Learner Privacy Notice: Provision of ESOL for Integration Fund (EFIF) Evaluation 

Who is doing this research? 

This research is being done by IFF Research, and Bryson Purdon Social Research (BPSR), both independent research agencies which means they are not connected with your learning provider, local authority or the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG). The MHCLG is the data controller for the personal data processed as part of the EFIF evaluation; and IFF Research and BPSR are the data processors.  

What is this research about? 

The research will collect evidence on the impact of the EFIF in terms of English language skills, confidence speaking English, sense of community belonging and involvement and digital skills.  

How we will use your information 

Your learning provider will securely share your individual but anonymised personal characteristics data and baseline and follow-up assessment results (see ‘The nature of your personal data we will be using’ below for more detail) with research partners IFF Research and BPSR. IFF and BPSR will process and securely store this data during the research on behalf of MHCLG.   

Your data will be used to help MHCLG establish whether a local approach to English language provision improves English language skills, digital skills and social integration, and what types of delivery works best for different groups of people. Individuals and local authorities will not be identified in any reporting. 

Consenting to your data being used in the research is entirely voluntary and you can withdraw your consent via your learning provider or by contacting the project team at IFF Research at:  EFIFevaluation@iffresearch.com .  

For more information about how IFF Research use personal data, follow this link: https://www.iffresearch.com/gdpr/  

The nature of your personal data we will be using 

IFF Research will use data collected through your course registration form and baseline and follow-up assessments. The data that we will be analysing are:  

• Gender; 
• Age band; 
• Whether you have a disability; 

• Religion; 
• Highest education level achieved; 
• Ethnic background; 
• First Language; 
• Length of time living in the UK; and 

• Employment (whether in work). 

Data collected at baseline and follow-up assessments will include:  

• Results from English proficiency test (on entry and exit) 
• Results from the social integration survey (on entry and exit) 

Your name and contact details will not be shared unless you give permission for them to be shared for research purposes, such as re–contacting you to take part in follow-up research, at a later date. 

The personal information that you provide will be used for the purpose(s) of: 

• Data on personal characteristics like age and gender: To establish the types of people enrolled on courses, to find out whether impact varies for certain groups of learners.  
• Baseline and follow-up data: To determine impact of the courses on English Language skills and social integration.  

Why our use of your personal data is lawful 

In order for our use of your personal data to be lawful, we need to meet one (or more) conditions in the data protection legislation. For the purpose of this project, the relevant condition(s) are Section 8 of the Data Protection Act 2018 which means this processing of personal information is necessary for performance of a task carried out in the public interest. For the processing of special category data, the relevant condition for processing is Schedule 2, Part 2, 6(b) of the Data Protection Act 2018 for the processing of information in the fulfilment of our public task.  Your personal data will not be used for marketing or automated decision-making. 

Who will your data be made available to 

MHCLG sometimes need to make personal data available to other organisations. These might include contracted partners (who we have employed to process your personal data on our behalf) and/or other organisations (with whom we need to share your personal data for specific purposes).  

Where there is a need to share individual-level data with others, we ensure that this data sharing complies with data protection legislation. For the purpose of this project, your data will be processed by IFF Research and BPSR on behalf of the MHCLG.  

All data that you provide to your learning provider that is used in this research undergo a process of pseudonymisation before it is shared with IFF and BPSR. This means that the personal data can no longer be linked to you by name without the use of additional information such as an ID number, which should be kept separately and cannot identify you on its own. 

How long we will keep your personal data 

Personal data will only be retained by IFF Research and BPSR for as long as needed for the purpose(s) of this evaluation, after which it will be securely destroyed. This will be 12 months following the completion of the evaluation (which is estimated to end September 2021) unless you have given permission for your contact details to be used to recontact you about follow-up research. In this case it will be stored until the end of that research in 2023.  

Please note that under GDPR Article 5(1)(b) and in compliance with the relevant data processing conditions, personal data can be kept for longer periods of time when processed purely for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research, and statistical purposes.  

Your data protection rights  

You have the right:  

• to ask IFF for access to information that they hold about you  

• to have your personal data corrected, if it is inaccurate or incomplete  
• to request the deletion or removal of personal data where there is no compelling reason for its continued processing  
• to restrict processing of your personal data (i.e. permitting its storage but no further processing). 

Further information about your data protection rights appears on the Information Commissioner’s website at: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/principle-6-rights/.  

You have the right to raise any concerns with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) via their website at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/. 

Contact Information 

If you have any questions about how your personal information will be used, please contact IFF by emailing: EFIFevaluation@iffresearch.com.   

If you have questions for MHCLG, please contact natalie.nolan@communities.gov.uk. For the Data Protection Officer (DPO) please contact MHCLG via gov.uk and mark it for the attention of the ‘DPO’.