Last updated: 29 November 2023

Next review: 29 November 2024

Who we are and what we do

Waltham Forest Council is delivering a Citizens’ Assembly on the Future of Neighbourhood Policing in partnership with the Metropolitan Police Service.

Within the Council, this project is being championed by the Neighbourhoods and Environment Directorate (NED). NED are responsible for numerous neighbourhood projects, including community safety and the establishment of 15-minute neighbourhoods. 

Waltham Forest Council is working with several partner organisations to run the Citizens’ Assembly. These organisations include:

  • Sortition Foundation: responsible for contacting and recruiting residents for the Citizens’ Assembly;
  • The Involve Foundation: responsible for liaising with residents selected for the Citizens’ Assembly to determine any personal requirements; and
  • Neighbourly Lab: responsible for conducting research with residents on community safety.

If you have questions regarding this service or our privacy practices, you can contact us by e-mail or in writing at the address below:

Neighbourhoods and Environment Directorate

Waltham Forest Council
Waltham Forest Town Hall
Forest Road
Walthamstow
E17 4JF

Information we hold about you

As part of the recruitment and research process, our partner organisations are engaging with residents and will be processing some personal data. The only data that will be shared with the Council is the first names of residents who have been selected to take part in the Citizens’ Assembly. Residents will be provided with name badges listing their first names on the days of the Citizens’ Assembly.

No other personal data will be shared with the Council.

Our partner organisations may ask you for any of the following details:

  • Full name
  • Contact details
  • Date of birth
  • Sex
  • Ethnicity
  • Whether you are a member of the LGBTQ+ community
  • Bank account details to make payments
  • Feelings about policing and community safety
  • Any access requirements
  • Any personal requirements, such as religious or dietary requirements 

Why we need your information and how we use it

Your responses will help to ensure that the composition of the Citizens’ Assembly reflects the makeup of Waltham Forest. 

Your responses about policing and community safety will help to inform the research provided to the Citizens’ Assembly. The research partner will anonymise any data before presenting it to the Citizens’ Assembly.

Your response about your personal requirements will help to ensure that you are comfortable at the Citizens’ Assembly. It will enable us to make any accommodations in advance.

The Lawful basis for the processing

Our partner organisations are processing data based on consent. You will be provided with the opportunity to consent before sharing any of your data. You are able to withdraw this consent at any point. You can withdraw your consent by contacting the relevant organisation you are engaging with, whether that is the Council, the Involve Foundation, the Sortition Foundation or Neighbourly Lab.

Who your information will be shared with (if applicable)

Our partner organisations will not share any raw data with the Council or the Metropolitan Police Service.

If you have been selected to take part in the Citizens’ Assembly, then The Involve Foundation will ask for your personal details. Only The Involve Foundation will know your full name and contact details.

The Involve Foundation will share only your first name with the Council. They will not share any other details. To facilitate discussions and connections between assembly members on the day of the event the Council will provide you with a name badge, which will display your first name. The Council (and Metropolitan Police) will not know your surname. 

If you are taking part in research, Neighbourly Lab will ask for your personal details. Neighbourly Lab will not share this data with the Council, the Metropolitan Police Service, or any other organisation. Information that you provide will be conveyed to the assembly in an anonymised format. 

How long we will keep your information

Data will be retained for up to one year after the Citizens’ Assembly.

If you would like your individual data to be deleted before this date, then please contact us.

Our Data Protection Officer

Our Data Protection Officer is Mark Hynes, you contact him by email at data.protectionofficer@walthamforest.gov.uk

Protecting your information

Please see the relevant section of the Corporate Privacy Notice.

Your information choice and rights

Please see the relevant section of the Corporate Privacy Notice.

Complaints and contact details

These are included in the relevant section of the Corporate Privacy Notice.

Information Commissioner’s Office

If we’re unable to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)