The Welsh Government is the data controller for any personal data that you provide. All personal data will be handled in line with General Data Protection Regulation (EU 2016/679).
1. Why we collect and process your personal data
- To deliver Welsh Government Innovation support, for example through the ERDF-funded SMART suite of programmes;
- To carry out planning, research, analysis and monitoring of Welsh Government support for innovation, and potentially to produce statistical publications;
- To undertake audits on the project;
- As part of promotional activity such as government business, case studies, press releases, marketing campaigns, public media; the information may be shared in the public domain.
2. Who will have access to your personal data?
This data may be collected by:
The Welsh Government for the purposes described above;
- Contractors appointed by the Welsh Government to deliver support related to, for example, innovation, design, or manufacturing. Contractors who deal with your information on behalf of Welsh Government are required to be Cyber Essential Accredited or adhere to ISO 27001. They are contractually required to follow strong information security procedures
- Approved social research organisations, to carry out research, analysis or equal opportunities monitoring of the innovation support programmes;
- The Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO) – as scheme sponsors, WEFO require a full list of beneficiary data in order to fulfil the reporting requirements;
- The European Commission (EC) and European Funds Audit Team (EFAT) who will take samples of our data to ensure we are following the correct processes.
3. Lawfulness
- The business support and audit purposes are carried out as part of the Welsh Government’s public task to meet its main economic aim to create jobs, growth and wealth in Wales.
- Any research / evaluation will only be undertaken with your consent. Only a sample of individuals and / or enterprises will be contacted for this purpose. If you are contacted to take part in any research / evaluation about your experience on the project then the purpose of the interview or survey will be explained to you and you will be given the option to accept or decline taking part. Your contact details will only be used for approved research and will be deleted once this approved research is complete.
- Any promotional activity will only be undertaken with your consent. You have the right to decline participation in promotional activity.
4. How long are your details kept?
- Your details will be retained on our systems in line with Welsh Government retention policy for up to 10 years as part of our ongoing training and quality reviews.
- Your details will be retained on our contractor’s systems until the contracts end in 2023. The records will be returned to Welsh Government at the end of the contract period and stored in our facilities. The records are stored for 10 years following the closure of the project due to the requirements of de minimis aid.
5. Your rights
Under the data protection legislation, you have the right to:
- access the personal data the Welsh Government holds on you;
- require us to rectify inaccuracies in that data;
- (in certain circumstances) object to or restrict processing;
- (in certain circumstances) request your data to be ‘erased’;
- lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) who is our independent regulator for data protection.
6. The Freedom of Information Act and your Information
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 allow the public to ask to see information held by public bodies, including the Welsh Government. The information you provide us may be the subject of a freedom of information request by another member of the public. We would consult with you to seek your views before disclosing any personal data in response to such a request.
7. Changes to this policy
The Welsh Government may make changes to this privacy policy at any time. When changes occur to this policy we will contact you on the email address we have recorded in your account to enable you to review the new version. The Information Commissioner’s Office can be contacted at:
Customer Contact
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 01625 545 745 or 0303 123 1113
Website: www.ico.org.uk
The Welsh Government’s Data Protection Officer can be contacted at:
Data Protection Officer
Welsh Government
Cathays Park
Cardiff
CF10 3NQ
Email address: Data.ProtectionOfficer@gov.wales