Personal data is defined under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as ‘any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified by reference to an identifier’. Special category data such as ethnic group or health condition has additional protection under data protection law.
The Welsh Government has access to personal and special category data of parents, carers and children receiving services from local authorities. The data that we regularly receive on parents, carers and children is explained in detail in Annex 1 to this privacy notice. Your name and contact details are not regularly passed to Welsh Government for monitoring with the data outlined in Annex 1. However, your name and contact details will be provided to Welsh Government by your Local Authority when needed for evaluation purposes. Your child’s name will not be provided.
Additionally, the Welsh Government has access to personal data of childcare providers delivering services funded by the Welsh Government under the childcare offer. The data that we regularly receive on child care providers is explained in detail in Annex 2 to this privacy notice. The Welsh Government will not share your name with a third party e.g. non-government agencies and researchers unless your name is your business name which is publically available.
The Childcare Offer programme is periodically evaluated to assess the performance of the programme and help Welsh Ministers make decisions relating to the development of the policy in relation to the Childcare Offer. If you are contacted to take part in research activities related to the Childcare Offer you will be issued a separate Privacy Notice outlining how information generated by the research will be collected, held and used. Taking part in research is voluntary and you will not be identified in any reports.
Your data is linked anonymously to other data sources as part of the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) databank for non-commercial research purposes only, unless you ask for this linkage to not take place (see the explanatory note).
What is the lawful basis for using your data?
The lawful basis for processing information in this data collection exercise is our public task; that is, exercising our official authority to undertake the core role and functions of the Welsh Government. Some of the data we are collecting are called ‘special category data’ (in this case ethnicity) and the lawful basis for processing this information is that it is for statistical or research purposes.
This enables the operation of, and provides information which will help the Welsh Ministers to make decisions relating to the development of the policy in relation to, the Childcare Offer which is being delivered to improve economic and social wellbeing in Wales in accordance with section 60 of the Government of Wales Act 20061.
The data sent to Welsh Government will be used:
- to measure how well Welsh Government and Local Authorities are delivering their services to you and your child;
- to support improvements to these services;
- to allocate money to Local Authorities and others; or
- to support wider research into the provision of services to you and your child, or others;
- to link data from this form to other data sources for the purpose of evaluatingthe impact of the project on the individuals who take part.
The data sent to Welsh Government will not be used by them:
- to take any action in relation to you or your child, or your childcare setting; nor
- to identify you or your child in any reports.
How secure is your personal data?
Personal data is transferred via Objective Connect, a secure data transfer system. Data is stored within folders on secure networks which have access restricted to
Welsh Government officials working on the Childcare Offer.
All data gathered will be reported in an anonymised format when used in statistical or research reports. No reports will contain your contact details nor any information that
When the Welsh Government commissions an evaluation of the Childcare Offer this work will be carried out by an accredited third party (e.g. a research organisation or a consultancy company). Any such work will only be undertaken under contract. Welsh Government’s standard terms and conditions for such contracts set out strict requirements for the processing and safekeeping of personal data.
How long do we keep your personal data?
Any personal data transferred to Welsh Government will be deleted three years after the date it was received.
The NHS Wales Informatics Service (NWIS) based in Swansea University also have access to a part of your personal data for a period of three months, until the data linking with Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) is complete.
Individual rights
Under GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to the personal information you provide as part of the Childcare Offer for Wales you have the right:
- To access a copy of your own data;
- For us to rectify inaccuracies in that data;
- To object to or restrict processing (in certain circumstances);
- For your data to be ‘erased’ (in certain circumstances); and
- To lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) who is our independent regulator for data protection.
Further information
If you have any further questions about how your data will be used by the Welsh Government or wish to exercise your rights using the General Data Protection Regulation, please contact:
Childcare Offer Team
CP2, Crown Buildings
Cathays Park
Cardiff
CF10 3NQ
The Welsh Government’s Data Protection Officer can be contacted at:
Welsh Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ
Explanatory note
Annex 1
Which data does Welsh Government have access to?
Parents of children taking up the childcare offer- Eligibility checking:
Local authorities ask for details of you, as either the parent or carer of such child, or children and the children receiving services under the childcare offer to check your eligibility to receive the offer against eligibility criteria as set by the Welsh Government. This includes;
- Your working hours and wage (This information is also passed to Welsh Government by the Local authority anonymously, which means this data will not include your name or that of your child.)
- The date of birth of the child you are applying to receive the childcare offer for (This information is also passed to Welsh Government by the Local authority anonymously, which means this data will not include your name or that of your child.)
- Your address (Your postcode is passed to Welsh Government by the Local authority anonymously, which means this data will not include your name or that of your child.)
- Information about benefits you are claiming that may entitle you to the childcare offer (This is not passed to the Welsh Government.)
Parents / Carers of, and children taking up the childcare offer:
Local authorities provide details of you, as either the parent or carer of such child, or children and the children receiving services under the childcare offer from them to Welsh Government, and this includes:
- Data about your child and you as the parent(s)/carer(s);
- Gender
- Date of Birth
- Postcode
- Local authority
- Ethnicity
- Whether your child has a special educational need (SEN)
- Your salary information
- Your average weekly hours worked
- Whether you accessed any Flying Start services – no information on what services collected
- Basic details of the services provided to you and your child prior to taking up the childcare offer;
- Your rating of affordability of childcare prior to taking up the childcare offer
- Your monthly average spend on childcare prior to taking up the childcare offer
- The number of hours of paid childcare you used on average each week prior to taking up the offer
- The number of hours of unpaid childcare you used on average each >week prior to taking up the offer
- Basic details of the services provided to you and your child in taking up the childcare offer;
- The number of hours you have applied for the child under the childcare offer
- The number of hours your child attends the hours booked under the childcare offer
- The language provision of the childcare your child is accessing
- Your preference of language provision for your child to access the offer
- Your child’s attendance at Foundation Phase Nursery Provision
- The Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) register number of the childcare provider(s) you are accessing the childcare offer at
Annex 2
Childcare providers delivering services under the childcare offer
Local authorities provide details of you as a provider delivering services under the childcare offer to Welsh Government, and this includes:
- Your contact details including – name, telephone number, email address and postal address and Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) registration number
- The language provision of your setting as self-declared to the local authorities and to Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW)
- The number of hours that each child receiving the childcare offer in your setting have booked with you and how many hours they have actually attended
- Any additional costs which parents have incurred through taking up the offer at your setting including; food costs, travel costs, and any additional hours they take up at your setting on top of the childcare offer.