Disability Service Privacy Notice

This privacy notice explains:

• who we are
• how and why we collect and use personal information about you
• what personal data is collected and held about you in the Disability Service’s database
• our purposes and lawful bases for processing
• who we share your personal data with
• how long we keep your information
• how you can exercise your privacy rights

This notice provides information in addition to the University’s Student Privacy Notice. Please read it and if you have any questions contact us using the details provided.

Who we are

Throughout this notice, “University”, “we”, “our” and “us” refer to the Manchester Metropolitan University, an exempt charity under Schedule 2 to the Charities Act 1993 (amended by the Charities Act 2011). The University is the Data Controller in respect of the personal data you provide as part of using our Disability Service.

The University is registered as a data controller with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). We manage personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the University’s Data Protection Policy.

The personal data we process

Information about disability is special category personal data processed by the University in accordance with its Data Protection Policy and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)

The University has a duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make “reasonable adjustments” for disabled students. In order to assess whether it is appropriate to make these adjustments and/or the nature of the adjustments to be made, the Disability Service will collate and process the following types of data:

• The information you provided when you made first contact with us (whether in person, by telephone, email or any other form of communication)
• The information you provided when you completed the Disability Service consent form
• A record of each contact we have had with you (whether in person or otherwise, scheduled appointment, drop-in or other), including short notes about each contact
• Information you supply about your disability/medical condition
• Medical evidence of a disability or medical condition
• Educational psychologist assessment reports
• Correspondence with funding bodies
• Other relevant correspondence and reports

What is the purpose and lawful basis of the processing?

Collecting and processing information from you in order to effectively deliver support 

• Confirmation that you are a student
• Registration with the Disability Service
• Identification of support and adjustments required and communicate these to other services and departments within the University. This is usually via a personal learning plan (PLP)
• Making disclosures to other university services and academic departments
• Making a record of each contact we have with you, whether in person, telephone, email or other means
• Carrying out any administration relating to your contact with the Disability Service

Lawful basis: Legal obligation

Under the Equality Act 2010 we are obliged to consider reasonable adjustments and offer support on the grounds on health and disability.

Sharing information with external parties where it is necessary in relation to your disability support 

• Professional bodies and external assessors in respect of adjustments for assessment
• Funding bodies, assessment centres and support providers, if you apply for disabled students’ allowances
• Other named external professionals involved in your disability-related care and support with your prior agreement
• Information about your disability and your support requirements/arrangements will only be shared or discussed with your parents/guardians with your written consent

Lawful basis: Consent

We make these disclosures as per your consent and instructions.

Handling complaints and obtaining feedback on the service you have received

• Handling any complaints you may have so that we can improve our business
• Invite you to provide feedback on our service and participate in surveys

Lawful basis: Legitimate interests

 We process personal data for these purposes in ways which you would reasonably expect and which we believe have minimal privacy impact.

In the event of significant concerns for your immediate safety or wellbeing 

• Making disclosures to third parties, who we believe may be able to assist, in exceptional circumstances, such as significant concern for immediate safety or welfare
• Protecting your vital interests, or those of another party, in exceptional circumstances and emergencies

Lawful basis: Vital interests

In the event of significant concerns for your immediate safety or wellbeing we may contact others who may be in a position to support you, typically your emergency or trusted contact. We would always seek to discuss this course of action with you but if our concerns are for your immediate safety or wellbeing, we may do so without your consent.

Undertaking equality and diversity monitoring

• Undertake equality and diversity monitoring of users of our services to seek to ensure they are accessible to all our student population

Lawful basis: Data Protection Act 2018 Schedule 1, Part 2 – s8

Necessary for the purposes of identifying or keeping under review the existence or absence of equality of opportunity or treatment.

The right to withdraw consent

Where we have collected and processed your personal information with your consent (as outlined above), you can withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawing your consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing we conducted prior to your withdrawal, nor will it affect processing of your personal information conducted in reliance on lawful processing grounds other than consent. Withdrawal of consent may adversely affect the level of support or adjustments that the University or placement providers can offer. If you have any concerns about this or would like to discuss the consequences of disclosing or withholding information, speak to a disability adviser. You can withdraw your consent by writing to [email protected] stating your name, your student ID number and in the e-mail subject state: Withdrawal of Consent.

Data retention

Your personal data will only be retained for as long as it is necessary in accordance with the University’s Retention and Disposal Schedule. Specifically, we will retain your Disability Service personal data for a period of six years after our last contact with you, or one year if you are an applicant who does not subsequently enrol at the University, after which it will be deleted unless we are required to continue to retain this information due to ongoing legal proceedings.

Your rights in respect of the processing

The GDPR provides data subjects with the following data subject rights:

• The right to be informed – this privacy notice assists with fulfilling these obligations
• The right of access
• The right to rectification
• The right to erasure
• The right to restrict processing
• The right to data portability
• The right to object

Please note, that these rights apply in certain circumstances, for example according to the lawful basis utilised by the University. The right of access to personal information held about you exists in order to be aware of, and verify, the lawfulness of the processing. To exercise these rights please write to: [email protected]

How to contact us

For questions or concerns about this privacy notice or how we store and use your personal information, please contact [email protected] in the first instance.

Our Data Protection Officer can also be contacted by email at [email protected], by calling 0161 247 3331 or in writing to: Data Protection Officer, Legal Services, All Saints Building, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, M15 6BH.

Right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority

You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as the supervisory authority in respect of the processing of your personal data. We would encourage you to use our internal complaints procedure through our initial contact and the University Data Protection Officer, prior to contacting the ICO. If you wish to contact the ICO, the following contact information can be used: [email protected] or telephone: 0303 123 1113. For any further information please visit the ICO’s contacts page.

Updates to this privacy notice

We may update this privacy notice from time to time in response to changing legal, technical or business developments. When we update our privacy notice, we will take appropriate measures to inform you, consistent with the significance of the changes we make. We will obtain your consent to any material privacy notice changes if and where this is required by applicable data protection laws.

This privacy notice was last updated on: 20 October 2023