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Environment Agency Public Flood Survey 2021-2022

Privacy Information Notice

About this research

Qa Research is undertaking surveying on behalf of the Environment Agency with residents. The research findings will be used to help the Enivironment Agency understand how people view the risk of flooding and the actions they have taken to protect their home.

The Environment Agency is the data controller for this research (Data controllers ‘determine the purposes and means of processing personal data’) – see ‘Contact’ below.

The legal basis for this research is ‘public task’ (performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller).

Taking part in this research is voluntary, which means you can choose not to take part, and also change your mind about taking part at any time.

Contact data for the telephone survey is sourced by Qa Research from data provider DBS, from their Lifebase database. Their policies ensure that every record strictly complies with ICO code, the DMA code of practice and all UK data protection legislation (DBS is the Data Controller for all contacts it provides).

How your data will be used

For research purposes:

This research is confidential. This means that your identity and personal details will only be accessed by Qa Research for the purposes of this research project. The Environment Agency will not know you have taken part and will only recieve aggregated data (which means your data will be mixed in with the views of many other people) and research reports will only contain anonymous data, (which means you will not be named, nor identifiable from any answers you gave). Your postcode will only be used by Qa Research for analysis purposes and to ensure a mix of people with different levels of risk of flooding take part in the research, and will not be shared with the Environment Agency.

Qa Research will only keep your data for as long as we need it, and will delete it within 12 months of the end of this research project.

Re-contact for further research

If you give your consent when asked at the end of the survey, Qa will pass your name and contact details to the Environment Agency so they can re-contact you for future research they may undertake into improving their support to people at risk of flooding. Saying ‘Yes’ does not commit you to taking part, just being approached to take part. This re-contact would take place within 12 months.

For quality control purposes:

When you are contacted by Qa Research by phone so they can invite you to take part in a telephone survey, the call will be recorded from the moment the call is connected. Recordings are only used for quality control purposes and are deleted within 4 months of the date of the call.

How Qa Research keeps your information safe

Qa Research uses a wide range of technology to ensure that any personal data we hold is processed, stored and transferred in a secure way. This includes encryption, password protection and limiting access to personal data to key staff only. We hold Cyber Essentials accreditation and we regularly review our processes, hardware, software and policies to ensure we maintain personal data securely. 

Your rights

Participation in research is voluntary. If you change your mind about taking part, any personal data will be deleted from any research study or research database in which you are identifiable.

Under the UK data protection legislation individuals have rights over their personal data and Data Controllers have a responsibility to fulfil these rights – see ‘Contact’ below. Different rights apply depending on the legal basis being used for processing (for this research, the legal basis is ‘public task’). For this research, your rights include;

You have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) if you are unhappy with the way Environment Agency or Qa Research processes your personal data. The ICO can be contacted at ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.

Contact

If you have further questions about this research project

If you are invited to take part, or agree to take part in the telephone survey, call the Qa Research free phone research hotline 0800 9809030

Qa Research is a Market Research Society (MRS) Company Partner. You can verify this by calling MRS Freephone 0800 975 9596. The MRS is the professional body for market and social researchers. All its members (and all Qa Research employees) are bound by the MRS Code of Conduct which sets professional standards for research www.mrs.org.uk

Qa Research’s privacy policy can be viewed here https://qaresearch.co.uk/privacy/

Contact the Environment Agency’s Data Protection Officer

The Environment Agency’s Data Protection Officer (DPO) is responsible for independent advice and monitoring of the Environment Agency’s use of personal information. If you have any concerns or queries about how they process personal data, or if you would like to make a complaint or request relating to data protection, please contact their DPO:

Data Protection Officer, Environment Agency, Horizon House, Deanery Road, Bristol, BS1 5AH

Email: dataprotection@environment-agency.gov.uk

The Environment Agency’s Privacy Policy can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/environment-agency/about/personal-information-charter#privacy-notice

LAST UPDATED: 02/11/21