Council surveys privacy notice

The Council makes use of surveys for a variety of functions, including improvement of service provision and public consultation.

We primarily use SmartSurvey and Engagement HQ (Let’s Talk Waltham Forest), as the platforms for presenting, gathering, and analysing surveys.  You can find their privacy notices on their websites: 

SmartSurvey Privacy Policy  

Engagement HQ (Let’s Talk) Privacy Policy 

We also use other platforms for some purposes, these include Microsoft Forms and Commonplace.

We may also use a third-party processor, to administer Surveys on our behalf, and carry out statistical analyses of the survey results in accordance with our instructions. We will always ensure that we have a contract in place with these third-party processors. This means that they cannot do anything with your personal data unless we have instructed them to do it. The third-party processors will not share your personal data with any organisation, except where we authorise them to do so.  Third party processors will always have their own privacy policy which they will share with you on request. 

If you have questions regarding this service or our privacy practices, you can contact us by email or in writing. Email insight@walthamforest.gov.uk for more information.

We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about you which we have grouped together as follows:

• Identity Data includes first name, maiden name, last name, username or similar identifier, marital status, title, date of birth and gender.
• Contact Data includes address, email address and telephone numbers.
• Financial Data includes bank account and payment card details.
• Transaction Data includes details about payments to you.
• Survey Data includes the responses you give to any surveys we invite you to participate in.
• Communications Data includes your correspondence with us and any feedback on our services which you provide.

We also collect, use, and share Aggregated Data such as statistical or demographic data for any purpose. Aggregated Data may be derived from your personal data but is not considered personal data in law as this data does not directly or indirectly reveal your identity. For example, we may aggregate your Survey Data to carry out market research and statistical research. However, if we combine or connect Aggregated Data with your personal data so that it can directly or indirectly identify you, we treat the combined data as personal data which will be used in accordance with this privacy notice.

We would only collect Special Categories of Personal Data about you (this includes details about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, information about your health and genetic and biometric data) or information about criminal convictions and offences with your explicit consent, and only if it were relevant to a survey, as part of the Survey Data.

If you do not wish to provide personal data when requested, you may not be able to take part in the survey and receive incentives and other benefits for taking part in surveys.

Responding to surveys is entirely voluntary.

In the case of customer satisfaction surveys and research, we will primarily use the data for internal purposes.  In some cases, we may publish a summary report, but this will not contain any personal data.

In the case of consultations, we will publish a summary of the consultation responses and, in some cases, the responses themselves but these will not contain any personal data.

We process the information internally for the above stated purpose. We don't intend to share your personal data with any third party. Any specific requests from a third party for us to share your personal data with them will be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the data protection laws.

Voluntary participation in a survey is based on your consent to use your personal data.  If you have provided identity or contact data as part of the survey process, you can withdraw your consent at any time, without any impact on the services we provide to you, by emailing insight@walthamforest.gov.uk.

We may also process some of your data in line with our performance of our public task. This will primarily be in relation to your special category data collected in accordance with the reporting requirements of the Equality Act, 2018

We may share data collected in surveys with other government departments or the Office for National Statistics for research and statistical purposes. This data will not include information that can identify you, such as your name, address, telephone number or email address.

We will not share your information with any third parties for the purposes of direct marketing. In some circumstances, we may be legally obliged to share information, for example under a court order.

We will retain consultation and survey response information until our work on the subject matter of the consultation or engagement is complete.

We generally retain Survey Data which is personal data for no longer than 6 months after we have completed any quality control checks.  In some instances, data may be retained for longer periods where the processing purpose requires this.

We may anonymise your personal data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.

Our Data Protection Officer

Our Data Protection Officer is Mark Hynes, you contact him by email at data.protectionofficer@walthamforest.gov.uk

Protecting your information

Please see the relevant section of the Corporate Privacy Notice.

Your information choice and rights

Please see the relevant section of the Corporate Privacy Notice.

Complaints and contact details

These are included in the relevant section of the Corporate Privacy Notice.

Information Commissioner’s Office

If we’re unable to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)