Extra support needs of HMRC customers: Privacy notice

What is the research about?

This privacy notice sets out how your information will be used for research exploring the extra support needs of HMRC customers when interacting with HMRC. Your views will help inform the development of HMRC’s support services.

As part of this research, the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), an independent social research organisation, will carry out interviews with HMRC customers who have sought support with tax-related matters.

What is the legal basis for processing my data?

For the purpose of data protection legislation, HMRC are the data controllers and NatCen are the data processers. This means HMRC is responsible for deciding the purpose and legal basis for processing data from this stage of the research. For this study, the legal basis for processing data is ‘Public Task’.

Who will have access to my personal data?

Your data will be held securely by NatCen in line with the UK GDPR. Only the NatCen research team and the transcription partner that we work with will have access to personal data that you provide during the interview. All the information you provide will be held in strict confidence and held securely.

We are collaborating with several external organisations listed as approved suppliers by NatCen, all of whom adhere to NatCen’s information security policies. McGowan Transcriptions will provide transcription services for NatCen. Additionally, Criteria, a market research agency, will recruit all of the participants that will take part in the research.  If you agree to take part in this research, your contact details (including email address and phone number) will be transferred by Criteria to NatCen using a secure file transfer system and stored in a secure folder on NatCen’s server. We will not share your contact details with third parties.

How NatCen will use your information

Data will only be used for research purposes and will be kept confidential at all times. NatCen will write up the findings in a report in a way that protects your anonymity and HMRC will not know who has taken part in the research. The report may include quotes of what you have said but it will not be possible to identify you. The findings of the research may be published here.

All personal information will be securely deleted at the end of the project.

You can withdraw from the study at any time prior to analysis of interviews (two weeks after your interview takes place) because after that we will not be able to identify your data. If you wish to do so, please contact the NatCen research team on the study email address or freephone number provided below.

HMRC have also requested to see a sample of anonymised transcripts for quality assurance purposes. Any information that may identify you will be removed from the transcript before it is shared with HMRC. You do not have to consent to your transcript being shared with HMRC. We will ask at the end of the interview whether you consent to sharing it or not.

Storing your information

The data held by NatCen will be stored securely in the UK, in line with international best practice and NatCen’s ISO 27001, ISO 20252 and Cyber Essentials Plus certifications. Data will not be stored in overseas servers. All personal data will be securely deleted once the project has been completed.

Will I have access to my personal information?

Yes, but please note that once your data is combined with others’, anonymised or research findings have been published, we would not be able to change the findings by removing individual information. However, you can always request that your personal data be deleted or updated and we will let you know immediately if this is possible or not.

Who to contact if you have a query or a complaint?

To contact the research team at NatCen, please email ESNstudy@natcen.ac.uk.

If you have any questions about how your data will be used for this research, please contact HMRC’s Customer Research team at: customerresearchteam@hmrc.gov.uk with ‘Extra support needs research’ as the subject.

You can also find more information on research at HMRC here and more information about HMRC’s role as the data holder in HMRC’s privacy notice here.

Under GDPR, you have the right to lodge a complaint about how information has been used or managed with the Information Commissioner’s Office at www.ico.org.uk.

Who are NatCen?

NatCen is an independent social research institute. We design, conduct, and analyse research studies in the fields of social and public policy. You can find out more about NatCen on www.natcen.ac.uk.