Privacy notices

We are committed to protecting your privacy when you use our services. We have a Data Protection Officer who makes sure we respect your rights and follow data protection law. Email us if you have any concerns or questions about how we look after your personal information.

Email: dataprotection@luton.gov.uk. 

This notice explains how Luton Council uses your personal information in relation to the digital user research panel. Joining the panel and taking part in any research activity is voluntary. Your involvement in the panel will not affect any other service you receive from the council.  

Personal data

We process information about residents who volunteer to join the digital user research panel. Processing covers everything we do with your information, including collecting, storing, accessing, using, sharing, anonymising and deleting it. The information we collect will be the minimum we need to achieve our purposes. By joining the Digital user research panel, you agree that Luton Borough Council may contact you about user research opportunities. 

If you choose to take part in a research activity, we may use the information you share during that activity to help improve council websites, online forms and digital services. This may include your feedback, comments, responses, information visible during screen sharing, observations made during the session, notes taken by researchers, and research findings produced from the session

Information used to manage the panel

When you join the panel, we collect:

• first name
• last name
• email address
• a record of your agreement to be contacted about user research opportunities

We receive this information directly from you when you complete the digital user research panel form.

Information generated during user research

If you choose to take part in a research activity, we may also collect:

• your feedback, comments and responses
• how you browse and navigate using our the council website, an online form or another digital service during the user research session
• a video or audio recording, if you separately agree to recording
• a written transcript of the session, if you separately agree to transcription
• notes made during the session if it is not recorded or transcribed

If we want to record and/or transcribe a session, we will ask if you agree to this at the start of the session and will only switch them on if you agree. You can choose to keep your camera off during sessions that take place online.

Each research activity may be different. We will explain what the activity involves when we send you the invitation. You can choose whether to take part, whether to have your camera on, whether to share your screen, and what information you share. 

Please do not share passwords, payment details, security information or unrelated personal information during a research session. 

Taking part is voluntary. You can leave the panel or choose not to take part at any time, and your decision will not affect any other council service you receive.

Special category data

We will not normally ask you to disclose special category data. However, if you volunteer this information during a session, it may be captured in notes, a recording or a transcript. Where this information is not needed for the research purpose, we will delete or anonymise it where possible.

Purpose for using your information

We use your personal data to:

• register and maintain you as a member of the Digital user research panel
• record and update your consent, including consent for recording or transcription where relevant
• contact you about research opportunities and activities
• identify issues or common themes across Luton Council’s websites, online forms and digital services, and make them clearer, more accessible and easier to use, using feedback, testing and other research findings
• produce anonymised research notes, summaries, findings and recommendations

Lawful basis 

We rely on your consent to process your personal data.

If you volunteer special category data during a research session, and it is captured in notes, a recording or transcript, we will rely on your explicit consent.

You can withdraw consent in full or in part at any time by emailing the Digital Platform team or telling us during a session. If you withdraw your consent to be on the panel, we will remove you from the panel and will not send you further invites. 

Email: DigitalPlatformTeam@luton.gov.uk

Withdrawal of consent will not affect how we used your information before you withdrew consent.

Withdrawal of consent or refusing to take part in all or some of the activities will not affect any other council service you receive. 

Who we share it with 

We will not normally share your personal data outside authorised Luton Council staff involved in the research.

Research sessions, recordings, transcripts and notes may be processed within the council’s approved Microsoft 365 environment, including Microsoft Teams where this is used to run or manage the research activity. Our version of Microsoft Copilot comes under our enterprise data protection and firewalled application. It may be used to assist with summarising notes or transcripts, identifying recurring themes, organising research observations, and preparing draft anonymised findings. The Digital Platform team will review and check any output before the information is used within our enterprise protected environment.

Automated decision making and profiling

We do not use your personal data for automated decision-making or profiling.

Transfer of data to another country 

The council uses approved Microsoft 365 services, including Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Copilot, within its managed environment. Where any personal data is processed outside the UK, this will only be done where appropriate safeguards are in place in line with UK data protection law.

Retention period 

Luton Council will only keep your personal data for as long as it is required to fulfil the purpose it was collected for or for as long as is required by legislation. 

We will keep your panel membership details for as long as you remain on the digital user research panel. If you leave the panel, we will delete your membership details within 30 days, unless we need to keep them for longer to deal with a query, complaint or legal requirement. The information you share with us including feedback, transcript, recordings will not include personal data. Recording will be kept for as long as the nature of the user research session supports. You can contact the Digital Platform team for further specific information. Anonymised findings may be kept for longer because they no longer identify you.

Email: DigitalPlatformTeam@luton.gov.uk

Recordings, transcripts and identifiable research notes will be kept for two years. 

Exercising your rights

You have rights under data protection law, including the right to ask for a copy of your personal data, ask us to correct inaccurate information, ask us to delete your information, restrict how it is used, object to certain processing, and ask for your data to be transferred where this applies.  As this processing is based on consent, you also have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

Date of notice

This notice was last updated on 25 September 2026.