What this privacy notice is for

Our core data protection obligations and commitments are set out in the council’s primary privacy notice at: 

• Data Protection - web page

Research

Research for local government can be described as “the systematic collection, collation, analysis and interpretation of data to inform policy or practice, or to increase understanding about future trends, local needs and good practice. It may involve a wide range of methods including:

• Surveys, for example on customer satisfaction or housing needs;
• Qualitative methods and tools, for example focus groups; interviews and software designed for the analysis of written or verbal responses. These may be conducted virtually using the council approved Microsoft Teams platform
• Analysis of existing datasets, for example the Census;
• Review, interpretation and application of others' research findings;
• Reviews of good practice, for example for the purpose of benchmarking; and production of statistical estimates, projections and forecasts.

Consultation

Consultation is a “process of dialogue that leads to a decision. The notion of consultation being a dialogue implies an ongoing exchange of views and information, rather than a one-off event. Dialogue also implies two or more parties listening to and taking account of one another’s views.”

This notice provides additional privacy information for:

• Stakeholders
• Citizens
• Communities
• Consumers
• Oldham Council Employees
• Persons contracted to provide a service
• Carer’s or representatives

Updating our privacy notices

We may update or revise our privacy notices at any time so please refer to the version published on our website for the most up to date details

What we use your information for

We collect or obtain your personal information for the following purpose(s):

• To analyse the performance of our services, so that we can improve them. Some of these analyses (like contact centre satisfaction) are published in our monthly corporate performance reports. While some analyses are regular, others will be one-offs to support inspections or the redesign of services.
• To analyse information on service users, so we can tell who uses those services, and in what ways, and thus respond better to what users need.
  • To analyse information geographically, producing maps of Oldham and areas of Oldham. Where maps are made public, information will always be aggregated so that no information about you can be identified.
  • We also use profiling data provided by outside organisations. We use this so that we can understand residents better, by predicting their lifestyles and characteristics. We only use this information in aggregated form, we will never make judgements or decisions about you that will affect the services you receive.
  • We may match your information between council systems in order that we can improve research on any of the areas above.

What categories of personal information we use?

Personal information can be anything that identifies and relates to a living person. This can include information that when linked with other information, allows a person to be uniquely identified. For example, this could be your name and contact details.

The law treats some types of personal information as ‘special’ because the information requires more protection due to its sensitivity.

This information consists of:

• Racial or ethnic origin
• Sexuality and sexual life
• Religious or philosophical beliefs
• Trade union membership
• Political opinions
• Genetic and bio-metric data
• Physical or mental health
• Criminal convictions and offences

In order to carry out these purposes we collect and obtain the following personal information. Not all are collected; the nature of the data collected is subject to the topic of research. We will always ensure that your full consent is obtained by undertaking any data collection to obtain your personal information.

Legal basis for processing

The legal basis for processing and or sharing your personal information is dependent on what we use your information for, these may include, but are not limited to:

Where you consent to participate in consultation or research

Where we have a legal obligation, or it is in either the public of our legitimate interest Examples of legislation that support this are listed below:

• The Care Act 2014
• The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012_ Subsection 7
• Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act (s138)
• Equality Act 2010

More widely the legal basis for processing your personal information is:

• Article 6 of GDPR provides two main legal bases for processing when we undertake public consultations namely, performance of a task in the public interest or in certain more limited instances we will have a statutory duty to do so.
• Where any sensitive (Or special category) data is being processed the Council will rely on Article 9 of GDPR where the consultee has provided their explicit consent. If we are not able to engage with our residents, visitors and businesses through public consultations it will adversely impact on our ability to plan and shape service provision and offer events.

Information sharing/recipients

We may share personal aggregated data for statistical purposes with the following

• Other parts of Oldham Council
• Healthcare, Social and Welfare organisations
• Providers of goods and services
• Service providers
• Local and Central government
• Survey and research organisations
• Data processors
• Healthcare professionals

Identifiable Personal Information could be shared under the following circumstances:

• Safeguarding, if something you tell us raises a safeguarding concern
• You raise a specific personal issue or concern that requires addressing
• You ask us to share your personal details

As well as information collected directly from you, we also obtain or receive information from:

• Other parts of the local Authority for research purposes as outlined above
• Other organisations that allow us to compile profiles to understand residents better, by predicting their lifestyles and characteristics

Data Transfers beyond EEA

We do not transfer any of your personal information outside the European Economic Area (‘EEA’).

Automated Decisions

All the decisions we make about you involve human intervention.

How long we keep your data

We will only keep your personal information for as long as the law specifies or where the law does not specify this, for the length of time determined by our business requirements.

Any recordings taken virtual meetings will be stored on the Oldham Council network and will be deleted once a record of the meeting has been taken.

Any personal details held for the purpose of further research, engagement and Consultation will be updated annually. Additionally, the public may ask for these details to be removed.