Privacy policy

The National Centre for Social Research ("NatCen" or "We") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy policy will inform you as to how we look after your personal data when you visit our website (regardless of where you visit it from) or contact us via email or phone and share your data with us. It also tells you about your privacy rights and how the law protects you.

Please read the following carefully to understand our views and practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it. For the purpose of Data Protection Legislation (GDPR), the data controller is the National Centre for Social Research of 35 Northampton Square, London, EC1V 0AX.

Important information

This privacy policy aims to give you information on how NatCen collects and processes your personal data through your use of this website, including any data you may provide through this website when you complete any forms on our site or send any information to us as well as any data that you provide to us in person, via email or on the phone. It is important that you read this privacy policy so that you are fully aware of how and why we are using your data.

Please note that we also collect and process personal data for each of our research studies. Given these projects involve different partners, each research project will have its own privacy notice. Further details on taking part in our research and the various privacy policies for each study can be found here.

We are the controller and responsible for your personal data collected via our website. If you have any questions on this policy, including any requests to exercise your legal rights, please contact us at info@natcen.ac.uk or use the contact details set out below:

Full name of legal entity: National Centre for Social Research

Email address: dpo@natcen.ac.uk

Postal address: 35 Northampton Square, London EC1V 0AX

You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK regulator for data protection issue (www.ico.org.uk). We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO so please contact us in the first instance. 

Changes to the privacy policy and your duty to inform us of changes

We keep our privacy policy under regular review. This version was last updated on 25 July 2025.

It is important that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your personal data changes during your relationship with us.

Third-party links

Our website may, from time to time, contain links to and from the websites of our partner networks, advertisers and affiliates, plug-ins and applications. If you follow any such links, please note that these websites and applications will have their own privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies.  Please check these policies before you submit any personal data to these websites.

Such third parties may include:

• Service providers acting as processors based in the US who provide IT and system administration services
• Professional advisers including lawyers, bankers, auditors and insurers who provide consultancy, banking, legal, insurance and accounting services
• HM Revenue & Customs, regulators and other authorities based in the United Kingdom who required reporting of processing activities in certain circumstances

Information we collect about you

Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data where the identity has been removed (anonymous data).

With regard to each of your visits to our website, we may automatically collect the following information:

• Technical data: technical information, including the Internet Protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer to the Internet, your login data, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform and other technology on the devices you use to access this website
• Usage data: information about your visit, including the full Uniform Resource Locators (URL) clickstream to, through and from our site (including date and time); products you viewed or searched for; page response times, download errors, length of visits to certain pages, page interaction information (such as scrolling, clicks, and mouse-overs), and methods used to browse away from the page and any phone number used to call our customer service number

We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about you which we have grouped together as follows:

• Identity data: includes first name, last name, username or similar identifier
• Contact data: includes billing address, delivery address, email address and telephone numbers
• Financial data: includes bank account and payment card details
• Transaction data: includes details about payments to and from you and other details of services you have purchased from us
• Marketing and Communications data: includes your preferences in receiving marketing from us and our third parties and your communications preferences.

We do not collect any Special Categories of Personal Data about you (this includes details about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, information about your health, and genetic and biometric data). Nor do we collect any information about criminal convictions and offences.

If you fail to provide personal data

Where we need to collect personal data by law, or under the terms of a contract we have with you, and you fail to provide that data when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract we have or are trying to enter into with you (for example, to provide you with services). In this case, we may have to cancel a service you have with us, but we will notify if this is the case at the time. 

How is your personal data collected when using our website?

You may give us information about you by filling in forms on our website or by corresponding with us by phone, email or otherwise. This includes information you provide when you register to use our website, join our mailing lists, subscribe to our service, participate in discussion boards or other social media functions on our website, or when you enter a competition, promotion or survey or when you report a problem with our website. The information you give us may include your name, address, email address, phone number, financial and credit card information, personal description or photograph.

We use different methods to collect data from and about you when visiting our website, including through: 

• Direct interactions: You may give us your Identity, Contact and Financial Data by filling in forms or by corresponding with us by post, phone, email or otherwise. This includes processing personal data for the purpose of:  
  • Providing and maintaining our services to you
  • Notifying you about changes to our services
  • Providing client support
  • Gathering analysis or valuable information so that we can improve our services
  • Monitoring the usage of our services
  • Detecting, preventing and addressing technical issues
  • Providing you with news, special offers and general information about other services which we offer that are similar to those that you have already purchased or enquired about unless you have opted not to receive such information
• Automated technologies or interactions: As you interact with our website, we will automatically collect Technical Data about your equipment, browsing actions and patterns. We collect this personal data by using cookies, server logs and other similar technologies. We may also receive Technical Data about you if you visit other websites employing our cookies. Please see our cookie policy for further details.
• Third parties or publicly available sources: We will receive personal data about you from various third parties and public sources as set out below:  
  • analytics providers such as Google, based outside the UK
  • advertising networks such as Google based outside the UK
  • search information providers such as Google, based outside the UK
  • marketing automation platforms, such as Spotler
  • social media platforms, such as LinkedIn, X, Instagram, Bluesky, Facebook and YouTube
  • contact, financial and transaction data from providers of technical, payment and delivery services

How we use your personal data collected when using our website

We will only use your personal data collected when visiting our website when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data collected when visiting our website in the following circumstances:

• where we need to perform the contract we are about to enter into or have entered into with you
• where it is necessary for carrying out legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests
• where we need to comply with a legal obligation

Generally, we do not rely on consent as a legal basis for processing your personal data although we will get your consent before sending third party direct marketing communications to you via email or text message. You have the right to withdraw consent to marketing at any time by contacting us. 

Purposes for which we will use your personal data

We have set out below, in a table, a description of all the ways we plan to use your personal data, and which of the legal bases we rely on to do so. We have also identified what our legitimate interests are where appropriate.

Note that we may process your personal data for more than one lawful ground depending on the specific purpose for which we are using your data. Please contact us if you need details about the specific legal grounds we are relying on to process your personal data.

We may also use your personal data, or permit selected companies to use your personal data, to provide you with information about goods and services which may be of interest to you and we or they may contact you about these by post or telephone.  This is based on our legitimate interest, in providing you with information about our goods or services.

The legal basis in each case is either that we have your consent for the use of your personal data, or that we need to use your personal data in order to perform a contract with you, or that the use of your personal data is necessary for our (or third parties’) legitimate interests (in which case we will explain what those interests are). Where we use your personal data with your consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

Marketing  

We strive to provide you with choices regarding certain personal data uses, particularly around marketing and advertising.

Promotional offers from us  

We may use your Identity, Contact, Technical and Usage Data to form a view on what we think you may want or need, or what may be of interest to you. This is how we decide which services and offers may be relevant for you (we call this marketing).  

You will receive marketing communications from us if you have requested information from us or purchased services from us and you have not opted out of receiving that marketing.

Third-party marketing  

We will get your express opt-in consent before we share your personal data with any third party for marketing purposes.  

Opting out

You can ask us or third parties to stop sending you marketing messages at any time by following the opt-out links on any marketing message sent to you or by contacting us at any time.  

Change of purpose  

We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If you wish to get an explanation as to how the processing for the new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please contact us.  

If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.

Please note that we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted by law.

Disclosures of your personal data

We may share your personal data with third parties for the purposes set out in the table 'Purposes for which we will use your personal data' above. We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes and only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

Data security

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will take reasonable steps to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to our site; any transmission is at your own risk.  

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used, or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered, or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions, and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality. We request that our third-party contractors and site service providers follow similar standards of security and confidentiality.

We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.

All information you provide to us is stored on our secure servers and within the European Economic Area (EEA). Where you have chosen a password which enables you to access certain parts of our site, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share a password with anyone.

We will take reasonable steps to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this privacy policy. All information you provide to us is stored on our secure server. We limit access to the information by our own employees, contractors, site service providers and those individuals who are authorised for the proper handling of such information. We request that our third party contractors and site service providers follow similar standards of security and confidentiality.

Data retention

We will only retain your personal data for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or reporting requirements. We may retain your personal data for a longer period in the event of a complaint or if we reasonably believe there is a prospect of litigation in respect to our relationship with you.

To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, or other requirements.

In some circumstances you can ask us to delete your data: see your legal rights below for further information.

In some circumstances we will anonymise your personal data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes, in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.  

No fee usually required

You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive, or excessive. Alternatively, we could refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.

What we may need from you

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.

Time limit to respond

We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it could take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.  

Your legal rights

You have the right to ask us not to process your personal data for marketing purposes. We will usually inform you (before collecting your data) if we intend to use your data for such purposes or if we intend to disclose your information to any third party for such purposes. You can exercise your right to prevent such processing by checking certain boxes on the forms we use to collect your data.  You can also exercise the right at any time by contacting us at info@natcen.ac.uk.

Under certain circumstances, you have rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data. which include: 

• Requesting access to your personal data (commonly known as a "data subject access request"). This enables you to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it
• Requesting correction of the personal data that we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate data we hold about you corrected, though we may need to verify the accuracy of the new data you provide to us
• Requesting erasure of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal data where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your personal data where you have successfully exercised your right to object to processing (see below), where we may have processed your information unlawfully or where we are required to erase your personal data to comply with local law. Note, however, that we may not always be able to comply with your request of erasure for specific legal reasons which will be notified to you, if applicable, at the time of your request
• Objecting to processing of your personal data where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground as you feel it impacts on your fundamental rights and freedoms. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal data for direct marketing purposes. In some cases, we may demonstrate that we have compelling legitimate grounds to process your information which override your rights and freedoms
• Requesting restriction of processing of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of your personal data in the following scenarios:  
  • If you want us to establish the data's accuracy
  • Where our use of the data is unlawful, but you do not want us to erase it
  • Where you need us to hold the data even if we no longer require it as you need it to establish, exercise or defend legal claims
  • You have objected to our use of your data, but we need to verify whether we have overriding legitimate grounds to use it
• Requesting the transfer of your personal data to you or to a third party. We will provide to you, or a third party you have chosen, your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. Note that this right only applies to automated information which you initially provided consent for us to use or where we used the information to perform a contract with you
• Withdrawing consent at any time where we are relying on consent to process your personal data. However, this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw your consent. If you withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide certain services to you. We will advise you if this is the case at the time you withdraw your consent

Glossary

Comply with a legal obligation means processing your personal data where it is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation that we are subject to.

Consent means when you freely provide a specific, informed and unambiguous indication of your wishes through a written statement or clear affirmative action, inter alia, to being contacted by our marketing teams, or being asked to participate in a market research project which would be collected on our behalf by us or our third-party recruiters.

Legitimate Interest means the interest of our business in conducting and managing our business to enable us to give you the best service and the best and most secure experience. We make sure we consider and balance any potential impact on you (both positive and negative) and your rights before we process your personal data for our legitimate interests. We do not use your personal data for activities where our interests are overridden by the impact on you (unless we have your consent or are otherwise required or permitted to by law). You can obtain further information about how we assess our legitimate interests against any potential impact on you in respect of specific activities by contacting us.

Performance of Contract means processing your data where it is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party or to take steps at your request before entering into such a contract.

Changes to our privacy policy

Any changes we may make to our privacy policy in the future will be posted on this page.

Contact

Questions, comments and requests regarding this privacy policy are welcomed and should be addressed to dpo@natcen.ac.uk.

Complaints

If you believe we have not complied with your data protection rights you can contact us via dpo@natcen.ac.uk. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office at:

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

Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website: https://ico.org.uk/concerns