Guidance

Written assessment privacy notice

Updated 19 March 2025

1. How we use your information

This privacy notice describes how we collect and use personal information about you for the purposes of undertaking Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA) written assessments via our delegated examination and awarding body service providers (“Written Assessment Service Providers”). 

The personal information you provide is primarily used for administering your MCA examinations and providing certification.  Your personal information may also be used for other related purposes to enable MCA to fulfil its public tasks and legal obligations. It may also be shared with other statutory bodies/ organisations to enable them to fulfil their statutory obligations. 

Personal information which you supply to us directly or via our Written Assessment Service Providers will be used to fulfil our statutory function of undertaking certification and training of seafarers operating under the United Kingdom.

We may also use your information to investigate complaints, legal claims or important incidents and for crime and prevention and the prosecution of offenders. 

The data controller for your personal information is the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). The Written Assessment Service Providers used by MCA for the purposes outlined in this privacy notice are processors for MCA. 

This notice sets out how your data will be used and your rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

2. The type of personal information we collect

2.1 Candidates

The MCA will collect and process your personal information via the Written Assessment Service Providers, including:

• your application/ enrolment information, including full name, date of birth, address, email address, identity information, candidate number/ unique ID number
• examination information, including subject, location and date of examination sat, answers, handwriting, notes about conduct (where relevant), marks awarded, certificate/ award information,
• correspondence relating to the administration of your examination
• financial information

Where you apply for us to grant special measures for you undertaking an examination, we will process your health information.

2.2 Appointees

The MCA will collect and process your personal information via MCA’s Written Assessment Service Providers, including:

• name, email address, date of birth, phone/ contact number(s)
• national Insurance number
• job title
• financial information
• qualifications, CV, professional qualifications and employment history
• marking and professional opinion data

3. How we get the personal information and why we have it

The personal information that we process is provided by you to your approved training provider, which provides your information to MCA’s Written Assessment Service Providers for the following reasons:

3.1 Candidates

If you are a candidate sitting MCA examinations, the MCA will use the information that you or your training centre provides us via our Written Assessment Service Providers to:

• conduct and administer your MCA examinations
• verify your identity
• mark and assess your examination script
• investigate and assess potential examination conduct/ misconduct
• issue examination results and certificates and publish results and certifications
• respond to your complaints and queries
• consider applications to apply special measures

3.2 Appointees

If you are a Question Writer, Examiner, Reviser, Invigilator, Marker or Panel Member (“Appointee”), the MCA will use the information that you provide directly to us or via our Written Assessment Service Providers to:

• assess the suitability for and qualification of Appointees
• make arrangements with Appointees to perform tasks in relation to MCA examinations
• facilitate audit and regulatory compliance with agreed standards
• monitor and improve examination standards

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the MCA will only process your personal data where we have a lawful basis to do so.

We process your personal data for this purpose in accordance with the lawful basis identified below:

• We need it to perform a public task

If you are a Candidate and you ask us to consider applying special measures owing to a health condition, we process your health-related personal information in accordance with the lawful basis and condition below:

• We need it to perform a public task and for statutory and government purposes

4. How we store and ensure the security of your personal information

Your information is securely stored by MCA and by its Written Assessment Service Providers’ secure infrastructure.

5. How long we retain your personal information

For information about how long your personal information is retained for, please contact DataProtection@mcga.gov.uk.

6. Who will we share your information with?

Your personal data is shared between MCA’s approved training providers, Appointees, MCA Assessment Service Providers and with organisations that facilitate these activities such as database hosting organisations and third parties that support delivery of the services. This sharing is carried out with appropriate contractual provisions in place.

When transferring your personal data outside of the UK, MCA applies appropriate measures to protect your personal data. Where the destination country has not been granted adequacy by the UK Secretary of State MCA ensures that a risk assessment of the international transfer has been undertaken and that appropriate safeguards, such as Standard Contractual Clauses, International Data Transfer Agreements or Addendums have been implemented, where required.

7. Your data protection rights

Information on how the MCA looks after personal data, your rights, how to contact our data protection officer and how to complain about processing of your personal data can be found on our personal information charter.