Personal information charter
This sets out the standards you can expect from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) when we collect, hold or use your personal information.
DSIT is the data controller for the personal data described in our privacy notices. A data controller determines how and why personal data is processed.
We will follow all applicable data protection laws in how we treat your personal information.
Your rights
When DSIT collects, holds, uses or processes your personal information, you have a right to be told:
- what the data is being used for
- why we’re legally able to process your data (also called the ‘lawful basis for processing’)
- how long we will keep your data
- who we will share it with
- whether it will be transferred or accessed outside the UK or EU, and what legal protection it will have
- who our Data Protection Officer is
- about any rights you have, including the right to access your information or to object to its being used
- about your right to complain to the Information Commissioner if you feel that your personal information has been mishandled
You are also entitled to have your personal information:
- protected and kept secure
- kept accurate and up to date
- not used for purposes which are incompatible with those for which it was collected
- kept only for as long as it is needed for the purpose for which it was collected (unless it must be kept as part of the historic record)
DSIT privacy notices
These privacy notices explain in more detail how we will handle your data in specific circumstances:
- writing to the department
- responding to a consultation
- making a request for information
- Applying for the Knowledge Assets Grant Fund
- Call for views on cyber governance
- Conformity Assessment Body Service
- Contributing to the Research, development and innovation (RDI) organisational landscape review
- Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2026-2028 external user-engagement exercise
- Cyber security breaches survey - 2025 fieldwork
- Flexible AI Upskilling Fund - businesses
- Flexible AI Upskilling Fund - training providers
- National Security Online Information Team
- Participating in the Counter-Disinformation Unit open source information collection and analysis exercise
- Participating in the Cyber Security Longitudinal Survey
- Participating in the Research and innovation (R&I) workforce survey wave 2
- Participating in the Publicly Funded Research and Innovation Organisation survey
- Register of digital identity and attribute services
- Science and Technology Venture Capital Fellowship
- Software security call for views
- Spin-out founder survey
- Subscribing to the Technology Sector mailing list
- Working with the Research Collaboration Advice Team (RCAT)
- UK Innovation Diffusion and Adoption Survey (UKIDAS) 2024
How to request your personal data
You can contact us to get a copy of any personal information we hold about you. This is called a subject access request (SAR).
Make a subject access request:
DSIT Data Protection Officer
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
22-26 Whitehall
London
SW1A 2EG
Please provide as much information as possible about the data you want to access.
We aim to respond to requests within 1 month, although more complex requests may take longer.
How to contact the Data Protection Officer
Contact our Data Protection Officer (DPO) with any concerns about how we or our services handle your personal information.
The DPO is responsible for independent advice and monitoring how DSIT uses personal information.
DSIT Data Protection Officer
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
22-26 Whitehall
London
SW1A 2EG
Independent advice on data protection and privacy
Contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for independent advice about data protection, privacy and data-sharing issues.
Contact the ICO: