Participation Survey

Participation Survey – privacy and cookie notice

This Privacy Notice explains who is processing your data, the personal data we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and what your legal rights are.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) with funding from Arts Council England (ACE) have commissioned Verian Group to carry out the Participation Survey.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is currently undergoing a Machinery of Government (MOG) change, whereby the responsibilities it holds for the Participation Survey will soon be split between the refocussed Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

The main responsibility for the survey will lie with the refocussed DCMS, who will take over any roles specified to be undertaken by DCMS in this privacy notice – the details of these roles will remain the same. Additionally, data may be shared with DSIT where and when appropriate – DCMS will ensure that relevant data sharing agreements are set up to manage this data sharing.

By completing the survey, you acknowledge that your data may be shared with DSIT.

Please see the Who will we share your data with? Section for more detail about any potential data sharing with DSIT.

Who are the Data Controllers?

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS), is a controller of personal data provided by respondents to the Participation Survey.

The DCMS postal address is:
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport,
100 Parliament St,
Westminster,
London
SW1A 2BQ

You can contact DCMS’s Data Protection Officer by email at: dcmsdataprotection@dcms.gov.uk

Arts Council England (ACE) are also a controller of personal data provided by respondents to the Participation Survey.

ACE’s postal address is:
Arts Council England,
49 Lever St
Manchester,
M1 1FN.

Who is the Data processor and sub processors?

We use a third-party data processor, Verian. Verian administers the Participation Survey on our behalf and carries out statistical analyses of the survey results in accordance with our instructions. We have a contract in place with Verian. This means that they cannot do anything with your personal data unless we have instructed them to do it. Verian will not share your personal data with any organisation apart from DCMS and ACE, except where we authorise them.

Verian’s postal address is:

Verian
4 Millbank,
Westminster,
London
SW1P 3JA

Email address for queries about the Participation Survey: participationsurvey@veriangroup.com.

What is the legal basis for collecting and processing data?

DCMS is the government department responsible for delivering government policy on arts and culture, communications and media, sport, and tourism. Our activities are based on the exercise of executive and statutory powers.

DCMS has an obligation to compile and publish Official Statistics relating to the policy areas we cover. Publishing Official Statistics derived from the Participation Survey is intended to:

inform the public about social and economic matters surrounding DCMS sectors
assist in the development and evaluation of public policy, to refine and provide better services to the public
regulate quality and inform changes to improve support for and development of DCMS sectors

DCMS's legal basis for processing on the Participation Survey is that it is necessary for the performance of a task in the public interest, as the information gathered helps DCMS to monitor the policies it oversees.

ACE is the national development agency for creativity and culture. ACE’s ten-year strategy, Let’s Create, sets out that by 2030 they want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where everyone of us has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences. They invest public money from the Government and The National Lottery to help support the sector and to deliver this vision.

ACE will use the data collected to monitor the impact of Let’s Create, as well as their current Delivery Plan, which sets out their intentions for the 2021-24 period. ACE will also use the data to better understand potential geographical gaps and explore barriers to engagement in arts and culture across England.

When Verian conducts surveys, their invitations/platforms and questionnaires clearly identify them and explain the purpose(s) of their contact and if applicable, the purpose for collecting your personal data. You may withdraw from participation in a survey at any time. If you do not wish to receive any further reminder mailings, you can either: call the survey helpline on 0800 904 7726 or email Verian at participationsurvey@veriangroup.com.

Please be ready to provide your reference number, address and postcode so we can opt you out of further communication. The reference number is located on the top of the letter.

When Verian have contacted you on behalf of DCMS and ACE by post or email, they have done so for the following purposes:

Case	Purpose	Data collected/ processed	Legal Basis
Inviting you to participate in surveys	To provide the opportunity for a representative sample of individuals to participate in surveys.	postal address, email address	Legitimate interest Verian has a legitimate interest to contact a representative sample of individuals to invite them to participate in surveys.
Surveys	To understand your views about certain topics and services or to understand your behaviour in different situations. To validate answers you gave in a recent survey we conducted. To administer participation e.g. prize draws, incentives, pre-tasks etc. To re-contact participants e.g. for ongoing and follow-up surveys.	Unique identifier, contact details, email address, image, opinion	Voluntary participation in a survey whereby Verian ask for your consent to use your personal data.
Quality control	To validate answers you gave in a recent survey we conducted.	Unique identifier, contact details, email address.	Legitimate interests - Verian have a legitimate interest to contact a sample of individuals who participated in our surveys to validate their answers.
Fraud Protection	Protection of our business interests against fraudulent behaviour.	IP addresses, browser specifications, device specifications, postal addresses, email addresses	Legitimate interests – Verian has a legitimate interest in protecting their business against fraud or other prohibited behaviour.
Survey Participation Uniqueness	Prevention of multiple entries in surveys by the same individuals.	IP address, browser specifications, device specifications	Legitimate interests – Verian has a legitimate interest in preventing multiple entries by the same individual.
Managing survey opt-outs	When an individual has requested not to be contacted again in relation to the Participation Survey, Verian hold their details to enable this.	Name, address and telephone number	Legitimate interests – Verian has a legitimate interest to retain the information in order to fulfil the individual’s request.

Verian will never misrepresent themselves or what they are doing. If you receive an email that concerns you, purporting to be from Verian, please contact Verian at participationsurvey@veriangroup.com.

Verian have contacted you to take part in a survey by post or online by randomly selecting your address through Royal Mail’s publicly accessible Postcode Address File (PAF).

Sensitive data collection

In our survey we may request to collect personal data that is classified as “special categories” of personal data. This includes racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person's sexual orientation. You will always be able to choose whether or not to provide this data to us to be used as described.

Who will Verian share your data with?

We have authorised Verian to share your personal data with:

McLays (printing suppliers): address level information is provided to McLays to print survey invitations and questionnaires. Data is erased from their records after 30 days.
Greens Ltd (scanning paper questionnaires): Paper questionnaires are returned to Greens Ltd. Questionnaires are stored securely for a maximum of 12 months and confidentially destroyed.
Merit Incentives (“Merit”) (corporate incentive supplier): Signing up to receive an incentive through the Merit portal is optional. Merit will hold the personal data you provide them, such as your email address, for a maximum of two years in Europe. Merit hold this information in case of any issues you may have with your incentive.

McLays, Greens Ltd and Merit have contracts in place with Verian which prevent them from using your personal data except as instructed by Verian.

Will my data be published?

We will publish Official Statistics derived from the Participation Survey data on gov.uk and will also be publishing statistics derived from the data on ACE’s website. The published information will not contain your name, address, telephone number or email address.

An anonymised dataset containing answers from the survey will be available to researchers via an end user agreement licence or special licence on the UK data service, a national data service that provides research access to a range of social and economic data collections.

A controlled dataset will also be deposited in UK Data Service Secure Lab, which provides approved researchers with controlled access to sensitive or confidential data, enabling researchers to access and use datasets in a secure and responsible way. This data set can only be accessed remotely via the Five Safes Framework by registered, approved (by DCMS) and trained users.

The deposited datasets will not contain your name, address, telephone number or email address.

Who will we share your data with?

Data may be shared with DSIT, as part of the transition process. This data will not include information that can identify you, such as your name, address, telephone number or email address.

DCMS may share data collected in the Participation Survey 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.

How long will we process your personal data?

Verian will retain your personal data for no longer than 18 months, unless otherwise required to do so by law or in the following cases, where they will retain the personal information for up to 2 years.

Where you have agreed to be re-contacted by Verian to take part in further research related to this survey on behalf of the government or a charity
Where you have agreed that your name and contact details and information from this survey can be passed on to another research agency so that they can contact you regarding follow up research

As part of Verian’s Company Business Continuity plan and as required by ISO 27001, ISO 9001, ISO 20252 certifications where held, and in certain instances the law, Verian’s electronic systems are backed up and archived. These archives are retained for a defined period of time in a strictly controlled environment. Once expired, the data is securely deleted and the physical media destroyed to ensure the data is erased completely.

How will your personal data, including survey responses, be used?

Responding to this survey is entirely voluntary.

Verian will keep all personal data and responses in strict confidence in accordance with this Privacy Policy. We can assure you that you will NOT be identifiable in any published results.

Verian will use all personal data and responses solely for research purposes and to produce anonymous, statistical research findings and insights.

Contact details and other information provided to the technical helpline will be used only for the purpose of dealing with the query raised.

Email addresses collected for the purpose of sending details of how to claim an incentive will be used only to send this information and to validate responses.

How will we ensure your personal information is secure?

Verian has appropriate technological and organisational measures in place to protect your personal data and takes all reasonable steps to ensure your personal data is processed securely. All information you provide is stored in secure servers and environments. Unfortunately, no data transmission can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while Verian strive to protect your personal data, they cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to Verian or from their online products or services, and you do so at your own risk. Once Verian receive your transmission, they will take reasonable steps to ensure their systems are secure.

All Verian third-party contractors, site service providers and employees are contractually obliged to follow policies and procedures regarding confidentiality, security and privacy.

Verian adhere to the following industry requirements:

The UK GDPR, UK Data Protection Act 2018, the EU GDPR, and any subsequent legislation, which may be amended from time to time
We follow the MRS and ESOMAR professional Codes of Conduct
Verian hold Market Research Society (MRS) Company Partner Accreditation

Your rights

To request access to personal data that Verian hold about you, please contact Verian at PublicCompliance@veriangroup.com or in writing to Compliance Officer, 4 Millbank, Westminster, London, SW1P 3JA. When you make a request, you should indicate your survey identifier.

If you contact Verian using an email address or contact details for which they do not hold a record of, you will also need to provide a copy of a valid government issued or official identification (such as drivers licence or passport).

You have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

Right to change your mind and to withdraw your consent
Right to access your personal data
Right to rectify your personal data
Right to erase your personal data from our systems, unless we have legitimate interest reasons for continuing to process the information
Right to port your personal data (portability right)
Right to restrict processing of your personal data
Right to object to the processing of your personal data
Right to not be discriminated against for exercising any of the rights available to you under applicable data protection laws

If necessary, Verian will notify any other parties such as suppliers or service providers who have been transferred your personal data of any changes made when you make a request. Note that while Verian communicates to these third parties, they are not responsible for the actions taken by these third parties to answer your request. You may be able to access your personal data held by these third parties and correct, amend or delete it where it is inaccurate.

Cookies

Cookies are small text files stored on your computer or device by a website that assigns a numerical user ID and stores certain information about your online browsing. They are used by web developers to help users navigate their websites efficiently and perform certain functions. The website sends information to the browser which then creates a text file. Every time the user goes back to the same website, the browser retrieves and sends this file to the website's server.

Verian do not use cookies on standard online in-house surveys. Where cookies are required by a partner’s platform, this is notified by the platform privacy notice/policy.

As is true of most online surveys, Verian gather certain information automatically and store it in survey data files. This information may include things like Internet Protocol address (IP address), browser type, Internet Service Provider (ISP); referring/exit pages, operating system and date/time stamp.

Verian use this automatically collected information to analyse trends such as browser usage and to administer the site, e.g., to optimise the survey experience depending on your browser type.

Where will data be held and processed?

Verian collect and process personal data for the purposes described above, but do not share or sell your personal data to any third parties, unless it is required by law, or you have agreed otherwise.

Your personal data may be collected, stored, transferred or processed by companies or 3rd party service providers for survey-related purposes, such as data processing, and fulfilment of prize draws or other incentives both within and outside the UK and the EEA. All parties are contractually bound to keep any information they collect and disclose to Verian or, Verian collect and disclose to them, confidential and must protect it with security standards and practices that are equivalent to Verian's own. If your personal data has been transferred to, stored, or otherwise processed to a territory outside the UK or EEA (as applicable) and that territory has not been recognised as providing an adequate level of protection of personal data, Verian will put in place an appropriate legal safeguard. For example standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission and other relevant authorities, working with parties that have implemented binding corporate rules or other intra-group processes, obtaining your consent to transfer personal data, where the transfer is necessary for the performance of a contract between Verian or where a contract was entered into on your behalf, or where the transfer is necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

Accuracy

Verian take all reasonable steps to keep your personal data accurate, complete, current and relevant, based on the most recent information provided to them. If you would like to update your personal data, please contact Verian.

We rely on you to help us keep your personal information accurate, complete and current by answering our questions honestly and you are responsible for ensuring that the data controller (which may be us or - more often - our client) is notified of any updates or changes to your personal data.

Children’s data collection

Verian never knowingly invite children under the age of 16 years to participate in surveys without consent and participation in this survey is intended for those aged 16+ years.

Complaints

How can I contact DCMS about the Participation Survey and/or my personal data?

For general Participation survey enquiries please contact ParticipationSurvey@dcms.gov.uk and Participation.Survey@artscouncil.org.uk.

For general information on how DCMS handles personal data, please read DCMS’s personal information charter. For any data protection queries, please contact the DCMS Data Protection Officer mentioning the Participation Survey: dcmsdataprotection@dcms.gov.uk.

If you have any questions, complaints or if you’d like to exercise your data protection rights you can do so by contacting our Data Protection Officer (DPO) using the details below: Data Protection Officer, The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, 100 Parliament Street, London, SW1A 2BQ.

Email: DCMSdataprotection@dcms.gov.uk

If you are not satisfied with how we handle and protect personal information, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

In the UK, this is the ICO and their contact details are
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Tel: 0303 123 1113 (local rate)

Email: casework@ico.org.uk

Notification of material changes

We keep our privacy policy under regular review, and it may be amended from time to time. We will always have the most up-to-date policy on this web page. We will record when the policy was last revised.

Date created: 25/08/21
Last revised: 21/06/2023