Heat Network Support Unit: privacy notice

Who we are

We are the Heat Network Support Unit (HNSU), sponsored and managed by the Scottish Government, with partners Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) and Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS).

Purpose and lawful basis for processing

Our purpose for collecting your contact details is to:

• let you know about the Heat Network Support Unit’s work, news and events
• collect your feedback on events, programmes and funding we are offering

Should you have signed up to receive the Heat Network Support Unit e-newsletter, the lawful basis we rely on for processing your contact details is your consent under article 6(1)(a) of the UK GDPR.

Should you have signed up to attend one of the Heat Network Support Unit’s events or workshops via Eventbrite, the lawful basis we rely on for processing your contact details is legitimate interest under article 6(1)(f) of the UK GDPR.

Should you have provided us with feedback on one of our activities, the lawful basis we rely on for processing your contact details is public task under article 6(1)(e) of the UK GDPR.

What we need

Your full name, email address and organisation name.

How we get this information

The personal information we process is provided to us for one of the following reasons:

• you voluntarily signed up to receive our e-newsletter via our sign-up form
• you voluntarily signed up to attend one of our events or workshops via Eventbrite
• you voluntarily signed up to our District Heating Mentoring Scheme

Why we need this information

We use your email address to:

• send you our e-newsletter and other essential updates from the Heat Network Support Unit
• provide you with the event details 
• provide you with a feedback form to help us understand the success of the event or workshop you attended

We do not publish delegate lists for events or workshops.

What we do with this information

We send ad hoc e-newsletters when there are significant announcements or publications.

We only use your details to provide the service and to allow us to make improvements to our programme based on your feedback.

In case of publication of feedback you have provided, any feedback will be published under your organisation name and not your own name.

We use Eventbrite for ticketing. Information on their privacy policy can be found on their website.

Data processors

We use Mailchimp to process our e-newsletter. Mailchimp’s privacy notice outlines how they collect, use, share and process personal information.

You can contact Mailchimp at their mailing address:

The Rocket Science Group, LLC
675 Ponce de Leon Ave NE
Suite 5000
Atlanta, GA 30308 USA

We use Microsoft Forms to collect feedback on our programmes. Microsoft Office’s privacy notice outlines how they collect, use, share and process personal information. You can report a privacy concern using their web form or contact details below:

Microsoft Ireland Operations Limited
Attn: Data Protection Officer,
One Microsoft Place, South County Business Park
Leopardstown, Dublin 18, Ireland
Telephone: +353 1 706 3117

How long we hold information

We will only keep your personal data for as long as you remain subscribed to our e-newsletter. Should you unsubscribe, your personal data will be deleted within 24 hours of your request (Monday to Friday).

We will only keep personal data in an identifiable form as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it is collected, and for no more than five years from when it was collected. Once we no longer need personal data it will be deleted, put beyond use or anonymised.

Data protection rights

You have a right of access to any personal data we hold about you by making a Subject Access Request (SAR). This will be provided free of charge.

You have the right to unsubscribe from our e-newsletter at any time by either selecting the 'unsubscribe' link that appears in every email or emailing the Heat Network Support Unit.

If you believe that the data we hold is inaccurate or incomplete you can ask us to update our records.

You can contact us at heatnetworksupport@gov.scot to request any of the above.

You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.

You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your information in certain circumstances. 

You have the right to object to the processing of your information in certain circumstances.

To find out more about the rights you have over your personal data, please visit the ICO website.

If you have concerns about the way we process and handle your personal information, in the first instance you should raise your concerns with our Data Protection Officer by email to DataProtectionOfficer@gov.scot

If you feel that your data has been collected or processed unlawfully, you have the right to raise a complaint with the Information Commissioners Office:

The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Tel: 08456 30 60 60
Website: www.ico.org.uk
You can also report any concerns online.​​​​​​​