188体育

Why we need your information and how we use it and how we use it

It鈥檚 our job to tell you how we will collect and use your information, why we need it and what your rights are. We do this to comply with the data protection legislation and to protect your privacy. Here is an explanation of the key terms that we use throughout this document:

• Personal data: any information that can be used to identify a living individual, such as your name, address and date of birth
• Anonymised data: information which cannot identify a living individual
• Data Processor: third parties that work on behalf of Ofqual to provide elements of services for us and any other organisation that will process personal data on behalf of Ofqual

It is necessary for us to collect and hold personal information about you in order to investigate and administer your complaint. If you make a complaint to Ofqual, we will hold the information you provide to us securely and use it to help us to handle and process your complaint.

Ofqual will process your personal data in order to carry out our statutory functions. In relation to complaints, this is specifically to enable Ofqual to:

• investigate complaints regarding the development, delivery or award of regulated qualifications
• carry out investigations of regulated awarding organisations and regulated qualifications, for the purposes of considering their compliance with Ofqual鈥檚 regulatory requirements
• take regulatory action against an awarding organisation (for example we might direct an awarding organisation to take certain actions)

For more information about how Ofqual processes personal data, please refer to our personal data protection policy. The lawful basis we rely on to process your personal data is which allows us to process personal data when this is necessary to perform our public tasks as a regulator.

If the information you provide us in relation to your report contains special category data, such as health, religious or ethnic information the lawful basis we rely on to process it is , which also relates to our public task, and which relates to statutory and government purposes.

What personal data we collect and who has access to it

We will ask for your name, address, contact number and email address. We will also ask you what your complaint is about, including which awarding organisations it relates to.

To ensure Ofqual deals with your complaint equally and fairly, all complaints sent to other departments in Ofqual, including the Chief Regulator or board members, will be forwarded to the complaints investigation team for review.

Your information may be shared internally with Ofqual staff in relevant departments in order that we can handle, investigate and respond to your complaint.

We may also share details of your complaint with third parties such as awarding organisations in order to investigate your request. For example, as part of our investigation into your complaint, we may contact an awarding organisation (which is the subject of your complaint) to request further information and to clarify elements of the complaint.

We may also share your information with other organisations, such as government departments, enforcement agencies and the police if we think it is necessary to do so. There may also be certain circumstances where we are required, by law, to share your information.

We use a platform called 188体育 Forms. This is provided by the Government Digital Service (GDS), which is part of the Cabinet Office. The 188体育 Forms platform lets UK government teams create online forms to collect information from people and organisations. GDS is a data processor. Where Ofqual uses data processors we have agreements in place. This means that they cannot do anything with your personal information unless we have instructed them to do it. They will hold it securely and retain it for the period we instruct.

For more details of how 188体育 Forms processes your personal information including sharing information with Ofqual, please see .

Ofqual publishes an annual summary of activity in relation to complaints received, including complaints accepted by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. However, this will not include any individual鈥檚 details or personally identifiable information.

Where your personal data is stored and how long we keep it

Your personal data will be stored securely in Ofqual鈥檚 complaints handling and case management system. It may also be stored in other Ofqual systems as we investigate your complaint, for example, in our document management and email systems. Access to this information is strictly controlled and reviewed.

Ofqual will hold details of your complaint, including your personal data, for 5 years.

How Ofqual protects your personal data

Ofqual takes the security of your personal data seriously. Ofqual has internal policies and controls in place to protect your data from loss, accidental destruction, misuse or disclosure. Some of the ways in which Ofqual protects your personal data include:

• implementing appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of personal data and information
• regular review of Ofqual information assurance and security policies and procedures
• ongoing training and awareness for staff on information assurance and security
• alignment with codes of conduct, certification schemes and government guidance, including the HMG Security Policy Framework, government baseline security standards, and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)
• use of the government Supplier Assurance Framework and Crown Commercial Services frameworks when working with suppliers and third parties
• regular review of security and cyber risks

Your rights

Ofqual is committed to being transparent about how it collects and uses your personal data and to meeting its data protection obligations. Ofqual is a Data Controller under data protection legislation and we comply with the data protection principles when processing your personal information.

Under data protection legislation, you have a number of rights. You can:

• access and obtain a copy of your personal data
• require Ofqual to rectify or change incorrect or incomplete personal data
• require Ofqual to delete or erase your personal data
• request Ofqual restrict the processing of your personal data (in certain circumstances)
• request your personal data in a portable format
• object to the processing of your personal data

If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact Ofqual鈥檚 Data Protection Officer:

The Information Commissioner鈥檚 Office

The Information Commissioner鈥檚 Office (ICO) is the UK鈥檚 independent body set up to uphold information rights. If you would like to know more about your rights under data protection legislation, and what you should expect from us, please visit the .

If you believe that Ofqual has not complied with your data protection rights, please contact Ofqual鈥檚 Data Protection Officer in the first instance. You can also complain directly to the Information Commissioner: