The impact of the Health in Pregnancy Grant
The impact of the Health in Pregnancy Grant - Privacy Notice
For this project, we have access to maternity-related health data of women in England who gave birth from 6 April 2006 to 16 April 2014 inclusively. All records have been stripped of names and addresses and other non-essential information. However, this is sensitive and patient-confidential information that requires careful handling and respect at all times. Privacy details can be found below.
Data Controller: London School of Economics
Main Project Contact: Dr Kitty Stewart. Email: k.j.stewart@lse.ac.uk. Address: London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, WC2A 2AE. Telephone: 020 7955 7343
Data Protection Officer: Rachael Maguire. Email: r.e.maguire@lse.ac.uk. Address: London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, WC2A 2AE. Telephone: 020 7849 4622
Personal data obtained: record-level maternity-related Hospital Episode Statistics from NHS Digital, including week of birth of the baby, gestational age, maternal age, birthweight, ethnicity, and geographical Lower Super Output Area of mother’s residence. For a full list of variables, please contact the Main Project Contact.
Purpose and legal basis of processing: Our request to process the HES data is made on the legal basis outlined in the GDPR, Article 6(e) and Article 9(2)(j). That is, we believe our research establishes a task in the public interest, as it is undertaken within the London School of Economics, and as such the data is necessary for the university to fulfil its function in the public interest (Article 6(e)). We consider this project to be a task in the public interest due to the potential societal implications of the policy being evaluated and what amounts to a significant use of public funds, as well as the fact that it is impossible to analyse impact on prematurity without this data. In terms of processing special category data, the legal basis is Article 9(2)(j) - that is, the research is conducted for archival, research or statistical purposes that are in the public interest. The researchers have agreed to respect the right to data protection at all times, and will carry out suitable and specific measures to safeguard the fundamental rights and the interests of the data subject, including ensuring non-disclosive output and the maintenance of data protection measures when using the data.
Data retention: Data will be retained for no more than 18 months after the analysis is complete, so that in response to any critiques or peer-review with our research, we can make the necessary adaptations. At the end of this period, the data will be deleted from the server. This will be done using specialist software Eraser, which will securely remove the data using overwriting techniques. Then at the end of the hardware's usable life all storage drives that have held the data will be removed and degaussed using a National Cyber Security Centre approved device, before being sent for disposal.
No record-level data will be shared beyond the research team or with any third parties or international organisations. Aggregate findings will be published in a submission to a peer-reviewed academic journal.
NHS Digital has a legal responsibility to collect data about NHS services. More information on the national data opt-out option can be found on the NHS website. Individuals are not under a statutory or contractual obligation to provide this data, as the data is not collected from the individuals it relates to. Opting out of this specific study, however, is not possible since the data we use is pseudonymised. No automated decision-making or profiling will be conducted with this data.
If you think your data has been used in this research and you have reason to believe it has been used inappropriately, you have a legal right to complain to the ICO by contacting them via their website, or by calling 0303 123 1113.