Enhancing invites to face-to-face PIP health assessments: Privacy notice

Who will have access to my personal data? 

For the purpose of data protection legalisation, DWP are the data controllers and NatCen are the data processors.

NatCen will carefully manage your personal data as part of our public task, which is our lawful basis for processing. All the information you provide will be held in strict confidence and held securely. This includes information held with our partners on this project, Criteria and McGowan.

Both partner companies are vetted by NatCen with signed contracts and agreements already in place. These are refreshed every 12 months.

DWP will only receive the anonymised conversation data, which will be used for research purposes only. They will not know who has taken part.

How will my information be used?

The data collected will be used for research purposes only. 

NatCen will write a report about the main issues that people have talked about. NatCen will not name anyone in the report, and it will not be possible to identify anyone who took part in the conversations. A summary of the report will be published on the gov.uk website.

At no point will anyone in DWP be able to identify you.

The information you give us in the conversation will only be used for this study and will not be combined with data already held by the DWP.

Data retention

All data stored by NatCen will be deleted once the study has reported in May 2026.

Will I have access to the information I provide in the conversation?  

Yes, you can request access, but once the data has been made anonymous, we will not be able to change the results. However, you may request that your personal data be deleted or updated up until the 11th of May 2026. We will let you know whether this is possible.

Who do I contact if I have a query or complaint? 

To contact the research team at NatCen, please email Piphealthassessment@natcen.ac.uk or call 0800 652 4569
free of charge. 

If you would like to contact DWP about this research, please email HTP.Research@dwp.gov.uk 

If you have any questions about how your data will be used, you can contact NatCen’s Data Protection Officer at dpo@natcen.ac.uk. 

If you have any questions about how your data will be used, please contact the NatCen’s Data Protection Officer:

Data Protection Officer
NatCen Social Research
Kings House
101-135 Kings Rd
Brentwood
CM14 4LX

Email: dpo@natcen.ac.uk

Data Protection Officers are responsible for upholding your rights and making sure we process your information correctly.

Under GDPR, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office. 

Contact Information 

Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Helpline number: 0303 123 1113

Email: https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/ 
Website: https://ico.org.uk