Data protection legislation and personal data
Data protection legislation determines how, when and why any organisation can process personal data. ‘Personal data’ means any information which can identify someone. ‘Processing’ means any actions performed on personal data, including: collection, storage, alteration or deletion. These laws exist to ensure that your data are managed safely and used responsibly. They also provide you with certain rights in respect of your data and creates a responsibility on the Greater London Authority (GLA) and the research organisations it works with to provide you with certain information.
This privacy notice sets out the legal basis for processing data in relation to this research project, which is being completed by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES). This includes who will have access to your personal data, how your data will be used, stored and deleted, your legal rights and who you can contact with a query or a complaint.
The legal basis for processing personal data
The GLA is the data controller for this project. The legal bases under which the GLA and its contractors process personal data and ‘special category data’, such as information about your health and well-being or ethnicity are:
- Article 6 (1)(e): It is necessary to collect data from users in order to effectively access the service and to evaluate outcomes of the service. The legal basis is public task and the legal gateway is Section 87 of the Education and Skills Act 2008.
- Article 6 (1)(f): It is necessary to collect data from users as the processing is necessary for the organisation’s legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of a third party unless there is a good reason to protect the individual’s individual data that overrides those legitimate interests.
- Article 9(2)(g) of the GDPR, and Schedule 1, Part 2 paragraph 8 of the Data Protection Act 2018: to ensure equality of opportunity or treatment.
This legal justification applies to this research project, which is evaluating the Teaching Industry Exchange (TIE).
Overview of the research
The study will involve:
- scoping interviews with GLA staff and partners;
- in-depth interviews with staff at providers delivering the TIE (including course leads, tutors, and employer engagement personnel), programme partners, and construction industry professionals engaged in the TIE; and
- classroom observations of TIE activities.
What data will be used and collected for the evaluation
The GLA will share key contact details for the providers and partners contracted to deliver the TIE with IES. This will include your name, organisation, job role and email address.
IES will use these contact details to invite you to engage in qualitative research (including in-depth interviews and classroom observations). Please be aware that, if contacted, you are under no obligation to take part in research.
If you are an industry professional engaged in the TIE your information may be shared, with your permission, by either the GLA or the provider(s) you are working with. This will be accessible by a limited number of staff within IES. This means IES will have access to:
- Information for relevant employers, including: employer name, your name, your role, contact details (email and/or telephone).
IES will visit providers to understand better how provision is being delivered. If you are a learner at one of the providers visited, you may be part of an observed session. In this observation, we will not ask you for any personal data, however you may share this if you choose to if it is relevant to how you have experienced TIE activities.
Personal data collected through any of the above methods will only be processed for the purposes of completing this research, under the direction of the GLA. Participation in any element of the research is completely voluntary – if you decide after consenting that you no longer want to take part you can decline the invitation without having to give a reason.
Who will have access to my personal data?
All personal data shared with IES for the purposes of this research will be stored on an encrypted server, with access restricted solely to members of the research team.
If you agree to take part in any research activity, any information you provide will be summarised in an anonymised format – this means we will remove any information that could be used to identify you.
How will my data be treated?
If you are invited and choose to take part in an interview, the information you give will only be used for purposes of this study. IES will produce a report summarising the main findings from across all the research activities. This will be shared with the GLA to inform Phase 2 of the TIE. Individuals will not be named in the reports, nor will any information be included that could reveal their identity.
Data protection law requires that personal data are kept for no longer than is necessary. We will anonymise the information you provide as soon as we practically can (i.e. within 2 weeks of the interview date). The personal data we used to contact you will be securely deleted from the IES systems six months after the project is complete (currently estimated to be September 2026).
Who can I contact if I would like to withdraw my interview data?
You have rights under data protection law to make the following requests about the personal data that is held about you, which is being processed for this research, including:
- to request access to this data
- to amend any incorrect or inaccurate information
- to restrict or object to your data being processed
- to destroy this data
- to move, copy or transfer your data.
You have the right to withdraw the information you have provided as part of the interviews up to 2 weeks after the interview date. After this point the information will have been anonymised and will no longer be treated as personal data.
If you have taken part in an interview but would like your data withdrawn, please contact: [email protected].
Who can I contact with a query about how my data will be used?
If you have any questions about how your data will be used, please contact Billy Campbell, Project Manager at IES: [email protected].
Who can I contact with a complaint?
Further information on the rights available to you is also available from the Information Commissioner’s Office – the independent body responsible for regulating data protection within the UK. They can also deal with any complaints you may have regarding our use of your data:
- Tel: 0303 123 1113
- Email: [email protected]
- Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF