaints seriously and we will investigate any concerns you raise thoroughly, and provide you with a timely response. Following this, if we have been unable to resolve your complaint, you can then raise it further with the Information Commissioners Office:

The Information Commissioner’s Office – Northern Ireland
3rd Floor
14 Cromac Place,
Belfast
BT7 2JB
Tel: 028 9027 8757 / 0303 123 1114
Email: [email protected]

By paying your membership fee you have entered into a contractual relationship with us as set out in our membership terms and conditions. Therefore, Advice NI rely on the lawful basis of ‘Contract’ to process any personal data, in accordance with Article 6(1)(b) of the GDPR.

Advice NI will process the following information when you sign up as a member:

• Primary contact name and email address;
• The name, address, telephone number of the organisation
• Invoicing details

Making a complaint

If you are unhappy about how we obtain or process your data, you should raise you concern with us in the first instance, either in writing:

For the attention of the Data Officer
Advice NI
First Floor
Forestview
Purdy’s Lane
BT8 7AR

via email:

[email protected]

or, via telephone:

028 9064 5919

We take all complaints seriously and we will investigate any concerns you raise thoroughly, and provide you with a timely response. Following this, if we have been unable to resolve your complaint, you can then raise it further with the Information Commissioners Office:

The Information Commissioner’s Office – Northern Ireland
3rd Floor
14 Cromac Place,
Belfast
BT7 2JB
Tel: 028 9027 8757 / 0303 123 1114
Email: [email protected]

By booking onto a course and / or event you have entered into a contract of service for us to provide you with training. Consequently, we rely on the lawful basis of ‘Contract’, as set out under Article (6)(1)(b) of the GDPR to process the following personal data:

• Your full name
• The name and address of the organisation you work for/volunteer with
• The email address you provide us with
• The invoicing detail you provide us with.

During the course of our sessions, we sometimes take photographs, video and/or sound recordings in printed and electronic media, for promotional, educational and archival purposes. We ask for your written consent before doing so, which you can withdraw at anytime by contacting our data protection officer Agnieszka Wlodarska, Advice NI, First Floor, Forestview, Purdy’s Lane, Belfast, BT8 7AR. You can also call on 028 9064 5919, or email your request to [email protected] 

When we share your information

If your course is accredited we are required to share your information with the relevant accrediting body. 

If you attend training courses on behalf of an organisation (that may be your employer or an organisation you volunteer for), we may share the progress with that organisation, if requested. Under GDPR, the legal basis for sharing the information is Legitimate Interests.

Endorsed & Regulated Courses

To comply with data protection legislation, schools, colleges, local authorities, and training sector organisations are responsible for registering learners with the Learning Records Service (LRS). The information you supply when registering for our accredited courses is used by the Learning Records Service (LRS). The LRS issues Unique Learner Numbers (ULN) and creates Personal Learning Records across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and is operated by the Department for Education (DfE) in England.

Before registering, you should review the Learning Records Service (LRS) Privacy Notice. This privacy notice explains how LRS use your personal information. For the purposes of relevant data protection legislation, the DfE is the data controller for personal information processed.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lrs-privacy-notices/lrs-privacy-notice

Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns BEFORE completing your registration form.

Purpose and lawful basis for processing

Our purpose for processing this information is to assess your suitability for a role you have applied for and to help us develop and improve our recruitment process.

The lawful basis we rely on for processing your personal data is article 6(1)(b) of the GDPR, which relates to processing necessary to perform a contract or to take steps at your request, before entering a contract.

If you provide us with any information about reasonable adjustments you require under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, the lawful basis we rely on for processing this information is article 6(1)(c) to comply with our legal obligations under the Act.

The lawful basis we rely on to process any information you provide as part of your application which is special category data, such as health, religious or ethnicity information is article 9(2)(b) of the GDPR, which relates to our obligations in employment and the safeguarding of your fundamental rights. And Schedule 1 part 1(1) of the DPA2018 which again relates to processing for employment purposes.

What we do with the information you provide to us

We’ll use all the information you provide during the recruitment process to progress your application with a view to offering you an employment contract with us, or to fulfil legal or regulatory requirements if necessary.

We will not share any of the information you provide with any third parties for marketing purposes.

We’ll use the contact details you give us to contact you to progress your application. We may also contact you to request your feedback about our recruitment process. We’ll use the other information you provide to assess your suitability for the role.

What information do we ask for?

We do not collect more information than we need to fulfil our stated purposes and will not keep it longer than necessary. The type of data we may ask you for includes, but is not limited to:

• Your name;
• Your full address;
• Your Date of Birth
• You email address
• Your phone number
• Relevant employment history/experience;
• Details of relevant academic history/qualifications etc…

The information we ask for is used to assess your suitability for employment. You don’t have to provide what we ask for but it may affect your application if you don’t.

When you are employed by Advice NI

When you are employed by Advice NI, your personal data will be processed in accordance with Advice NI GDPR Privacy Notice for Employees, included in the Employee Handbook

By creating a user account on our website(s) you have entered into a contractual relationship to use our online services. The lawful basis we rely on for processing your personal data is article 6(1)(b) of the GDPR, which relates to processing necessary to perform a contract or to take steps at your request, before entering a contract. 

What information will we process?

We will only process the following information:

• Your name
• The organisation you work for/volunteer with;
• The email address you provide to us
• The date of when you last signed in

When you contact AdviceNI through the website contact form or [email protected] email, we will aim to provide you with the required information or/and direct you to the relevant AdviceNI Service.

We use Legitimate Interests legal basis to process your personal data that you share with us in your email/contact form message. We would not be able to respond to you, if we didn’t have your basic contact details stored on our systems. We will store your enquiry and the reply in our inbox for 12 months. It will then be permanently deleted.

If, after the initial contact, you proceed to receive advice from one of our Services, the Service will create a client case for you on our Case Recording Database.

Personal Data Processing done by our Advice Services is covered above, under Debt, Business Debt, Welfare, EUSS and HMRC advice headings. Each of those Services will have their own provisions around what personal data they process and for how long.