Best Start Grant - interim evaluation: qualitative research (annex B)

Appendix B Project Privacy Notice

Evaluation of the Best Start Grant
Privacy Notice

About the project

Over the last year the Scottish Government started offering the Best Start Grant to parents or carers^[p] with young children who are in receipt of certain benefits or tax credits^[q]. The Best Start Grant has three payments:

• Pregnancy and baby payment
• Early years payment
• School age payment

As this is the first year this grant has been available, the Scottish Government would like to understand what people have used their grant for and what impact the grant has had. To ensure the research is independent, the Scottish Government has funded ScotCen Social Research to do this.

About this privacy notice

This privacy notice explains how your personal data (e.g. any information that could identify you such as gender and age) collected for the purposes of this research are used and handled.

The Scottish Government is the “data controller” which means that they decide what personal data is collected from you as part of this research.

ScotCen Social Research is the “data processor” for this research, which means that ScotCen will be responsible for collecting information from you during an interview, securely storing it and using it to write a report on behalf of the Scottish Government.

The legal basis for collecting this information is ‘public task’ which means it is being collected to aid the functioning of government.

How we got your details

ScotCen asked organisations that are in contact with parents to advertise this research.

You are receiving this information because you have shown an interest in taking part in an interview about your experience of receiving a Best Start Grant.

What happens to the information you provide

We will use information collected from interviews to write a report for the Scottish Government. We will not publish anything that can reveal your identity. The information is used for research purposes only and is dealt with in accordance with data protection legislation.

Your name and any personal data (such as gender and age) will be stored securely. ScotCen will not pass your personal details to anybody without your permission. No information that could make a person identifiable will be passed on to the Scottish Government. Only the research team will have access to your personal data.

How long your information is stored for

All personal data and interview responses are stored securely and confidentially under the terms of data protection and in line with international best practice and NatCen’s ISO27001, ISO 20252 and Cyber Essentials Plus certifications. The interview recordings and transcripts, and any respondent personal data, will be stored by ScotCen Social Research for 6 months after the end of the project. They will then be securely destroyed.

Your rights

Taking part in an interview is voluntary. You are free to withdraw at any time without consequence, and you do not have to answer any questions you do not want to.

Data protection legislation gives rights to individuals in respect of the personal data that organisations hold about them. These include the right to:

• access a copy of the information an organisation holds about them;
• object to processing that is likely to cause or is causing damage or distress;
• prevent processing for direct marketing;
• have inaccurate personal data rectified, blocked, erased or destroyed in certain circumstances; and
• claim compensation for damages caused by a breach of the legislation.

If you have questions about your personal data held by the data controller you can contact the Data Protection Officer at the Scottish Government, <name removed>: (Email: DataProtectionOfficer@gov.scot, Address: Victoria Quay, Commercial Street, Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ)

We guard your privacy

We will treat the information you give us in the strictest confidence under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

No one looking at the findings in the report will be able to identify you in any way. You will never receive any junk mail as a result of speaking to us. We never pass on your details to other organisations for commercial purposes.

At ScotCen we have a comprehensive set of policies and procedures which apply to all parts of NatCen Social Research, and alongside our ongoing programme of internal audits we undergo formal external audits annually to ensure we continue to meet all the requirements of ISO27001 and other international best practices.

How to contact us

If you are able to take part in an interview or you have any questions, all you need to do is contact:

Email: <details removed>

Tel: <details removed

Address: ScotCen, Scotiabank House, 6 South Charlotte Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4AW

Complaints

If you have questions or concerns about how your personal data are collected or used, or if you believe we have not complied with your data protection rights you can contact NatCen’s Data Protection Officer by email at dpo@natcen.ac.uk.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office. If you are unhappy with the way your personal data are being processed, you can report it to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at https://ico.org.uk/concerns or by calling the ICO helpline on 0303 123 1113.

How to access background or source data

The data collected for this social research publication:

☐ are available in more detail through Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics

☐ are available via an alternative route

☒ may be made available on request, subject to consideration of legal and ethical factors. Please contact social_resesarch@gov.scot for further information.

☐ cannot be made available by Scottish Government for further analysis as Scottish Government is not the data controller.