Who we are and what we do
The Policy, Performance and Governance Team is responsible for undertaking surveys on behalf of the Council, analysing survey responses and reporting survey findings. This privacy notice explains how we use information about you collected in our surveys and how we protect your privacy.
The Policy, Performance and Governance Division is part of Epsom & Ewell Borough Council which is a data controller. We have a Data Protection Officer who makes sure we respect your rights and follow the law. If you have any concerns or questions about how we look after your personal information, please contact the Data Protection Officer at foidpa@epsom-ewell.gov.uk or by calling 01372 732000 and asking to speak to the Data Protection Officer.
As a local authority we have a number of different functions, which are explained in more detail on our Privacy and Cookies page.
What we need
The majority of surveys we design and administer are anonymous and do not include personal data; some surveys however will include personal data.
Sometimes our surveys will sometimes ask you to share personal information such as name, address, contact details and email address. The reason(s) for such a request will be clearly identified in the survey at the time a request is made. Our surveys may ask you to share more sensitive information about yourself for example, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and disability. This information is known as special category data.
We do maintain a list of residents who have specifically expressed a wish to be involved in our surveys. This list is known as our Citizens’ Panel. On joining as a member of the Panel, residents are asked to provide personal information such as name, address, contact details, gender and age, and other special category data. Surveys undertaken with Citizens’ Panel members may include personal and special category data.
Why we need it
Information provided in response to our surveys assists us with our research and in making decisions about Council services and policies. To enable us to share further information with you or to signpost you to activities planned or taking place we many ask you to share your contact details with us.
As a member of our Citizens’ Panel, we may to use your personal data to enable us to contact you and offer you the opportunity to be involved in specific surveys. We may also use it to keep you informed of the latest developments and opportunities concerning the Citizens’ Panel.
The collection and analysis of personal and special category data (relating to any of the following - age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation) assists us in meeting our equality duty under the Equality Act 2010. As a public sector organisation we must give due regard to the advancement of equality of opportunity, the fostering of good relations and to eliminate discrimination.
Will your personal information be shared?
The information that you provide will only be accessed by authorised council employees, but data can be shared with other council departments where we have your prior consent or there is another legal reason for doing so. This may arise, for example, where you have given us consent in a survey to share your name and contact details with another council department for a specific reason such as, to take part in volunteering opportunities. We will also share data relating to the Citizens’ Panel with other Council departments in order to provide panel members with opportunities to be involved in other council-led engagement activities.
We do use external survey software, services and support products (SNAP Surveys) to help us create and administer our surveys, both digital and paper forms. SNAP Surveys process survey data on our behalf; they do not use the survey data for their own purposes. Whilst SNAP Surveys act as our data processor, we retain responsibility as data controller for all our survey data. SNAP Surveys provide details on your privacy as a survey respondent in their own Privacy Policy. (This link will take you to an external website.)
Processing based on consent
We will collect and use the information that you provide in response to our surveys. You can withdraw your consent at any time. When completing a survey you may chose not to answer certain questions or if you no longer wish to submit your survey responses, you can simply choose to exit the survey browser.
If at any time you no longer wish to remain a member of the Citizens’ Panel you can request that your details be removed from our list. Please just let us know your wishes by contacting the Policy, Performance and Governance Team on 01372 732000 or by electronic means at Contact us | Epsom and Ewell.
Unless there is another legal basis for us to process your data we must stop processing your data when you withdraw consent. This may mean that we can no longer provide services to you.
How long will we keep it for?
Within six weeks of a survey closing, we will download all survey data onto our own systems and will delete the information held by SNAP Surveys. Survey data will remain on SNAP Surveys servers and back-up system for a period of time thereafter; further details are provided in SNAP Surveys Privacy Policy (see above). We will then retain all survey data in line with legislation and in accordance with our retention policy.
What are your rights?
For full details of your rights as a data subject please see our Privacy and Cookies Page.