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Social Mobility Commission Website Privacy & Cookies Policy

social-mobility.independent-commission.uk is provided by the Social Mobility Commission, a Non-Departmental Public Body sponsored by the Cabinet Office.

Website Privacy Notice

social-mobility.independent-commission.uk is provided by the Social Mobility Commission, a Non-Departmental Public Body sponsored by the Cabinet Office.

We are committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. This Privacy Policy contains information about collecting users’ Personal Data and the manner of its processing. The Social Mobility Commission is the data controller for this website. A data controller determines how and why personal data is processed. We respect the right to privacy of all users who communicate with us and take reasonable steps to ensure you are familiar with the manner in which data provided is processed.

This policy may vary from time to time, so please check it regularly.

What data we collect

The personal data we collect from you includes:

  • if you contact us, any questions, queries or feedback, including your name and email address 
  • When you when you sign up to our email alerts your name, email address and subscription preferences 
  • your Internet Protocol (IP) address, and details of which version of web browser you used
  • information on how you use the site, using cookies and page tagging techniques

We also use Google Analytics software to collect information about how you use this website. This includes IP addresses. The data is anonymised before being used for analytics processing. Google Analytics processes anonymised information about:

  • behaviour patterns and the pages you visit on this website
  • how long you spend on each website page
  • how you got to the website (website search engines, organic, referrals)
  • what you click on while you’re visiting the website
  • operating systems and choice of web browser
  • devices used to view the website
  • sessions by country / region
  • users by time of day

 

We will not identify you through analytics information, and we will not combine analytics information with other data sets in a way that would identify who you are. We do not store your personal information through Google Analytics (for example your name or address).

We continuously test and monitor our data protection controls to make sure they’re effective and to detect any weaknesses.

Children’s privacy protection

While we have some resources on our website aimed at parents/ guardians supporting children’s learning and development, our services are not designed for, or intentionally targeted at, children 13 years of age or younger. We do not intentionally collect or maintain data about anyone under the age of 13.

Why we need your data

We collect data in order to:

  • gather feedback to improve our services
  • respond to any feedback/ questions you send us, if you’ve asked us to
  • send email alerts to users who request them
  • provide you with information
  • monitor use of the site to identify security threats

We collect information through Google Analytics to see how you use the website. We do this to help:

  • make sure the website is meeting the needs of its users
  • make improvements

What we do with your data

The data we collect may be shared with other government departments, agencies and public bodies. It may also be shared with our technology suppliers, for example our hosting provider. Where we need to share your personal data with others, we ensure that this data sharing complies with data protection legislation. We will share your data if we are required to do so by law – for example, by court order, or to prevent fraud or other crime.

We are committed to doing all that we can to keep your data secure. We have set up systems and processes to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure of your data – for example, all site data in transit will be encrypted and protected by SSL.
We also make sure that any third parties that we deal with keep all personal data they process on our behalf secure.

We will not:

  • sell or rent your data to third parties
  • share your data with third parties for marketing purposes
  • use your data in analytics

How long we keep your data

The amount of time we hold your Personal Data will vary but shall be kept for no longer than is necessary for the original purposes for which it is being processed.

Data will be reviewed and where possible deleted on a six monthly review basis. After which point, your personal data will be securely destroyed. Please note that, under Data Protection legislation, and in compliance with the relevant data processing conditions, personal data can be kept for longer periods of time when processed purely for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research, and statistical purposes.

Where your data is processed and stored

We design, build and run our systems to make sure that your data is as safe as possible at all stages, both while it’s processed and when it’s stored. All personal data is stored in the European Economic Area (EEA). Data collected by Google Analytics data may be transferred outside the EEA for processing.

Our legal basis for processing your data

The legal basis for processing personal data in relation to site security is our legitimate interests, and the legitimate interests of our users, in ensuring the security and integrity of this website.

The legal basis for processing anonymised data for Google Analytics is your consent.

The legal basis for processing all other personal data is that it’s necessary:

  • to perform a task in the public interest
  • in the exercise of our functions as a non-departmental public body

Your rights

Under data protection law, you have rights including:

  • Your right of access – You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information. 
  • Your right to rectification – You have the right to ask us to rectify personal information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete. 
  • Your right to erasure – You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances. 
  • Your right to restriction of processing – You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances. 
  • Your right to object to processing – You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
  • Your right to data portability – You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances.
  • If you have any of these requests, get in contact with us below.

Links to other websites

social-mobility.independent-commission.uk contains links to other websites.
This privacy notice only applies to social-mobility.independent-commission.uk, and does not cover other sites that we link to.

Following a link to another website

If you go to another website from this one, read the privacy policy on that website to find out what it does with your information.

Following a link to this website from another website

If you come to social-mobility.independent-commission.uk from another website, we may receive personal information from the other website. You should read the privacy policy of the website you came from to find out more about this.

How to contact us

Please address any comments, questions or requests about your data to contact@socialmobilitycommission.gov.uk or we can be contacted at: 

Social Mobility Commission,
1 Horse Guards Road, 

London, 

SW1A 2HQ,  United Kingdom.

Right to lodge a complaint

Where we are processing your personal data with your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent. If you change your mind, or you are unhappy with our use of your personal data, please let us know by contacting contact@socialmobilitycommission.gov.uk or at:

Social Mobility Commission,
1 Horse Guards Road, 

London, 

SW1A 2HQ

Alternatively, you have the right to raise any concerns with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) via their website at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/.

The ICO’s address:            

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

Helpline number: 0303 123 1113

ICO website: https://www.ico.org.uk

 

Last updated

We may need to update this privacy notice periodically, so we recommend that you revisit this information from time to time. This version was last updated on 04 December 2024.