Open call for evidence

Call for evidence: UK-Morocco procurement agreement

Published 24 August 2026

Privacy notice

This notice sets out your rights with respect to how we will use your personal data. The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST) as the data controller recognises that it has a duty to people whose information it holds to:

• treat that information responsibly
• keep it safe and secure
• process it correctly and proportionately

This privacy notice broadly explains:

• what information we collect
• the purpose for processing
• categories of personal information
• who we may share it with

Purpose

The government is committed to an ambitious, transparent, and inclusive UK trade policy that takes account of the views of all sectors of society and international stakeholders, including:

• the general public
• devolved governments and the regions
• businesses
• civil society groups
• consumers
• associations
• any other interested stakeholders

We are running a call for evidence on negotiating a new treaty chapter on government procurement within the pre-existing UK-Morocco association agreement. This will run from 24 August 2026 to 18 September 2026.

The personal information received in response to this call for evidence will be processed for the purposes of obtaining the opinions of members of the public and representatives of businesses and other organisations about the matters referred to in the call for evidence exercise.

In addition, we use your personal data to help us identify any responses from bots or other fraudulent sources, so we can maintain the integrity of the consultation exercise. We may also use your contact details to get in touch with you about your response or other trade-related issues, where this is necessary for our public engagement work or as part of follow up work.

Personal information may also be collected for statistical purposes. For example, to understand the types of individuals and groups that participate in the engagement exercise. We may also use your contact details to remove your response if you ask us to do so. For longer form responses, we may use BIST approved AI software to help summarise and identify patterns in the responses. Personal data will be redacted from texts submitted to AI software.

Legal basis for processing your data

Your data will be stored securely with restricted access to the original data and a pseudonymised version. We process your personal data under Article 6(1)(e) UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) because it is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest consulting on trade policy.

In this case, the task will include:

• designing an effective trade agreement
• ensuring that the UK’s policy with regards to negotiations captures the views of its stakeholders
• enabling BIST to follow up on the points raised in the engagement exercise if you grant consent

Your personal data

The mandatory information that we’ll be collecting as part of the engagement exercise are:

• name (first name and surname)
• contact details (business)
• internet protocol (IP) address
• job title
• membership of any trade bodies or professional organisations
• information about your dealings with BIST
• name of the organisation or business you represent (if any), and area of sectoral expertise

This is so we can identify those stakeholders that have taken part in the engagement exercise, allowing us to best understand which sections of the public and businesses or organisations are interested in the trade negotiations. It also allows us to avoid duplication if a response is submitted several times, and to follow up with you if consent is granted. IP addresses are collected to prevent fraud. Some questions are optional and can be skipped.

How we may share your information

Your personal data will be actively used for analysis and reporting for up to 2 to 3 years, with access to identifiable data restricted to a limited number of officials in the BIST trade group and economic security and trade relations teams, and authorised UK government analysts and lawyers working directly on this call for evidence.

After this 2 to 3 year period, personal identifiers will be removed, and the data will be pseudonymised. Pseudonymised data will be retained for up to 5 to 7 years for audit, accountability and research purposes, with access strictly limited. Data will not be kept for longer than necessary, and in any event, no more than 10 years, in line with BIST’s retention schedule. At no point will pseudonymised data be used to identify individuals except where strictly necessary for legal or audit purposes, and only by those with authorised access. Pseudonymised data is still personal data and will be handled as per our guidelines and as set out in this notice.

Your personal data will be processed and shared within BIST and with selected third parties. Your data will be pseudonymised with sequential reference numbers before being shared. Your data will not be shared outside the UK.

We may share personal data you provide with:

• Qualtrics: our data processor
• other government departments, including but not limited to: Department for Transport; HM Revenue and Customs; HM Treasury; Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (pseudonymised data only)
• UK government officials working overseas in Morocco: data transferred overseas will be done so lawfully on the basis of existing country-country adequacy assessments or with appropriate safeguards in place
• specialist organisations within government (including the Office for National Statistics) and externally to process the data to provide an aggregated assessment of responses
• a court, tribunal or party where the disclosure is necessary in order to exercise, establish or defend a legal claim

Aggregated analysis of responses may be shared with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA), the National Audit Office (NAO) and central government departments. Should there be a requirement to share your personal data with other third parties not included in this list, you will be notified beforehand via a revised privacy notice.

We will not:

• sell or rent your data to third parties
• share your data with third parties for marketing purposes

We will also share your data if we are required to do so by law or regulation. For example, by court order, or to prevent fraud or other crime.

How long we will retain your information

Only authorised BIST staff and our data processor (Qualtrics) will access your identifiable data. Before sharing with other government departments or specialist organisations, your data will be pseudonymised so you cannot be directly identified. This approach protects your privacy and ensures data is only shared when necessary. If we need to share your data with others not listed here, we will update this notice first. We will retain your personal data only for as long as it is needed and up to 10 years to fulfil the purposes outlined in this notice or as required by law, including any legal, accounting, or reporting obligations.

Your rights and access to your information

You have the right to request a copy of the personal data that we hold about you. The DPA also gives you additional rights that refer to how BIST holds and uses your information.

Consequently, under certain circumstances, by law you have the right to:

• raise an objection to how your data is processed
• withdraw consent and the right to object and restrict further processing of your data – however, where legally enforceable this may affect the service, we are able to provide to you
• request to have your data deleted where there is no compelling reason for its continued processing and provided that there are no legitimate grounds for retaining it
• request your data to be rectified if it is inaccurate or incomplete
• not be subject to automated decision-making, including profiling
• request details about how your personal data is processed and to request a copy of your personal data

Identity and contact details

BIST is registered as a data controller under GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA).

Our contact details are:

Data Protection Officer
Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade
Old Admiralty Building
Admiralty Place London
United Kingdom 
SW1A 2DY

Email: data.protection@businessandtrade.gov.uk

You have a right to complain to us if you think we have not complied with our obligation for handling your personal information. You can contact our Data Protection Officer using the same contact.

If you are not satisfied with the BIST response, you have a right to complain to the ICO. You can also submit a complaint to the ICO at:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF 

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

For more information about your rights under the DPA, or to request a copy of any data held about you, please contact data.protection@businessandtrade.gov.uk.

Confidentiality statement

We may need to share your information if the law requires it, but we will do our best to keep it confidential. Information provided whilst contributing to this call for evidence, including personal data, may be published or disclosed in accordance with access to information regimes. These primarily would be the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR), and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA).

If you want the information you provide to be treated confidentially, please be aware that, in accordance with the FOIA and EIR, public authorities are required to comply with a statutory regime and code of practice which deals, amongst other things, with obligations of confidence. In view of this, it would be helpful if you could state, using the opportunity provided in the call for evidence, which information in your response you would like to be treated as confidential and explain the reason for your request (for example, due to reasons of commercial sensitivity. If the information is commercially sensitive, please explain why that is the case.

If we receive a request for disclosure of information that has been provided, we will take full account of your explanation, but we cannot give an assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances. BIST relies on public task for running public engagement exercises like this. By answering these questions, you are consenting to collection of your personal data and to receiving optional follow-up communications from BIST for the purposes of this call for evidence exercise. This includes the data being shared with other UK government departments as necessary to complete this call for evidence exercise. Any details of this call for evidence published will not include any personal identifiable details.

Call for evidence questions

Personal information

Have you read and do you accept the conditions for the collection of personal data laid out in the privacy notice and obtained consent from the organisation you represent for BIST to gather their response as outlined by the BIST privacy notice? Please note that your consent will be required for this question in order to continue. [yes/no]

Do you consent for the voluntary information you provide in this call for evidence to be used as part of any government published response? [yes/no]

Do you consent for BIST or organisations working on their behalf, to contact you about wider trade policy and related developments? [yes/no]

Provide your first name and surname. This information is mandatory, please see the privacy notice and confidentiality statement for reasons why this information is needed. Please do not include any personal information about other people in your response.

Provide your email address. This information is mandatory, please see the privacy notice and confidentiality statement for reasons why this information is needed. Please do not include any personal information about other people in your response.

Who are you responding as? Tick the option that best applies:

• an individual: you are responding with your personal views, rather than as an official representative of a business, business association, or other organisation
• non-governmental organisation: in an official capacity as a representative of a non-governmental organisation, trade union, academic institution, or other organisation
• public sector body: in an official capacity as a representative of a devolved administration, local government organisation, public service provider, or other public sector body in the UK or elsewhere
• business: in an official capacity with the views of an individual business
• business association
• other

Is your business a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME)? [yes/no]

Question 1

Do you currently have, or have you previously had, any interest in bidding for government procurement contracts in Morocco? Provide any relevant details or examples, including experiences of participating in, considering, or choosing not to pursue procurement opportunities in the Moroccan market.

Question 2

What priorities would you like a UK-Morocco government procurement agreement (GPA) to focus on? If you do not have any priorities in these markets, please say N/A.

Question 3

What government procurement-related challenges or market access barriers have you experienced, or believe may affect your ability or willingness to participate in the Moroccan procurement market? Provide examples or evidence where possible. If none, please say N/A.

Question 4

Identify any businesses or organisations you represent that have an interest in the Moroccan government procurement market? Where possible, indicate the nature of that interest. If not, please say N/A.

Question 5

Is there anything else you would like to share about the government procurement market in Morocco, or about access to this market for UK businesses? If not, please say N/A.