Consultation portal privacy notice

Privacy notice

Who we are and what we do

Gateshead Council is a data controller under the data protection law (the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018) as we collect and process personal information about you in order to provide public services and meet our statutory obligations.

Gateshead Council is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. Through this privacy notice we have sought to be as transparent as possible to fully explain how your personal data is held and processed.

This privacy notice explains why we collect personal information on our consultation portal and how we use the information.

We will use third party service providers to collect technical information from your device including standard internet log information such as the Internet Protocol (IP) address, your browser type and version, and certain page interaction information.

Why we need your information and how we use it

The council regularly consults residents to seek their views on proposed changes to council services, plans, policies and other issues.

The consultation portal facilitates the collection of responses to consultations, surveys and registers undertaken by the council, some of which may contain personal data.

The consultation portal collects and stores personal data about members of the council's residents panel 'Viewpoint'.

The consultation portal also enables e-petitions to be created by members of the public, who can register their details to create a petition online. The online petition collects public signatures. Personal information is collected about the petition creator and each petition signatory.

The types of personal information collected through the consultation portal are referred to in the following section. This information is used to ensure that responses to consultations and surveys are representative of the overall population of Gateshead, to weight survey results, to identify issues for specific groups of people, and to contact respondents when required.

Any information you provide as an individual, household or business will not be published. We will only publish aggregated results i.e. it has been combined with information received from other respondents. This ensures that you cannot be identified. Any exception to this would be detailed in the individual consultation, survey or register.

It is important to note that the Consultation Portal may occasionally provide links to other surveys published on independent websites, but this policy and statement applies only to direct use of Gateshead Council's Consultation Portal. You will need to consult the providers of other websites for information on their policies.

What type of information is collected from you

Viewpoint panel members provide the following personal information; name, age, gender, email, telephone number, postcode, health/disability status, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation.

Other consultations, surveys and registers may collect some of the above as well as additional personal information like address, employment, and other personal circumstances. The information requested will differ depending on the information needed for each individual consultation, survey or register.

E-petition creators provide name, email, address and telephone number. E-petition signatories provide name, email, and address.

Who your information may be shared with (internally and externally)

Gateshead Council and Consultation Portal supplier Your Place Your Space Limited are the only organisations authorised to view data for individuals, with the exception of consultations carried out on behalf of partner organisations or where otherwise stated in a consultation. We reserve the right to share anonymised information with partner organisations such as the police, fire authority and health authority.

How long we keep your information

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.

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

Notifications and alerts

The Consultation Portal allows users to register to receive email alerts when new consultations are published. Users can 'unsubscribe' from these alerts at any time. We will not use users' email address for any other purpose.

Viewpoint members will receive email notifications when a new survey has been published for them to complete. Viewpoint members can quit their membership at any time. Viewpoint members will receive an email notification directing them to view feedback from completed surveys.

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 consultations or survey. Consent will be sought to publish names of prize winners if necessary.

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.

How you can access, update or correct your information

The Data Protection law gives you the right to apply for a copy of information about yourself. This is called a Subject Access Request - find out more.

Viewpoint panel members can update the personal information they have provided to become a member by logging into their profile page.

Those who have registered to receive email alerts when new consultations are published can change their email address by unsubscribing and registering again for email alerts.

For further advice on accessing, updating or correcting information on Gateshead Council's Consultation Portal email consultation@gateshead.gov.uk

Gateshead's Information Rights Officer and the Information Commissioner's Office

If you have any concerns about the processing of your personal data by us, you may contact the Information Rights Officer, Corporate Services and Governance, Gateshead Council, First Floor, Civic Centre, Gateshead, NE8 1HH or the Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.