Privacy Notice for Getting By in the UK Survey
Paper and Online Surveys

You’ve been asked to take part in a research project about what kinds of things people have to go without.

You may be taking part either by:

  • Being given a paper survey by a member of staff, volunteer or a Verian interviewer at the service from whom you receive advice or services;
  • Being given a link to the online survey by a member of staff, volunteer or a Verian interviewer at the service from whom you receive advice or services;
  • Telephone because you agreed with your service that your name and contact details could be passed to Verian.

This Notice explains how your personal information will be used.

On this page:


Who is the Data Controller?

Heriot-Watt University has been asked by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation to carry out a UK-wide research project looking at the kinds of things people have to go without, to try and understand the numbers involved, what they are struggling with and why. Heriot-Watt University is the data controller for the personal information that you provide in answering the survey questions. This means it must comply with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, holding your information securely and restricting access to it to people who need to see it as part of their duties in the research project.

back to top


What Personal Information We Collect and Why

You do not have to give your name or contact details (phone number/email address) to complete the survey, unless you would like to be considered for a follow-up interview by Heriot-Watt University.

The survey will collect a range of housing, family makeup, and financial information, and also ethnicity, whether you receive any health or disability related benefits, and whether, in the previous year, you have experienced getting into trouble with the police. You can omit or refuse to answer any question that is asked of you, and you can stop participating at any time without giving a reason.

Where you complete an online survey, certain technical details are automatically gathered, like your IP address, browser type, Internet Service Provider, operating system, referring/exit pages, and date/time stamp. Although this information doesn’t personally identify you, and will not be used to identify you, it is still considered personal information under data protection laws, which is why we are telling you about it. It is used to administer the survey site effectively, check for duplicate responses from the same device and may be used to analyse general technical usage trends.

Heriot-Watt University is collecting this personal information as part of its core functions under its Charter and Statutes to undertake research in the public interest. This is known as its lawful processing base.

back to top


What Will Happen?

The survey will take approximately 5 -10 minutes to complete.

Your survey response will be combined with other responses, and Heriot-Watt University will include the findings in a published report.

No information that could identify you will appear in any report on the results of this survey.

back to top


Who Your Information is Shared With and Why?

Heriot-Watt University has instructed Verian, a research organisation, under a strict confidentiality agreement as its data processor, to help it handle the personal information you provide in completing the survey. Verian holds the Market Research Society (MRS) Company Partner Accreditation and follows both the MRS and European Society for Opinion and Market Research (ESOMAR) professional Codes of Conduct.

Verian has instructed Greens Limited and Bright Market Research, as sub-processors under similar strict confidentiality agreements, to help it carry out the work it is providing to Heriot-Watt. If these sub-processors change during the research project, this Privacy Notice will be updated accordingly.

back to top


How Long We Keep Your Information?

Heriot-Watt will destroy the completed surveys and any scanned copies 12 months after the UK-wide research project is completed. Projection completion is expected to be autumn 2026.

Heriot-Watt will combine your answers with others to create a dataset. This dataset won’t include your name or contact details (if you provided them) but Heriot-Watt will still treat the dataset as containing personal information and will take all necessary safeguards to protect your privacy. It will keep the dataset securely for up to 10 years for research purposes such as academic articles and conference papers.  From this dataset, Heriot-Watt will create an anonymised version to share with the Joesph Roundtree Foundation, and it may also be placed on the UK Data Service – a trusted national data repository. The shared version will be fully anonymised so that no-one can identify you from it.

back to top


International Data Transfers

Bright Market Research is located in Bulgaria, which is part of the EU. The UK has passed adequacy regulations in respect of Bulgaria, meaning it has been assessed as providing the required level of protection for your personal information.

back to top


Your Rights

For information on your rights and if you would like to know more about what Heriot-Watt University does with your personal information, please visit our data protection webpages at https://www.hw.ac.uk/uk/services/docs/information-governance/PrivacyNoticeResearch-V4Finalversion.pdf or contact our Data Protection Officer by email at dataprotection@hw.ac.uk

Please note that if you do not provide your name and contact details because you do not wish to be considered for a follow-up interview, we may not be able to identify your specific response to consider your request.

If you think we are acting unfairly or unlawfully you can complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office

back to top


Further Information

If you have any questions about the survey in general, please contact the Heriot- Watt University lead researcher Suzanne Fitzpatrick at S.Fitzpatrick@hw.ac.uk or the project co-ordinator Jill McIntyre at J.McIntyre@hw.ac.uk

The UK-wide research project has been approved by Heriot-Watt’s School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society Ethics Committee.

back to top