We are committed to maintaining, developing and improving communication, engagement and participation with our community to help us better plan and deliver services.
Understanding who is in our community and their specific needs by way of collecting equality monitoring data is vital for this. This notice provides details of what equality monitoring information we collect from you, what we do with it, and who it might be shared with. We have a separate privacy notice in place for community engagement which you might also find useful.
Identity and contact details of the controller and the data protection officer
Falkirk Council is the data controller. You can contact the data protection officer at:
Frequently asked questions
Why do we collect this information?
We need to collect equality monitoring data to meet our statutory public sector equality duties and the Fairer Scotland Duty, along with other statutory duties. This helps us ensure that our services and processes are fit for purpose, efficient and effective. Your information is collected for the following purposes:
- To meet our equality duties and Fairer Scotland duty.
- To plan, design and improve services.
The legal basis for each purpose is set out below:
| Legal basis |
Purpose |
| Consent |
|
| Performance of a contract |
|
| Legal obligation |
1, 2 |
| Vital interests |
|
| Task carried out in the public interest |
1, 2 |
| Legitimate interests |
|
We only collect equality monitoring information with your consent, but the underlying lawful bases for processing personal data are legal obligation and task carried out in the public interest.
What information do we collect about you?
Equality monitoring data is demographic information about individuals which relate to equality, equity or fairness and other factors that may impact on how individuals are treated or experience opportunities within society. The information we collect will depend on the exact purpose for which we need it, but it may include:
- Age
- Disability
- Gender reassignment
- Marriage and civil partnership
- Race/ethnicity
- Religion or belief
- Sex
- Sexual orientation
- Whether you are care-experienced
- Whether you have caring responsibilities
- Whether you are living in poverty
You can decide whether or not to provide this information and there are no consequences of not doing so.
Where do we collect information from?
We collect information from you, using a variety of methods. These include when we provide a service to you, when you apply for a job with us, when you complete a paper or online form or survey, at community engagement events, and when you call, write email or meet with us.
There are strict laws to ensure we protect your details and very few of our employees have access to this confidential information. We hold equality monitoring data securely and only ever report on numbers and never names.
Who might we share your information with?
We will not share any information from which you can be identified with anyone else, either internally or externally. Any equality monitoring data is anonymised before it is shared.
Will we send your information outwith the UK?
We do not transfer your information outwith the UK. Should it become necessary to do so, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place.
How long do we keep hold of your information?
Equality monitoring information is only held in identifiable form for as long as required by law or by our business requirements, after which it is deleted or anonymised. We may hold some information for longer where you have an on-going relationship with us, to ensure that we understand any changes in our population.
We have a Business Classification Scheme in place which sets out the types of records we hold, and how long we hold them - you can access the relevant part of the scheme on the Records Management webpage.
What are my rights in relation to the information held about me?
You have the following rights:
- To see any information held about you by making a subject access request.
- To withdraw consent at any time, where the legal basis for processing is consent.
- To data portability, where the legal basis for processing is (i) consent or (ii) performance of a contract.
- To request rectification or erasure of your information, where data protection legislation allows this.
Do I have a right to complain about the way information has been used?
If you have a concern about the way we are collecting or using your personal data, please let us know and we will try to resolve this. If you are still concerned, you can contact the Information Commissioner:
Do I have to provide my personal data to you?
You do not have to provide information to us, but it helps us meet our statutory duties and to better plan and deliver our services.
Do you use any automated processes to make decisions about me?
We do not use automated decision-making processes.
This notice was first published in May 2024