Empty Properties Enforcement Review – Stakeholder interviews
The Welsh Government has commissioned OB3 Research (OB3) to undertake the Empty Properties Enforcement Review.
The aim of the review is to understand the success and impact to date of the Empty Properties Enforcement support, identify barriers to progress and lessons to date, consider whether the funding demonstrates value for money and ascertain its future potential.
It is expected that the review considers the extent to which :
the package of support is delivering as intended
the Empty Property Management/Enforcement fund is useful and accessible for local authorities
the support provided by the Enforcement Industry Expert to local authorities to tackle empty properties in their area has been helpful/impactful.
As part of this review, OB3 will be gathering information through interviews with stakeholders.
The Welsh Government is the data controller for the research. However, OB3 will delete any personal data provided through the interviews, and anonymise the raw data, before it is shared with the Welsh Government.
The information collected during the project will be included in a report that is for internal use only and will not be published on the Welsh Government website.
Your participation in this research is completely voluntary. However your views and experiences are important in order to help inform Welsh Government policies.
The contact for this research at OB3 Research is Heledd Bebb
E-mail address: heledd@ob3research.co.uk
Telephone number: 07815 772242
PRIVACY NOTICE
What personal data do we hold and where do we get this information?
Personal data is defined under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) as ‘any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified by reference to an identifier’.
OB3 will have received your contact details from the Welsh Government, in the form of name, telephone number, and email address, as a representative from a stakeholder organisation who has been involved with the Empty Properties Enforcement support. These contact data have been held due to ongoing contact between the regeneration team in Welsh Government and your organisation. You have agreed for your work contact details to be provided to OB3. OB3 will only use your name, email address and telephone number for the purposes of this evaluation.
There is no requirement to provide any additional personal data during interviews other than your image if you agree to a video recording of the interview. We may wish to record interviews for operational reasons – this will be a video recording or an audio recording if the interview is conducted over the phone. We will make this clear to you before the interview, and you will have the opportunity to tell us if you are not happy for the discussion to be recorded. If the interview is recorded, personal data will be removed during the process of transcribing. Recordings will be deleted as soon as this process is completed. If discussions are not recorded, personal data will not be included in written notes prepared during or following the interviews.
Your participation is voluntary and if you do not wish to take part or be sent reminders then please reply to the invitation email and your details will be removed.
If you raise a query or complaint and provide personal data requesting a response, the researcher will forward the request only to the relevant official and subsequently delete it from the research data.
What is the lawful basis for using your data?
The lawful basis for processing information in this data collection exercise is our public task; that is, exercising our official authority to undertake the core role and functions of the Welsh Government.
Participation is completely voluntary. Research studies such as this are important for the Welsh Government to collect information and actionable evidence about its ability to deliver government priorities.
How secure is your personal data?
Personal information provided to OB3 is always stored on a secure server. The data can only be accessed by a limited number of researchers working on this project. OB3 will only use this data for research purposes. OB3 have cyber essentials certification.
OB3 has procedures to deal with any suspected data security breaches. If a suspected breach occurs, OB3 will report this to the Welsh Government who will notify you and any applicable regulator where we are legally required to do so.
OB3 will use the information gathered to produce a report that will be published on the Welsh Government website. This report will not include any information that could be used to identify individual participants.
How long do we keep your personal data?
OB3 will hold personal data during the contract period, and any personal data not already removed during transcription will be deleted by OB3 three months after the end of the contract. This includes your contact details. OB3 will provide Welsh Government with an anonymised version of the data which will not include information that could identify you.
Individual rights
Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to the personal information you provide as part of this evaluation, you have the right:
To access a copy of your own data;
For us to rectify inaccuracies in that data;
To object to or restrict processing (in certain circumstances);
For your data to be ‘erased’ (in certain circumstances); and
To lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) who is our independent regulator for data protection.
The contact details for the Information Commissioner’s Office are: Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Phone: 01625 545 745 or 0303 123 1113. Website: www.ico.gov.uk
Further Information
If you have any further questions about how the data provided as part of this study will be used by the Welsh Government or wish to exercise your rights using the UK General Data Protection Regulation, please contact:
Name: Vanessa Naughton
E-mail address: vanessa.naughton@gov.wales
Telephone number: 03000 622 190
The Welsh Government’s Data Protection Officer can be contacted at:
Welsh Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ, Email: DataProtectionOfficer@gov.wales.