Disability Service: Data Protection and Confidentiality

We also outline confidentiality and any limits to this.

Goldsmiths Disability Service is committed to collecting and using personal information that you provide in accordance with applicable Data Protection and Privacy laws, including the Data Protection Act (2018) and the GDPR.

What personal data we collect and why

The College collects some information which is classed as Sensitive Personal Data or Special Category Data, which includes six of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, these include Age (from your date of birth), Disability, Ethnicity, Religion and Belief, Sex, and Sexual Orientation.

These categories are optional - any data provided helps us to monitor our equality of opportunity commitment to users of the service.  

In addition, we collect the following information when you apply for support from the Disability and Inclusion Service.

• Medical or diagnostic evidence which is required to register with the service and once you provide this to us, it is securely in the teams’ file. This is not shared outside of Support Services Teams without your prior consent and only use to inform the support that you will receive from us
• We also ask you to outline the some of the support and adjustments that you may need whilst studying with us and  the support that you may have had in the past.  This will help to inform the support we offer and to draft your Reasonable Adjustments Support Agreement (RASA)
• The Disability Adviser you meet at appointments or during drop-in will have access to all of the details you have provided when registering your disability with us. Once you have met with a member of the team, case notes will be made and kept on our secure database

Storing and retaining your records within Goldsmiths Disability Service

All information you provide, as well as brief records of interactions with the service, will be stored on our secure database (which is password protected with two factor authentication)

Your information will be retained for seven years. Following this period, all information other than your identifying details and date of contact with the service will be securely destroyed.

Disclosure of your information

Goldsmiths Disability Service takes confidentiality very seriously. 

When drawing up your RASA, we ask you to consent for the information it contains to be shared with the relevant Goldsmiths department and professional service who need to know the adjustments that you require in order to implement them.  

We would not disclose or discuss any notes or information you have provided us with Goldsmiths staff who are not involved in delivering your support/adjustments, nor would we confirm that you are accessing support from the Disability Service to with other Goldsmiths staff outside the Disability Service, unless sharing some of this information is vital for you to access additional support.

In those instances, we will always try to inform you of the need to disclose further information and of the people we need to disclose it to.

However, where there is significant welfare or safeguarding concerns, we may need to disclose information about you outside of the parameters set up above.

We may need to disclose information under other the following legal requirements duties relating to the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1971; or for the prevention, detection or prosecution of a serious crime (e.g. rape, murder, manslaughter, treason or kidnapping) under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.

In such situations, we would ideally seek your consent, but where immediate action is required (to save a life for example) we may notify emergency or outside services such as the Police, Ambulance Services or Social Services.

Your Rights

Where we rely on your consent to process information relating to your disability and support requirements, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. 

However, in such cases the College would be limited in the support it is able to offer. 

Under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation you have a right to a copy of the current personal information held on you by the University. 

For more information or requests, or if you have any questions, please contact the data protection officer. Email: dp (@gold.ac.uk). 

You can also visit the Information Commissioner’s website for further information and advice on your rights under both the Data Protection Act and the General Data Protection Regulation. Please see www.ico.org.uk for further details.

---

Contact the Disability and Inclusion Service or make and appointment