Privacy statement

Basic privacy statement

Below is a brief summary of the SAAS privacy statement and cookie policy. Our full privacy statement can be found on our website. It explains more about why we need to collect your personal information and what it will be used for.

Why we collect your information

We need to collect, hold and process information about you to meet our business purposes which include:

  • Providing support to learners in Scotland;
  • Appropriately managing public funds, including crime prevention, detection and investigation;
  • Contributing to research and policy developments that support learners and the provision of learning support;
  • Sharing information with universities and colleges and other public bodies that allow SAAS to ensure the best outcomes for learners in Scotland;
  • Sharing information for the purpose of crime prevention, detection and investigation with Police Scotland, HMRC, NFI and other organisations

We collect, hold and process personal information because the processing is necessary for the exercise of our functions as a government department as outlined in legislation that governs student support in Scotland. This is a legitimate condition of processing as outlined under Schedule 2 of DPA, 5(c).

What information we collect

We collect, hold and process your personal information so that we can assess financial applications for support.

Personal information we process can include: name, date of birth, address, relationship status, email address, phone numbers, bank details, National Insurance number, residency eligibility information, education, employment, course information, and income details.

Sensitive personal information we process can include: medical information for assessing disability support.

What happens to your information?

When applying for student funding you supply us with personal information in support of your application. This personal information may be used in a number of ways:

  • Assessing eligibility and entitlement to funding
  • Prevention or detection of crime, including fraud
  • Audit purposes
  • Statistical analysis and research
  • Improving service levels
  • Maintaining and developing systems, processes and policies
  • Recovery of overpayments

SAAS will use your personal information to assess your application, which may be done automatically by SAAS systems or by individuals who work for SAAS. As well as assessing your application, SAAS will use your personal information to ensure payment of funding for which you are eligible.

Cookies

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer by websites that you visit. They are widely used to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the site. The cookies we use do not access your computer to obtain personal information and they do not collect information that could identify you.

The SAAS website and online services uses cookies to:

  • Make sure our website works properly;
  • Collect data about the use of our website, including the number of visitors and how frequently pages are viewed;
  • Ensure the secure function of the SAAS online service;
  • Remember your preferences and make the website easier to use.

Please follow this link for our full cookie statement.

Fraud statement

Prevention and Detection of Crime NFI Level 1

SAAS is under a duty to protect the public funds it administers, and to this end will use the information you have provided on this form for the prevention and detection of fraud. We will also share this information with other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds for these purposes.

For further information, see the http://www.saas.gov.uk/fraud_prevention/national_fraud_initiative.htm or contact the SAAS National Fraud Initiative Key Contact at: SAAS Counter Fraud Team, Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh, EH11 3UT or by email SAASCFT@gov.scot.

Fraud Prevention Agency Fair Processing Notice

The personal information we have collected from you will be shared with fraud prevention agencies who will use it to prevent fraud and money-laundering and to verify your identity. If fraud is detected, you could be refused further funding from SAAS and certain services, finance or employment from other organisations. Further details of how your information will be used by us and these fraud prevention agencies, and your data protection rights, can be obtained by reading the full SAAS Privacy Statement. You can also obtain a copy of the full fair processing notice by writing to us at: SAAS Counter Fraud Team, Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh, EH11 3UT or by email to SAASCFT@gov.scot

Back