Crisis Resilience Fund (CRF) Privacy Notice

Lancaster City Council needs to know certain things about you (e.g., your name, address, email address, household composition, whether you consider yourself to be disabled etc.) so that we can administer the Crisis and Resilience Fund.

We are committed to protecting your privacy, and this statement is made in light of the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation 2016 and the Data Protection Act 2018 in order to advise you how we use your personal information.

When do we collect your personal information?

We collect information from you when either you complete our application form online or when you contact us, and the form is filled in on your behalf.

All this information requested on the form is needed to be able to make a decision on your application.  If you do not provide sufficient information, then we may not be able to make a decision on your claim.  If it is found that you have deliberately provided false information, then your application will be refused.

We may sometimes obtain information about you from third parties to verify the information that you have provided on your form.  We may use any records that the council already holds about you, including council tax, benefit records and information held by council housing.  We may also check details with the Department for Work and Pensions.

What information about you do we collect?

We need all the information you provide on the application form to determine if an award from the Crisis and Resilience Fund can be granted this includes:

• Your name

• Address

• Contact details

• Household details

• Income and capital details

• Date of Birth

How do we use your personal information?

The Council collects and uses information about you on the basis that to do so is necessary because of a legal obligation that applies to the Council and to do so is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest, or in the exercise of official authority. Legislation is in place to allow the Council to provide financial assistance to any person in their area, the Crisis and Resilience Fund is designed to fulfil this purpose by helping the most vulnerable residents in meeting their need for support or to help people cope with special difficulties.

Who will your information be shared with?

We will share your information for a variety of reasons, such as to provide services to you, for safeguarding and the prevention and detection of crime. The Council will never sell your information to anyone else. We will share some of it with other individuals and organisations, including:

• Department for Work and Pensions’
• Housing Benefit and Council Tax departments

• The Post Office
• Food Clubs and Food Banks within the Lancaster District
• Citizens Advice Bureau
• Other smaller suppliers of the goods and services you have been awarded
• Any organisation that is receiving financial support through the Crisis and Resilience Fund to help with the administration of this fund.

We will only share your information when necessary and when the law allows us to, and we will only share the minimum information we need to.

How long will we keep your information?

Lancaster City Council will keep your information for 6 years in line with the Limitation Act 1980.

Your rights and how to find out more

You have a number of rights under data protection law, including the right to ask for a copy of the information we hold about you, and the right to object to our use of your information in certain circumstances.

For further information about your rights, how the council uses your information, and how to get in touch if you have a query or complaint, please see the council’s main privacy notice.

We reserve the right to amend this privacy notice at any time. However, we take your privacy very seriously and will never change our policies or practices to make them less protective of your personal information. 

If we make any changes to this policy that significantly affect you, we will aim to notify you directly if we hold contact details for you. You will always be able to find the most up-to-date version of this policy on our website at this address: Financial support for households - Lancaster City Council 

Last updated: 17 June 2026