DfI Public Appointments - Privacy Notice

Data Controller:

• Telephone: 028 9054 1002
• Email: publicappointmentsunit@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk

Data Protection Officer:

• Email: DFIGDPR@infrastructure‐ni.gov.uk

This privacy notice sets out how the Department for Infrastructure uses and protects any information that you give when you apply for an appointment to one of our public bodies. The Department is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified, then you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy notice.

What information we collect

We may collect the following information:

• Name and contact information, including email address; and
• Diversity monitoring information, including gender, age and community background (full list below).

What we do with the information we gather

• We require this information for the effective completion of a public appointment competition and for internal record keeping.
• If you have previously requested or agreed, we also periodically send emails notifying of upcoming competitions which you may find interesting using the email address which you have provided.
• Monitoring information is collected to help us ensure that our processes and procedures promote equality of opportunity. The information provided in this monitoring form is detached from the information on your application form, held separately and will not be available to selection panels or to anyone else involved in the selection process. The information will be used for statistical purposes only and analysed independently by staff in the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) in the strictest confidence.

Why are you processing my personal information?

The purpose of processing personal information is for the effective completion of a public appointment competition;

The lawful basis for processing of the personal information is that you have given consent to collect personal data in the declaration section of the application form;

To update the Public Appointments Database which holds: a) details of public appointments to public bodies to assist in the administration of the public appointments process, and for responding to Assembly/Parliamentary Questions, requests for information under access to information legislation, and other enquiries; and b) equal Opportunities monitoring information (provided voluntarily), and details of applicants’ progress through the public appointments competition process for analysis by Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) staff based in TEO. This information is used to research and monitor diversity in public appointments, and an anonymised composite analysis is published in a public appointment’s reports | The Executive Office (executiveofficeni.gov.uk) which is available to the public;

It is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation. The relevant legislation particular to each public body is as follows:

Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners
The Londonderry Harbour Order (Northern Ireland) 2002

Warrenpoint Harbour Authority
The Warrenpoint Harbour Order (Northern Ireland) 2002

Belfast Harbour Commissioners
The Belfast Harbour Order (Northern Ireland) 2002

Northern Ireland Water
Water and Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006

Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (Translink)
Transport Act (Northern Ireland) 1967

The Drainage Council
Drainage (Northern Ireland) Order 1973

What categories of personal data are you processing?

• Name and contact details for the purposes of carrying out the competition processes.
• For monitoring purposes, the categories of personal data we are interested in include: your national insurance number (to use as an anonymous tracker of your journey throughout the appointment process); your gender, date of birth; community background; disability; race; language; sexual orientation; marital status; dependants; employment history; and educational attainment.

Where do you get my personal data from?

• We gather the information through your completion of an application form and a separate monitoring form.

Do you share my personal data with anyone else?

• We share your monitoring information with the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. This information is provided in the strictest confidence and analysed independently by NISRA staff for statistical purposes only. We also may share information with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments NI on request for the purposes of them auditing the Department’s competition process.

How long do you keep my personal data?

• We will only retain your data in line with our Retention and Disposal Schedule which is currently five years from the competition closure date.

What rights do I have?

• You have the right to obtain confirmation that your data is being processed, and access to your personal data
• You are entitled to have personal data rectified if it is inaccurate or incomplete
• You have a right to have personal data erased and to prevent processing, in specific circumstances
• You have the right to ‘block’ or suppress processing of personal data, in specific circumstances
• You have the right to data portability, in specific circumstances
• You have the right to object to the processing, in specific circumstances.

How do I complain if I am not happy?

If you are unhappy with how any aspect of this privacy notice, or how your personal information is being processed, please contact the Departmental Data Protection Officer at the address above.

If you are still not happy, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):

• Tel: 0303 123 1113
• Email: casework@ico.org.uk
• Website: https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/

Last updated June 2024