Research and Intelligence service privacy notice

Privacy notice

Who are we and what do we do

The Research and Intelligence service is part of Gateshead Council. We are based at Gateshead Civic Centre and provide a consultation service that involves recording information through surveys, registers and e-petitions as well as maintaining information for a residents panel called 'Viewpoint Online'.

This privacy notice provides specific information about how the Research and Intelligence service processes your personal data and is an addition to the information contained in our Corporate Privacy notice.

What type of information is collected about you

This varies depending on what is required for each individual general consultation survey, Viewpoint Online consultation survey or register. These may include:

• Views on proposed changes to council services, plans, policies and other issues
• Name
• Address / postcode
• Date of birth
• School / college
• Employment / economic status
• Occupation
• Industry of employment
• Age
• Sex
• Gender Identity
• Email address
• Telephone number
• Racial / ethnic origin
• Religious or philosophical beliefs
• Health information
• Sexual orientation

E-petitions collect only name, email and address/postcode.

How we collect information about you

The Council uses a third party Consultation Portal supplied by Your Place Your Space Limited to collect information about you in surveys, registers, e-petitions, and for Viewpoint Online.

It is important to note that the Consultation Portal may occasionally provide links to other surveys published on independent websites, but this privacy notice applies only to information recorded through Gateshead Council's Consultation Portal. You will need to consult the providers of other websites for their privacy notices.

Upon visiting our website, cookies are used to collect information about website usage.

You can see more information on how we collect web usage information on our cookies page.

Why we need your information

Our purpose for collecting your personal data is to seek views on proposed changes to council services, plans, policies and other issues, to ensure that responses are representative of the overall population of Gateshead, to weight survey results, to identify issues for specific groups of people, to contact respondents with their permission when required, to enable you to register your interest in a service, to set up and/or sign e-petitions, and to join the Council's residents panel Viewpoint Online. The lawful basis for our processing is:

• Consent
• Legal obligation to which the data controller is subject. The relevant legislation is the Local Democracy, Economic Development, and Construction Act 2009
• Task in the public interest 

Our lawful basis for processing of sensitive personal data is:

• Explicit consent
• Reasons of substantial public interest (with a basis in law)

Who your information can be shared with

Our Corporate Privacy notice sets out the general types of information sharing that the Council carries out to fulfil statutory obligations, legal requirements and service delivery. The Research and Intelligence service can share your information with:

• The Consultation Portal supplier Your Place Your Space Limited for the purpose of maintaining the system that captures your information
• Other Council services on whose behalf the consultation is being conducted.
• Partner organisations if a consultation is being conducted in partnership or on their behalf. This will be clearly stated at the beginning of the consultation.
• Contractors if a consultation is being conducted by or with someone whom the Council has contracted for a service. This will be clearly stated at the beginning of the consultation.

Where we engage third parties to carry out these functions on our behalf, such as the Consultation Portal supplier, contractual obligations mean they can only process the data in the way we specify.

If we use our Consultation Portal to collect information for or with a partner, the lawful basis is the same as for all other consultation undertaken by the Council as described in the section above. Data sharing agreements will be used as appropriate.

If we wish to share your information with other council services or third parties for purposes outside of those listed above we will ask for your permission.

The name and general area (not specific address) that is submitted of each e-petition signatory will be displayed on our website as a public record. Any information you provide in response to a consultation survey or register as an individual, household or business will not be published unless we ensure that you cannot be identified or you have given us permission to identify you. To achieve this, we will typically publish aggregated results i.e. an individual response has been combined with information received from other respondents and is therefore anonymous. Any exception to this would be detailed in the individual consultation, survey or register.

How long we will keep your information

We keep your information for as long as we need in order to provide services to you. This will differ depending on the services you receive. We may also need to keep your information in accordance with legal or other obligations. Where we have no need to keep your data it will be securely destroyed.

Consultation and survey information will be held for no longer than five years.

We will keep Viewpoint membership information for as long as an individual remains a member. An individual can quit membership at any time and we will then delete the membership information.

Information held in registers will be held for as long as the register remains open or until the individual registered requests that their information is deleted.

Personal information attached to an e-petition will be held for no longer than five years.

Where your information is held

Your information is held on the Consultation Portal supplied by Your Place Your Space Limited and on Gateshead Council's own servers. All data is held within the UK.

How you can update your information

The accuracy of your information is important to us to be able to provide relevant services more quickly. If you change your address or email address, or if any of your circumstances change or any of the other information we hold is out of date, please contact us at consultation@gateshead.gov.uk.

Your information rights

Please see the relevant section of our Corporate Privacy notice.

Marketing and e-newsletters

Gateshead Council always acts upon your choices around what type of communications you want to receive and how you want to receive them. Where you have signed up for Consultation Portal notifications or the Viewpoint Online panel, we use email alerts to inform you of what we're doing. This includes email alerts for new consultations posted on the Consultation Portal and new consultations specifically for Viewpoint Online members. Those Viewpoint members who have expressed an interest in attending discussion groups will receive an email or telephone notification of upcoming events. An email notification will be sent to the winner of any prize draw attached to a consultation or survey. Consent will be sought to publish names of prize winners if necessary.

Tools may be used to help us improve the effectiveness of our communications with you, including tracking whether the emails we send are opened and which links are clicked within a message. This helps us to improve and refine future email marketing around our campaigns and make sure all our emails are relevant and useful as possible.

You have a choice about whether or not you wish to receive marketing information from us. We will always ask for your permission or provide an opportunity to opt out.

You can unsubscribe from Consultation Portal email alerts at any time by emailing the word 'unsubscribe' to consultation@gateshead.gov.uk. You can unsubscribe from the Viewpoint Online residents panel by logging in to your profile and quitting your membership. Alternatively, email the word 'unsubscribe' to viewpoint@gateshead.gov.uk.

Business intelligence, profiling and automated-decision making

Please see the relevant section of our Corporate Privacy notice.

Protecting your information

We and our Consultation Portal supplier Your Place Your Space Limited will ensure that your personal information is secure at all times. Any personal information you supply through your web browser is transmitted via Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption technology and will be retained securely.

Please also see the relevant section of our Corporate Privacy notice.

Data Protection Officer

Data Protection Officer
Civic Centre
Regent Street
Gateshead
NE8 1HH

DPOcouncil@gateshead.gov.uk
0191 433 3000

Information Commissioner's Office

The Information Commissioner is the UK's independent body set up to uphold information rights.

If you would like to know more about your rights under the Data Protection law, and what you should expect from us, visit the Information Commissioner's website.

If you have any concerns regarding our privacy practices or about exercising your Data Protection rights, you may contact the Information Commissioner's Office:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
0303 123 1113 or 01625 545 745 
casework@ico.org.uk