Privacy Statement for Opportunities Fife Partnership and Capital Cities Partnership - Helix

Who we are:

Our Head Office location is:

You can contact our Data Protection Officer by email at:

Fife Council is the Data Controller for the personal information collected as part of employability services delivered in Fife.

Services are delivered through the Opportunities Fife Partnership (OFP) and wider employability programmes, working with a range of commissioned and partner organisations who provide support to individuals across Fife.

To support the delivery, coordination and monitoring of these services, we use HELIX, a Management Information System for employability and skills. HELIX captures information about your journey through support, including engagement, interventions, and outcomes such as training and employment.

HELIX is delivered and maintained by Capital City Partnership, which coordinates a partnership approach to employability, skills and tackling poverty, working with local authorities and delivery partners across Scotland.

The system is used by multiple Local Authorities and partner organisations to support joined-up service delivery, improve reporting, and provide better insights into employability outcomes across programmes.

Why do we need your personal information and what do we do with it?

We collect and use your personal information to understand your individual needs and to provide you with appropriate employability support. This includes helping you to access training, education, volunteering opportunities, and employment.

The information we collect may include details provided during registration, action plans, case notes, attendance records, and information about your progress, such as qualifications gained or employment outcomes.

Your information is recorded and managed using HELIX, a Management Information System designed for employability and skills services. HELIX captures your journey through support, including engagement, service interventions, job readiness, and outcomes such as employment or further training.

We use your information to:

  • assess your needs and eligibility for support
  • provide tailored advice, guidance and services
  • coordinate support across different organisations to ensure you receive the right help at the right time
  • track your progress and outcomes, including movement into employment, education or training
  • match you to suitable opportunities, including jobs, courses and other support
  • avoid duplication of support across services using the HELIX system
  • monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of services
  • produce anonymised reports to inform future service development, policy and decision-making

Your information may also be used to verify outcomes, such as confirming employment or course completion with employers or training providers where required.

In many cases, collecting and recording this information is a requirement of the funding arrangements that support these services. This allows us to evidence outcomes, demonstrate the impact of services, and ensure that public funds are being used appropriately.

Where possible, your information will be anonymised when used for reporting and analysis so that you cannot be identified.

If you do not provide the information we request, we may not be able to offer you the full range of support available through employability services.

Legal basis for using your information

We process your personal information in accordance with data protection law.

The main legal basis we rely on is that processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority, as part of the services provided by Fife Council and its partners.

This includes delivering employability and skills services, supporting individuals to access training and employment, and meeting obligations associated with publicly funded programmes.

In addition, processing may also be necessary:

  • to comply with legal obligations, including requirements to report to funders and auditors
  • to meet the terms and conditions of funding, which require us to record, monitor and evidence the support provided and the outcomes achieved
  • where relevant, for the performance of a contract with organisations delivering services on behalf of the Council

In some cases, we may need to process more sensitive personal information (also known as “special category data”), such as information relating to health or other personal circumstances. Where this happens, processing is carried out in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest, with appropriate safeguards in place.

Providing your personal information is important to allow us to deliver services effectively. If you do not provide the information requested, we may not be able to offer you the full range of support available.

Who do we share your information with?

We share your personal information only where it is necessary to provide you with support, to meet legal and funding requirements, or where we are required to do so by law.

Your information may be shared with:

Employability delivery partners

Your information may be shared with organisations involved in delivering employability services as part of the Opportunities Fife Partnership (OFP) and wider programmes. This includes commissioned providers, training providers, and other partner organisations who are supporting you.

This sharing allows services to be coordinated effectively and helps ensure you receive appropriate support without duplication.

Use of the HELIX system

Your information will be recorded on the HELIX system, which is used by multiple Local Authorities and partner organisations to manage and deliver employability services.

Information may be shared within HELIX to:

  • check whether you are receiving support from another service
  • coordinate support across organisations
  • avoid duplication of services
  • monitor and report on outcomes

Only authorised staff within participating organisations can access your information, and access is controlled through secure login systems.

Funders, auditors and government bodies

We may share your information with organisations that fund, manage, or audit employability services. This may include:

  • Scottish Government
  • UK Government departments (such as the Department for Work and Pensions)
  • Skills Development Scotland
  • other public sector bodies involved in funding or oversight

This is required to:

  • evidence outcomes
  • demonstrate how public funds are used
  • meet reporting and audit requirements

Verification of outcomes

Where required, we may share your information with employers, education providers, or training organisations in order to verify outcomes such as employment, course completion, or participation.

Fraud prevention and legal requirements

  • prevent and detect fraud
  • comply with legal obligations
  • respond to lawful requests from regulatory or law enforcement authorities

Third-party service providers

In some cases, organisations that provide services on our behalf (such as system providers) may process your information. These organisations are required to handle your information securely and only in accordance with our instructions.

Anonymised data

We may share anonymised information (which does not identify you) for:

  • reporting
  • research
  • service improvement
  • policy development

How long do we keep your information for?

*The UK/Scottish Government, their representatives of the Auditors General for Scotland may require to carry out any auditing, monitoring and compliance checks of No One Left Behind/Tackling Child Poverty/ UK Shared Prosperity Fund in this case a confidentiality contract will be completed on request. We will also generally comply with requests for, and share, specific information from other regulatory and law enforcement bodies where this is necessary and appropriate.

We will only keep your personal information for as long as necessary to provide you with support and to meet legal, regulatory, and funding requirements.

Your information will be retained in line with Fife Council’s records management and retention schedules, as well as the requirements of the programmes under which services are delivered.

In most cases, your personal information will be kept for a period after your support has ended to allow us to:

  • monitor outcomes and longer-term impact of services
  • meet audit and reporting requirements
  • · comply with funding conditions and legal obligations

The exact length of time your information is retained may vary depending on the specific programme you are supported through.

Your personal information will usually be kept for up to 5 years from your last engagement with employability services.

If you access further support through Opportunities Fife Partnership or related programmes during this time, the retention period may be extended from the date of your most recent engagement.

This allows us to provide ongoing support, monitor outcomes, and meet funding and audit requirements.

Once the retention period has expired, your personal information will be securely deleted or disposed of in accordance with Fife Council policies.

Your rights under data protection law

Access to your information – you have the right to request a copy of the personal information that we hold about you.

Correcting your information – we want to make sure that your personal information is accurate, complete and up to date. Therefore you may ask us to correct any personal information about you that you believe does not meet these standards.

Deletion of your information – you have the right to ask us to delete personal information about you where:

  • you think that we no longer need to hold the information for the purposes for which it was originally obtained
  • you have a genuine objection to our use of your personal information – e.g. you have the right at any time to tell us to stop using your personal information for direct marketing purposes
  • our use of your personal information is contrary to law or our other legal obligations.

Restricting how we may use your information – in some cases, you may ask us to restrict how we use your personal information. This right might apply, for example, where we are checking the accuracy of personal information that we hold about you or we are assessing the objection you have made to our use of your information. This right might also apply if we no longer have a basis for using your personal information but you don't want us to delete the data. Where this right is realistically applied will mean that we may only use the relevant personal information with your consent, for legal claims or where there are other public interest grounds to do so.

Please contact us as stated above if you wish to exercise any of these rights.

Information you have given us about other people

If you have provided anyone else’s details on this form, please make sure that you have told them that you have provided their information. We will only use this information to assist with confirming your suitability for the services available and help us assess your personal needs. Where possible, we attempt to avoid the documenting of identifiable data relating to a third party. If they want any more information on how we will use their information they can visit the following websites:

Privacy Policy | Fife Council

Complaints

We aim to directly resolve all complaints about how we handle personal information. However, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office, who can be contacted by post at: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. By phone on 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545745. Visit their website for more information at https://ico.org.uk/concerns

More information

Fife Council: Privacy Policy | Fife Council

If you do not have access to the internet you can contact us via telephone to request hard copies of our documents.