Privacy
Standard Privacy Notice for Consultations
This consultation document and consultation process have been planned to adhere to the Consultation Principles issued by the Cabinet Office.
Representative groups are asked to give a summary of the people and organisations they represent, and where relevant who else they have consulted in reaching their conclusions when they respond.
Information provided in response to this consultation may be published or disclosed in accordance with the access to information regimes (these are primarily the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and UK data protection legislation. In certain circumstances this may therefore include personal data when required by law.
If you want the information that you provide to be treated as confidential, please be aware that, as a public authority, the Department is bound by the information access regimes and may therefore be obliged to disclose all or some of the information you provide. In view of this it would be helpful if you could explain to us why you regard the information you have provided as confidential. If we receive a request for disclosure of the information we will take full account of your explanation, but we cannot give an assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not, of itself, be regarded as binding on the Department.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will at all times process your personal data in accordance with UK data protection legislation and in the majority of circumstances this will mean that your personal data will not be disclosed to third parties. A full privacy notice is included below.
Individual responses will not be acknowledged unless specifically requested.
Your opinions are valuable to us. Thank you for taking the time to read this document and respond.
Are you satisfied that this consultation has followed the Consultation Principles? If not or you have any other observations about how we can improve the process please contact us via the complaints procedure.
Personal Data
The following is to explain your rights and give you the information you are entitled to under UK data protection legislation.
Note that this section only refers to personal data (your name, contact details and any other information that relates to you or another identified or identifiable individual personally) not the content otherwise of your response to the consultation.
1. The identity of the data controller and contact details of our Data Protection Officer
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is the data controller. The Data Protection Officer can be contacted at dataprotection@communities.gov.uk or by writing to the following address: Data Protection Officer, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Fry Building, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF.
2. Why we are collecting your personal data
Your personal data is being collected as an essential part of the consultation process, so that we can contact you regarding your response and for statistical purposes. We may also use it to contact you about related matters.
We will collect your IP address if you complete a consultation online. We may use this to ensure that each person only completes a survey once. We will not use this data for any other purpose.
Sensitive types of personal data
Please do not share criminal offence data or special category personal data if we have not asked for it unless absolutely necessary for the purposes of your consultation response. By 'special category personal data', we mean information about a living individual’s:
- race
- ethnic origin
- political opinions
- religious or philosophical beliefs
- trade union membership
- genetics
- biometrics
- health (including disability-related information)
- sex life; or
- sexual orientation.
By ‘criminal offence data’, we mean information relating to a living individual’s criminal convictions or offences or related security measures.
3. Our legal basis for processing your personal data
The collection of your personal data is lawful under article 6(1)(e) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation as it is necessary for the performance by MHCLG of a task in the public interest/in the exercise of official authority vested in the data controller. Section 8(d) of the Data Protection Act 2018 states that this will include processing of personal data that is necessary for the exercise of a function of the Crown, a Minister of the Crown or a government department i.e. in this case a consultation.
Where necessary for the purposes of this consultation, our lawful basis for the processing of any special category personal data or criminal offence data (terms explained under ‘Sensitive Types of Data’) which you submit in response to this consultation is as follows. The relevant lawful basis for the processing of special category personal data is Article 9(2)(g) UK GDPR (‘substantial public interest’), and Schedule 1 paragraph 6 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (‘statutory etc and government purposes’). The relevant lawful basis in relation to personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences data is likewise provided by Schedule 1 paragraph 6 of the Data Protection Act 2018.
4. With whom we will be sharing your personal data
MHCLG may appoint a ‘data processor’, acting on behalf of the department and under our instruction, to help analyse the responses to this consultation. Where we do we will ensure that the processing of your personal data remains in strict accordance with the requirements of the data protection legislation.
5. For how long we will keep your personal data, or criteria used to determine the retention period.
Your personal data will be held for two years from the closure of the consultation unless we identify that its continued retention is unnecessary before that point.
6. Your rights, e.g. access, rectification, restriction, objection
The data we are collecting is your personal data, and you have considerable say over what happens to it. You have the right:
a. to see what data we have about you
b. to ask us to stop using your data, but keep it on record
c. to ask to have your data corrected if it is incorrect or incomplete
d. to object to our use of your personal data in certain circumstances
e. to lodge a complaint with the independent Information Commissioner (ICO) if you think we are not handling your data fairly or in accordance with the law. You can contact the ICO online, or telephone 0303 123 1113.
Please contact us at the following address if you wish to exercise the rights listed above, except the right to lodge a complaint with the ICO: dataprotection@communities.gov.uk or Knowledge and Information Access Team, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Fry Building, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF.
7. Your personal data will not be sent overseas
8. Your personal data will not be used for any automated decision making
9. Your personal data will be stored in a secure government IT system
We use a third-party system, Citizen Space, to collect consultation responses. In the first instance your personal data will be stored on their secure UK-based server. Your personal data will be transferred to our secure government IT system as soon as possible, and it will be stored there for two years before it is deleted unless we identify that its continued retention is unnecessary before that point.
Delib Privacy Information
Delib's software (this website) enables organisations to set up and operate activities, through which they can engage with you.
This site is managed by the controlling organisation, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. When you access and use this site, the personal information you have submitted to these activities will go to the organisation. Delib will not access your personal information unless requested to do so by the organisation, and only for the purposes of assisting them with the administration of this site.
Accessing your Personal Information
If you have any questions or requests about your personal information, for example to request a copy of it, or to ask for it to be corrected if you think it is wrong, please contact the organisation (as stated in their Privacy Notice / Privacy Statement / Privacy Policy). It is the controlling organisation's responsibility to answer any questions or requests about your personal information.
Collection of Browser Information
The information provided by your computer when you use this website is collected by Delib. For example, your browser type, IP address, language preference, referring site and the date and time. The purpose for collecting this information is to maintain the security of the website and for operating and improving the software.