Version 1.0 | Valid from 21 October 2021 to 06 September 2022
Introduction
This notice provides information about how the Senedd Commission collects and processes personal data for the purposes of monitoring the diversity of people and organisations who take part in Senedd committees’ work.
Some of the words used in privacy notices about data protection can be specialised. If you want to read more about them, the Information Commissioner has prepared a useful introduction to key terms and concepts.
How your information will be used
The Senedd Commission is the data controller of the information you provide, and will ensure it is protected and used in line with data protection legislation.
Our Contact Details
Any queries regarding our use of your information should be sent to the Data Protection Officer at:
data.protection@senedd.wales
0300 200 6565
What information are we collecting?
This notice provides information about how the Senedd Commission collects and processes personal data for the purposes of monitoring the diversity of people and organisations who take part in Senedd committees’ work.
We will ask you to complete a voluntary survey that provides information about you, the organisation you represent (if relevant) and your experience of taking part in committee activity.
We will also analyse information that we already hold about people and organisations who have given evidence at committee meetings. You can find information about how we will do this in the Senedd committee privacy notice.
You do not have to complete the survey. All questions about you as an individual will include an option of ‘prefer not to say’. You will not be asked to provide any accompanying identifying information such as your name or contact details.
This is a new process, so different committees are trialling different surveys. Depending on which survey you are asked to complete, you will be asked to provide information on some or all of the following: which committee’s work you took part in and how you took part; the language in which you took part in the committee’s work; whether you have taken part in committee work before; whether you took part in your personal or professional capacity, or on behalf of an organisation; your main professional activities and locations, or those of the organisation you represent; your experience of taking part in committee activity; your age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national identity, ethnic group, religion and disability; whether you are pregnant or on maternity or parental leave; where you live; your level of political interest and understanding; whether you have any caring responsibilities; and your education, employment and socioeconomic status.
The survey may include free text boxes for some questions. You do not need to provide any personal data in your answers to these questions, such as your name or your contact details. If you do provide any identifying information, it will be removed before your response is analysed.
Why are we collecting it?
Committees in the Senedd carry out many functions, including scrutinising the spending and policies of the Welsh Government, holding ministers to account, and examining proposed legislation.
Diversity comes in many forms, so Senedd committees want to hear from different people, communities, sectors, groups and organisations—especially those that are affected by an issue under consideration.
We are monitoring witness diversity to help us understand if this is happening.
The main way that we are doing this is through a voluntary survey that asks people to provide information about themselves, the organisation they represent (if relevant) and their experience of taking part in committee activity. Information about how we will do this is set out in this privacy notice.
We will also analyse information that we already hold about people and organisations who give evidence at committee meetings. You can find information about how we will do this in the Senedd committee privacy notice.
We will use the information to help us to see who committees are hearing from, who they are not hearing from, and whether there are any barriers that might make it harder for some people or groups to take part in committee work. We will also use it to help us to see whether we need to make any changes to our policies or ways of working, and to see whether any changes we make have the intended impact.
Who will have access to the information?
The survey will be accessed by Senedd Commission staff who will need to action and process the results. This will include producing statistics and analysis.
The statistics and analysis will be shared with Commission officials and elected Members. This may include the Llywydd, the Senedd Commission, the Chairs’ Forum and Senedd committees. It may also be published.
Access to the responses in Microsoft Forms and on our ICT systems will normally be limited to authorised Commission officials. We may commission third party experts to help with the analysis of responses. If we do this, we will make sure that technical and contractual arrangements are in place to ensure the security of your data. We will update this notice with details of any third parties who your data will be shared with.
Will the information be shared with any third parties, or publicised?
We may publish some or all of the statistical information and analysis on our website. The information may be published on its own or as part of reports.
Where information has been collected through a monitoring survey, we will take all reasonable steps to make sure that individuals cannot be identified in the information that we publish. While it may be possible in certain cases to identify individuals from their responses, we will only publish statistical information in datasets large enough so as not to enable individuals to be identified.
Some factual information about people who give oral evidence, including their names, the organisation (if relevant) and the sector they represent, and when they give oral evidence is already published on the Senedd’s website, for example on committee agendas and transcripts. For the purposes of diversity monitoring, we may collate and analyse this information either on its own or as part of reports. We may publish statistics relating to this information in a way that identifies individuals. For example, we may publish statistics that show the number of times an individual has given oral evidence, or which organisations have given evidence the most often.
Where will the information be stored?
The data will be collected via Microsoft Forms, which is a third-party online survey system enabling the Senedd to collect and analyse survey information. The information will be stored securely on our ICT systems which includes third party cloud services provided by Microsoft. Any transfer of data by Microsoft outside of the EEA is covered by contractual clauses under which Microsoft ensure that personal data is treated in line with relevant legislation. For more information, please read the Microsoft privacy policy.
How long will the information be retained and how will it be disposed of?
If you have completed the survey in hard copy, your responses will be put into Microsoft Forms by a Commission official and the physical copy of the form will then be disposed of securely. If you send us a completed survey by email, your responses will be put into Microsoft Forms by an authorised Commission official and the email copy will then be deleted.
Survey responses will be deleted from Microsoft Forms no more than six months after the end of the parliamentary year in which the response was submitted. The parliamentary year ends on 30 April. Copies of the survey responses will be retained on our ICT systems no more than twelve months after the end of the Senedd in which the response was submitted. Statistical data and analysis produced from the survey responses for internal use or for publication on our website in whole or in part either as part of a dataset or in a report will be kept indefinitely.
Any survey responses from people who identify themselves as being under the age of 16 will be deleted (or securely disposed of if submitted in hard copy) as soon as they are identified, and before any analysis takes place.
Our legal bases for collecting, holding and using your personal information
Data protection law sets out various legal bases which allow us to collect, hold and use your personal information. For the purpose of processing the personal data you provide, we rely on the following legal basis: The processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest.
The task is to provide property, staff and services to the Senedd to ensure that the Senedd and its parliamentary committees are able to carry out their functions (section 27(5) of the Government of Wales Act 2006). We must make appropriate arrangements with a view to securing that our functions, including this task, are carried out in line with the principle that there should be equality of opportunity for all people (paragraph 8(1) of Schedule 2 to the Government of Wales Act 2006).
Special category personal data and criminal convictions data
We may process special category personal data if you choose to provide any. Special category personal data is defined as including data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, trade union membership, religious or philosophical beliefs, sexual orientation and data about health.
Special category personal data will be processed on the basis that it is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest (as provided for by Article 9(2)(g) of the UK GDPR, read in conjunction with section 10 of, and paragraph 6 of Schedule 1 to, the Data Protection Act 2018).
We may process personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences if you choose to provide any, for example as part of your survey response. This will be processed on the basis that it is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest, read in conjunction with section 10 of, and paragraph 6 of Schedule 1 to, the Data Protection Act 2018.
In relation to special category personal data and personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences, the processing is necessary for the purpose of carrying out the function conferred on us under paragraph 8(1) of Schedule 2 to the Government of Wales Act 2006. The processing is also necessary for reasons of substantial public interest, which is equality of opportunity for all people.
Your rights
As a data subject, you have a number of rights. The rights which apply depend on the legal bases we are relying on to use your personal information. Those rights will not apply in all instances, and the Commission will confirm whether or not that is the case when you make a request.
The rights include the right to request access to your own personal information, sometimes called a ‘subject access request’.
Additionally, you have the right to request from us:
- that any inaccurate information we hold about you is corrected (please note that you are required to keep us up to date with any changes to your personal information);
- that information about you is deleted (in certain circumstances);
- that we stop using your personal information for certain purposes or in certain circumstances; and
- that your information is provided to you or a third party in a portable format (again, in certain circumstances).
If you would like to engage any of the rights that you have under data protection legislation, ask a question or make a complaint about how your information is used; please contact the Data Protection Officer using one of the methods set out at the above.
Requests for information made to the Commission
In the event of a request for information being made under access to information legislation, it may be necessary to disclose all or part of the information that you provide. We will only do this if we are required to do so by law.
How to complain
You can complain to the Data Protection Officer if you are unhappy with how we have used your data. Contact details can be found above.
If, following a complaint, you remain dissatisfied with our response, you can also complain to the ICO.
The ICO’s address is:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Helpline number: 0303 123 1113
Changes to this privacy notice
We keep this privacy notice under regular review, please check back regularly. We will announce changes via the Senedd’s social media channels. This privacy notice was last updated in October 2021.