Privacy Policy

Privacy Notice

Information About Us

The Mary Lyon Centre at MRC Harwell (MLC) are part of the Medical Research Council (MRC), which is one of the seven Research Councils that form part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).  Please also refer to the UKRI Privacy Notice https://www.ukri.org/about-us/privacy-notice/. 

The UKRI is a data controller for the personal data we process, unless otherwise stated.  The UKRI is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office with the registration number ZA 333592.  The UKRI registered office is Polaris House, Swindon SN2 1FL, and our Data Protection Officer is David Hyett.  Our DPO can be contacted via dataprotection@ukri.org.

Data Protection at the MLC at MRC Harwell

The MLC, (‘we’, ‘our’ and ‘us’), understands that your privacy is important to you and that you care about how your personal data is used. We respect and value the privacy of all our visitors, clients, students, funders, partners, suppliers, and website visitors.  This Privacy Notice lets you know what happens to any personal data that you give to us, or any that we may collect from or about you.  We will only collect and use personal data in ways that are described here, and in a way that is consistent with our obligations and your rights under the law.

What Does This Notice Cover?

This Privacy Information explains how we use your personal data: how it is collected, how it is held, and how it is processed. It also explains your rights under the law relating to your personal data.

What Is Personal Data?

Personal data is defined by the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 (collectively, “the Data Protection Legislation”) as ‘any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified by reference to an identifier’.

Personal data is, in simpler terms, any information about you that enables you to be identified. Personal data covers obvious information such as your name and contact details, but it also covers less obvious information such as identification numbers, electronic location data, and other online identifiers.

What Are My Rights?

Under the Data Protection Legislation, you have the following rights, which we will always work to uphold:

  1. The right to be informed about our collection and use of your personal data. This Privacy Notice should tell you everything you need to know, but you can always contact us to find out more or to ask any questions using the contact details at the end of this policy.
  2. The right to access the personal data we hold about you.
  3. The right to have your personal data rectified if any of your personal data held by us are inaccurate or incomplete.
  4. The right to be forgotten, i.e., the right to ask us to delete or otherwise dispose of any of your personal data that we hold.
  5. The right to restrict (i.e., prevent) the processing of your personal data.
  6. The right to object to us using your personal data for a particular purpose or purposes.
  7. The right to withdraw consent. This means that, if we are relying on your consent as the legal basis for using your personal data, you are free to withdraw that consent at any time.
  8. The right to data portability. This means that, if you have provided personal data to us directly, we are using it with your consent or for the performance of a contract, and that data is processed using automated means, you can ask us for a copy of that personal data to re-use with another service or business in many cases.
  9. Rights relating to automated decision-making and profiling. We do not use your personal data in this way.

For more information about our use of your personal data or exercising your rights as outlined above, please contact us.

It is important that your personal data is kept accurate and up to date. If any of the personal data we hold about you changes, please keep us informed if we have that data.

If you have any cause for complaint about our use of your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office. We would welcome the opportunity to resolve your concerns ourselves, however, so please contact the Mary Lyon Centre (MLC) Data Protection Team using the details provided at the end of this notice.

What Personal Data Do You Collect and How?

We may collect and hold some or all the personal and non-personal data set out in the table below, using the methods also set out in the table. We do not collect any data relating to criminal convictions and/or offences.

Data Collected How We Collect the Data
Identity Information including title, full name.When you visit the MLC. When you register for one of our ADVANCE training courses. When you sign up for our newsletter. When you make an enquiry to us. When we partner or collaborate with you on a funding/grant application
Contact information including email address(es), address, telephone number(s), and mobile number.When you visit the MLC. When you register for one of our ADVANCE training courses. When we perform a service for you. When you sign up for our newsletter. When you make an enquiry to us. When you correspond with us. When we partner or collaborate with you on a funding/grant application When you apply or are invited to attend a meeting, workshop or conference organised by us.
Organisation information including organisation name (e.g., school, institute, business) organisation address, organisation, telephone number, job title, and profession.When you visit the MLC. When you register for one of our ADVANCE training courses. When you sign up for our newsletter. When you make an enquiry to us. When we perform a service for you. When we partner or collaborate with you on a funding/grant application. When you apply or are invited to attend a meeting, workshop or conference organised by us.
Payment information including bank account details, and purchase order number(s).When we purchase goods/services from you. When you request payment of expenses (including via the TEATIME e-COST platform).
Profile information including purchase history, shoe size, age (e.g., school children).When you register to attend an event at the MLC. When you register for one of our ADVANCE training courses. When we perform a service for you.
Photographs: may be takenwhich may be used on our websites, marketing material and internal reports and documents. You will be informed that photographs are being taken and will be given the chance to opt out.  When you visit the MLC. When you register for one of our ADVANCE training courses. When you attend a meeting, workshop or conference organised by us. When you come to the MLC as a summer or exchange student or on work experience. When you visit our laboratories.
Health Information including on known allergies, dietary requirements, mobility requirements.When you register for one of our ADVANCE training courses. When you apply or are invited to attend a meeting, workshop or conference organised by us. When you come to the MLC as a summer or exchange student or on work experience. When you visit our laboratories.
Technical information including IP addresses, mac addresses, cookies, and cookie consent.When you visit and interact with our websites.

How Do You Use My Personal Data?

Under the Data Protection Legislation, we must always have a lawful basis for using personal data.  We use your information for the following lawful reasons:

  1. To enter or perform a contract: for example, to deliver the agreed goods and services (such as ADVANCE training courses), to manage any complaints that may arise, to send you an invoice and to answer any queries you may have.
  2. For our legitimate interests: for example, to respond to an enquiry you have made via email or the ‘contact us’ form, to manage any dietary and accessibility requirements, to ensure that content from our websites is presented in the most effective way to you, to manage secure access to our buildings at Harwell and to take group photos of events that you attend to use for marketing and promotional materials.
  3. With your consent: for example, to use cookies to analyse the performance of our website (i.e., Google Analytics) and when you sign up for our newsletter.
  4. To carry out tasks in the public interest laid down by the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 Articles 91, 92 and 93, including alerting you to funding opportunities, managing funding applications, managing access to research services, data and facilities, and to undertake research outcomes collection, monitoring and evaluation.

We will only use your personal data for the purpose(s) for which it was originally collected unless we reasonably believe that another purpose is compatible with that or those original purpose(s) and need to use your personal data for that purpose. If we do use your personal data in this way and you wish us to explain how the new purpose is compatible with the original, please contact us.

If we need to use your personal data for a purpose that is unrelated to, or incompatible with, the purpose(s) for which it was originally collected, we will inform you and explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.

In some circumstances, where permitted or required by law, we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent. This will only be done within the bounds of the Data Protection Legislation and your legal rights.

How Long Will You Keep My Personal Data?

We may retain personal data based upon our business requirements, legal obligations, statutory or regulatory obligations and transaction purposes.  We will not keep your personal data for any longer than is necessary considering the reason(s) for which it was first collected.

If you want to know how long we keep your personal information, please contact the MLC Data Protection Team using the contact details at the end of this notice.

How and Where Do You Store or Transfer My Personal Data?

We are based in the UK, but we also have international representation and work with partners across the globe. 

Where we store some or all your personal data in countries outside of the UK (“third countries”) we will take additional steps to ensure that your personal data is treated just as safely and securely as it would be within the UK and under the Data Protection Legislation as follows:

  • We will only store or transfer personal data in or to countries that are deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for personal data. For further information about adequacy decisions and adequacy regulations, please refer to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
  • We will use specific approved contracts which ensure the same levels of personal data protection that apply under the Data Protection Legislation. For further information, please refer to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

The security of your personal data is essential to us, and to protect your data, we take several important measures, including the following:

  • limiting access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors, and other third parties with a legitimate need to know and ensuring that they are subject to duties of confidentiality.
  • procedures for dealing with data breaches (the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, your personal data) including notifying you and/or the Information Commissioner’s Office where we are legally required to do so.

Do You Share My Personal Data?

We work with third parties who provide services and with partners across the research and innovation system.  Where we use third parties as data processors to deliver, service agreements are in place which address how personal data is managed.  An example of third-party data processors includes UK Shared Business Services (UK SBS), who provide our HR and payroll, finance, procurement, and IT services.

In some limited circumstances, we may be legally required to share certain personal data, which might include yours, if we are involved in legal proceedings or are required to comply with legal obligations, a court order, or the instructions of a government authority.

How Can I Access My Personal Data?

If you want to know what personal data, we have about you, you can ask us for details of that personal data and for a copy of it (where any such personal data is held). This is known as a “subject access request”.

There is not normally any charge for a subject access request. If your request is ‘manifestly unfounded or excessive’ (for example, if you make repetitive requests) a fee may be charged to cover our administrative costs in responding.

We will respond to your subject access request within one month of receiving it. Normally, we aim to provide a complete response, including a copy of your personal data within that time. In some cases, however, particularly if your request is more complex, more time may be required up to a maximum of three months from the date we receive your request. You will be kept fully informed of our progress.

How Do I Contact You?

To contact us about anything to do with your personal data and data protection, including to make a subject access request, please use the following details (for the attention of Data Protection Team at MLC at MRC Harwell):

Email address: GDPR@har.mrc.ac.uk

Postal Address: Mary Lyon Centre, MRC Harwell, Harwell Campus, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RD

Telephone Number: 01235 841000

Changes to this Privacy Notice

We may change this Privacy Notice from time to time. This may be necessary, for example, if the law changes, or if we change our business in a way that affects personal data protection.  This Privacy Notice was last updated on 22nd March 2022.