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Data Charter consultation

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This consultation has now closed.


Have your say and help us develop a new Data Charter for Barnet

Overview

Barnet Council adopted a ‘commitment statement to open data and transparency’ in 2014. This set out our commitment to proactively publishing high quality, fully anonymised data from the council and our partners. This allows residents to better understand what is going on in the council and across the borough.

To build on this, we are looking to work with residents to develop a new data charter, which will update and expand our commitments on data and transparency. This charter will form the basis of


Have your say and help us develop a new Data Charter for Barnet

Overview

Barnet Council adopted a ‘commitment statement to open data and transparency’ in 2014. This set out our commitment to proactively publishing high quality, fully anonymised data from the council and our partners. This allows residents to better understand what is going on in the council and across the borough.

To build on this, we are looking to work with residents to develop a new data charter, which will update and expand our commitments on data and transparency. This charter will form the basis of a new agreement between the council and Barnet residents and will outline the principles we will work by and the goals we aim to achieve through this.


What we are proposing to include in our new charter

In our renewed charter we will aim to include commitments relating to the following topics:

  • data privacy
  • open data
  • customer service of our information request service
  • any other topics that residents may raise as part of this consultation.

For more information on the types of data we are referring to, please read our Key Definitions document.


What we are seeking your views on

We want your views to help shape our new Data Charter and wish to hear from a wide range of stakeholders, including Barnet residents, as well as from those who work, visit or study in the borough.

In particular, we are seeking to find out:

  • whether you have used the councils information services
  • your views on the council’s processing of personal data; our open data; and what makes a good customer information request service.


How to have your say

  • Complete our online questionnaire. If you require a paper copy of the questionnaire or another format, please email: open.data@barnet.gov.uk
  • Attend a consultation focus group- In spring 2024 we are aiming to run a series of workshops to review the findings of the questionnaire and have an in-depth discussion with residents about our new Barnet Data Charter. As an appreciation of your time and participation we are also offering residents who attend the workshops a £30 online shopping voucher.

    If you would like to attend one of these focus groups, please complete the expression of interest registration form linked below by Sunday 3 March 2024.
This consultation has now closed.

  • We asked, you said, we did

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    We asked

    We asked for your input in order to help shape the council’s new Data Charter, including your views on the council’s processing of personal data; our open data; and what makes a good customer information request service.


    You said

    We received 22 responses to the online questionnaire.

    73% of respondents had used the council’s information services.

    Around a third of all respondents had submitted an FOI request to the council at some point.

    Suggestions and comments related to the new Data Charter included:

    • Making sure older and digitally excluder residents can access data - for instance in libraries
    • I would like to be able to understand the structure of the council.
    • it might be worth considering whether you could publish statutory returns teams send to Government Departments
    • I would like to review the underlying data teams use to back up their consultation proposals, so would be good if that data was available on the portal and flagged/tagged in some way/linked to Engage Barnet
    • Comparisons to other, equal-sized boroughs
    • If the charter is too restrictive or authoritative and it could hinder democracy and allow Barnet departments to hide behind The Charter.
    • Adequate training of staff so they fully understand how to keep people's data safe and private
    • Important to look at from the residents viewpoint.
    • No single person employed by Barnet should have the power to exercise complete control over its data.
    • Making sure older and digitally excluder residents can access data - for instance in libraries
    • I would like to be able to understand the structure of the council.
    • it might be worth considering whether you could publish statutory returns teams send to Government Departments
    • I would like to review the underlying data teams use to back up their consultation proposals, so would be good if that data was available on the portal and flagged/tagged in some way/linked to Engage Barnet


    We did

    We have reviewed the responses and these, along with results from related focus groups, will be incorporated into a final report that will inform the final Data Charter, which we aim to publish early in the 2025/26 financial year.