This privacy notice sets out how Knowsley Council will use the information that we collect about you through your participation in the Huyton Library consultation, whether you respond using a printed postcard or the online survey. It explains how we store this information, who we share it with, and how we keep it safe and confidential. We want you to be confident that your information is kept safe and secure, and for you to understand how and why we use it.
You can decide whether to take part, and how much or how little you wish to say. Most of the information we collect is anonymous. The online survey also gives you the option to leave your name and email address if you would like us to be able to contact you about your response. Giving us these details is entirely optional, and you can take part in full without providing them.
Who will own my data once I submit it?
Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council
What type of information will you be processing?
- When you respond to the consultation, we may process parts of your personal data. Your response may appear to be anonymous, because we do not ask for details such as your date of birth or your address. However, we may be able to identify you indirectly through the combination of answers you provide, and we are required to make you aware of this.
- If you complete the online survey, you can choose to give us your name and email address so that we can contact you about your response. These questions are optional and the survey can be submitted without answering them.
- The postcard does not ask for your name or contact details. It asks only for your answers to the consultation questions.
- Both the postcard and the online survey include open text boxes. When completing these, please do not include personal, sensitive or identifying information about yourself or anyone you know.
Taking part is entirely voluntary. By responding, you are consenting to the information you provide being used for the purposes set out below.
Why do you need my information?
Huyton Library is moving to a new home. As part of the wider regeneration of Huyton Village Centre, the library will relocate to a new community facility on Cavendish Walk, in the former B&M unit, where it will occupy the ground floor. We are asking people what they currently like about the space and facilities in their local library, what improvements they would make, and what activities they would like to see that are not delivered at the moment.
The information you give us will be used to inform the design of the new library space and the services and activities offered there. The first phase of works, including the opening of the new library, is expected during 2027. Anonymous and aggregated summary information from this consultation may also be published in reports to Council committees, on the Council website, and in local publications such as Knowsley News.
If you choose to give us your name and email address, we will use them only to contact you about your response to this consultation, for example to answer a question you have raised or to invite you to take part in further engagement about library services. We will not use your details to send you marketing, and we will not add you to any other mailing list without asking you first.
Questions are not mandatory. You may choose to answer all, part or none of the postcard or survey.
What allows you to use my information?
- Responding to the consultation is a voluntary act on your part, to help Knowsley Council make decisions about library services in Huyton.
- By responding, you are giving your consent for the information you provide to be used.
The legal bases which allow the Council to lawfully process your data fall under the UK General Data Protection Regulation.
Article 6(1) (a) Consent “the individual has given clear consent for you to process their personal data for a specific purpose”.
By choosing to respond to the consultation, you give Knowsley Council consent to process the information you provide. Where you respond anonymously, it is unlikely that we would be able to identify your response in order to remove it once it has been submitted.
Where you have chosen to give us your name and email address, we rely on your consent to hold and use those details to contact you. You can withdraw that consent at any time by emailing dcfsyourlibrary@knowsley.gov.uk. Withdrawing your consent will not affect the consultation response you have already submitted.
Article 6(1) (e) Public task “processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official functions, and the task or function has a clear basis in law.” The Council’s duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service is set out in section 7 of the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964, and its duty to consult on how it delivers its services is set out in section 3 of the Local Government Act 1999.
Knowsley Council will not be collecting any personal data that is defined by the UK GDPR as special category data (for example medical information or ethnicity) as part of this consultation.
Who will my information be shared with?
Aggregated and anonymous information gathered from this consultation will be used by Knowsley Council to inform decisions about the new library, and may be shared with elected members, Council committees, and the design and construction team working on the new facility.
The online survey is hosted using Microsoft Forms, within the Council’s own Microsoft 365 environment. Microsoft processes the responses on our behalf under a written contract and is not permitted to use them for its own purposes. Your name and email address will not be shared outside the Council, and will only be seen by the Council officers who need them in order to reply to you. The Council will not sell your data or share it with any other third party.
Do I have to provide this information and what will happen if I don’t?
No. Taking part is entirely voluntary and is not a legal requirement. You can decide whether to respond or not, and you can decide how much or how little you wish to say.
Giving us your name and email address is optional. If you choose not to provide them, your response will still be counted in full, but we will not be able to contact you about it.
How long will you keep this data for and why?
Consultation responses will be held by Knowsley Council for up to five years following the end of the consultation period, after which they will be securely deleted or destroyed. Anonymous, aggregated summary information may be kept for longer as part of the record of the decision the consultation informed.
If you have given us your name and email address, we will keep these only for as long as we need them to contact you about this consultation, and for no longer than 12 months after the consultation closes. They will then be deleted. Wherever possible, your contact details will be held separately from your consultation response.
How will my information be stored?
Online survey responses are held in Microsoft Forms within the Council’s secure Microsoft 365 environment. Access is restricted to the Council officers working on the consultation.
Completed postcards are handed in at Huyton Library and collected by Council staff. The answers are recorded onto the same secure system and the paper copies are then destroyed through confidential waste.
Will this information be used to take automated decisions about me?
No.
Will my data be transferred abroad and why?
No. Responses are held within the Council’s Microsoft 365 environment, which stores data in the United Kingdom.
What rights do I have when it comes to my data?
Under the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018 / UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), you have the following rights with regards to your personal data: -
- The right to subject access. You have the right to see a copy of the personal data that the council holds about you and find out what it is used for.
- The right to rectification. You have the right to ask the council to correct or remove any inaccurate data that we hold about you.
- The right to erasure (right to be forgotten). You have the right to ask the council to remove data that we hold about you.
- The right to restriction. You have the right to ask for your information to be restricted (locked down) on council systems.
- The right to data portability. You have the right to ask for your data to be transferred back to you or to a new provider at your request.
- The right to object. You have the right to ask the council to stop using your personal data or to stop sending you marketing information or complain about how your data is used.
- The right to prevent automated decision making. You have the right to ask the council to stop using your data to make automated decisions about you or to stop profiling your behaviour (where applicable).
Because most consultation responses are anonymous, we may not be able to identify your individual response in order to act on a request about it. If you gave us your name and email address, we will be able to identify those details and act on your request in relation to them.
To find out more about your rights under the Data Protection Act 2018/UK General Data Processing Regulation (UK GDPR), please visit the Information Commissioner’s website here.
To request a copy of your data or ask questions about how it is used, please download a copy of our form and send it to: -
Data Protection Officer
Knowsley Council
Westmorland Road
Huyton
L36 9GL
Or email: Inforights@knowsley.gov.uk
Who can I complain to if I am unhappy about how my data is used?
You can complain directly to the Council’s Data Protection Team by writing to: -
Data Protection Officer
Knowsley Council
Westmorland Road
Huyton
L36 9GL
Or email: KMBCData.ProtectionOfficer@knowsley.gov.uk
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office using the following details: -
The Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 54 57 45
Website: www.ico.org.uk
Changes to our privacy notice
We will update this privacy notice from time to time to reflect any changes to our ways of working. Please contact Knowsley Council’s Data Protection Officer if you would like more information.
Date Privacy notice last updated: August 2026