Frequently Asked Questions: Privacy and Data Protection

This section explains the personal data we collect, how we use it and who we share it with, further information on this is also included in the Study Privacy Notice.

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• What personal data will Ipsos collect about me?

  Most of the personal data that we hold will be collected during a survey and comes directly from you (e.g., full contact details, survey responses, research data). We will be collecting the following:

  • Information that directly identifies you such as your name (and names of other family members), contact details (for you, other family members or ‘stable contacts’) and other personal information (e.g., sex, date of birth).
  • Sensitive or ‘special category personal data’ about you (e.g., details about you/your child’s race or ethnicity, religious beliefs, information about your health).

• What will happen with the information you collect?

  The information you give us will be held securely and will be treated in strict confidence in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK General Data Protection Regulation. This information will be used solely for research purposes.

  The results of this research will be anonymous, statistical information only, and you will not be identifiable in any published datasets and reports. We can assure you that any information you provide during this research will NOT be used for marketing, nor will we sell or pass on your information to any third party.

• Who else will have access to my personal data?

  We will share your data with certain organisations to assist us in running the Children of the 2020s study and will need to disclose your personal data to these supplier organisations for that purpose.

  • Black Hawk Incentives (Corporate Gift Cards Distributor): Where eligible, you may be sent an e-voucher redemption code if you provide your email address. Hawk Incentives will hold data (i.e. email addresses and e-voucher redemption codes) for a maximum of two years to help resolve any issues respondents may have with their e-voucher.
  • Amazon Web Services (AWS): AWS is a subcontractor to UCL and will host the BabySteps smartphone app. The app will store your email address, this will allow a reset email to be sent to you if you forget your log in details and will also be used to send you reminders and updates about the app and about the study. Your data will be stored on secure AWS servers for the duration of the study. The data will be erased from their systems once the study is complete (scheduled for April 2028). No AWS employees will be able to access your data, only approved members of the UCL research team.
  • Microsoft Teams: Your email address, when collected for the purpose of inviting you to take part in a MS Teams call, will be deleted within 48 hours of taking part in the survey. After deletion your email address will be permanently removed from Microsoft servers within 31 days (please note this is separate to any personal data that might be collected within the survey itself).

• How do you keep my data secure?

  Ipsos will keep your personal data and responses in strict confidence in accordance with the Study Privacy Notice. Ipsos takes its information security responsibilities seriously and applies various precautions to ensure your information is protected from loss, theft or misuse. Security precautions include appropriate physical security of offices and controlled and limited access to computer systems.

  Ipsos has regular internal and external audits of its information security controls and working practices, and is accredited to the International Standard for Information Security, ISO 27001.

  All of your personal data used and collected for this study will be stored securely in data centres and servers within the United Kingdom, and will only be accessed by researchers and interviewers from Ipsos, UCL and DfE who need to see it for the purpose of conducting the study. If you take part in a Microsoft Teams interview, the email address that you provide will be processed on Microsoft servers located in the EEA. Your survey responses will NOT be processed or stored on Microsoft servers.

• How long will you keep my data for?

  Ipsos and UCL will share the pseudonymised data with the DfE at the end of each wave through a secure transfer route for archival, statistical and historic research purposes. Your contact details will be stored separately from your survey responses. At the end of the study, Ipsos and UCL will destroy their copy of the data in accordance with standards and procedures set out in ISO 27001.

  Destruction of data held by Ipsos and UCL will take place within 12 months of the end of the contract between UCL and DfE (scheduled for April 2027), in order to allow time to investigate data queries. DfE will retain the data, including your contact details, indefinitely for the purposes of the Children of the 2020s longitudinal study. This will be subject to regular review.

  The study team will keep your personal data and responses in strict confidence in accordance with the Study Privacy Notice.

• Can I access the data I have provided to this study?

  You have a right to access a copy of any of the personal data that we hold about you. You can do this by making a subject access request. If you would like a copy of the information you provided, please email this request to children2020s@ipsos.com.

• Can I withdraw from the study at any time?

  Yes. The Children of the 2020s is a voluntary research study. You are under no statutory or contractual obligation to provide us with your personal data. You can decide whether to take part or not. You can also decide whether you consent to administrative records being added to your data or not. You will have full information about the study and how your data will be used before you have to decide.

  You can contact us to withdraw from the study at any time or to exercise your individual information rights. You can withdraw from participating in an individual survey, adding information from administrative records, or the study as a whole. You will still receive your voucher for each survey you take part in, even if you do not answer particular questions or elements within the survey. If you withdraw from the study, any data already collected will continue to be processed unless you ask us to delete it.

• What is the legal basis on which you can process my personal data?

  The DfE is the data controller as it is the organisation that decides how and why your personal data are processed. UCL and Ipsos are the data processors for this study. The legal basis for processing your data is public task, because the data you provide us is collected to help inform DfE policy development and service delivery in the future.

  The relationship between DfE, UCL, Ipsos and the organisations that we share your data with is set out in the contracts between these organisations. These contracts are in place to ensure that your personal data is protected.

• Is this information likely to change?

  We will keep our privacy and data protection information under regular review and it will be updated at least annually.

• How do I make a complaint?

  If you wish to make a complaint, you can contact us in the following ways:
  Leave a message at Freephone number 0800 056 8184
  Email: children2020s@ipsos.com
  Post to Children of the 2020s Study Team, Ipsos, 3 Thomas More Square, London, E1W 1YW

  If you are concerned about the handling of your personal data, you can contact the Data Protection Officer by emailing compliance@ipsos.com, or posting a letter to Data Protection Officer, Compliance Department, Ipsos (market research) Limited, 3 Thomas More Square, London, E1W 1YW, United Kingdom.

  You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), if you have concerns on how we have processed your personal data. You can find details about how to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office at https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/ or by sending an email to: casework@ico.org.uk.

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