Guidance

Evaluation of the Housing First pilots: privacy notice

Updated 17 April 2024

Applies to England

You are invited to take part in research by ICF on behalf of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC). ICF is an independent research organisation, who are looking at how well Housing First is working. DLUHC is responsible for housing in England.

It is up to you whether you would like to take part. Before you decide, we would like you to understand why the research is being done, and what taking part involves. This information sheet will explain the research and help you to decide. Please ask if you have any questions or if there is anything you don’t understand.

1. What is this research?

ICF and DLUHC would like to find out:

1. How well Housing First services are working for people who are homeless or sleeping rough;

2. What the benefits are for those receiving Housing First services; and

3. How well Housing First is helping individuals address the wider issues which accompany homeless and rough sleeping.

For this, we want to collect information about your history and experiences of homelessness through an online questionnaire. If you agree, we will also link your answers to other information on your use of public services and your benefits.

Please be assured that none of your answers will affect the benefits you get, or services you use. There will be no consequences if you reveal any potentially illegal act in the questionnaire, unless you or someone else is being put at risk.

We will keep your information no longer than needed for the research and not use it for anything else. You can tell us to delete the information you have given us if you change your mind. You can ask to see your information and ask for it to be changed if it is wrong.

2. Why take part?

By participating in this study you’ll be helping ICF and DLUHC understand how well Housing First and other homelessness services are working and how to improve services. You’ll be given a £10 high street shopping voucher as a thank you for completing the questionnaire.

3. Are there any risks of taking part?

You may find some of the questions upsetting. You don’t have to answer any questions that you don’t want to. If you feel upset when taking part, please speak to your project worker or another organisation where you can receive support, such as the Samaritans.

Below is some more detailed information to help you decide about taking part.

4. What is involved in the research?

For this research, you are being asked:

• to answer an online questionnaire
• to consent to a researcher contacting you again and
• to consent to ICF using other information about you

You can pick and choose which parts you agree to. You don’t have to answer anything that you don’t want to.

Your questionnaire answers will be kept confidential. However, if we feel you are at risk, or someone else is being put at risk, we will need to tell someone and will let you know if this is the case.

5. Consent to be contacted again

ICF will also want to contact you again, to ask you to fill out some shorter questionnaires. If you give your consent, you’ll be contacted by researchers at ICF, who will ask you to complete a short questionnaire another four times: every six months after this one for two years. You’ll get a £10 high street shopping voucher as a thank you each time.

If you agree to be contacted again, you do not have to agree to complete the shorter questionnaires. That will be up to you to decide at the time.

You can answer this questionnaire without agreeing to take part in any further research.

6. Consent to use your other information

ICF would also like to link your questionnaire answers with information held by other government departments and agencies.

What other information do ICF want?

1. To find out about any homelessness applications you make to the council (through the data held by DLUHC)

2. To see what contact you may have had with the criminal justice system (through data held by Ministry of Justice)

3. To find out about any drug and alcohol services you may have received (through data held by Public Health England)

4. To find out what benefits you receive (through data held by Department for Work and Pensions)

5. To find out what health services you have used (through data held by NHS Digital)

ICF will need to use your personal details to do this, but your name and other personal details will be removed before researchers look at your other information. This will be happening over the next few years. ICF will only do this if you give your consent.

You can take part in the current research even if you don’t want us to link your questionnaire answers with other information.

7. What personal information will be shared?

If you give your consent, your project worker will share your name, date of birth, gender, address/postcode, mobile number, national insurance number, and NHS number (if known) with ICF, if you have not already provided these yourself for the research. These will be sent securely, kept strictly confidential, and kept separately from your questionnaire answers.

Your personal details will only be sent to ICF if you give your consent

8. What if you change your mind about the research?

You can change your mind and withdraw from the research at any time, without giving a reason. This won’t affect your legal rights or the support you receive.

If you change your mind you can:

• tell your Housing First project worker;
• email ICF directly at HousingFirstPilots@icf.com or
• tell a researcher from ICF, when they contact you about taking part in the further research

9. What if you are unhappy about this research or how your information is handled?

If you’re unhappy with the way the research has been handled, you can contact ICF at HousingFirstPilots@icf.com or contact the Heriot-Watt Ethics Board via this email address: M.Gormley@hw.ac.uk. Heriot-Watt University is part of the group of organisations, working with ICF, who are helping with this research and have provided ethical approval for the project.

If you are unhappy with the way your personal information is being handled, you can contact the independent Information Commissioner.

You can ask to see your data, and ask for it be changed if it is wrong, by contacting ICF at HousingFirstPilots@icf.com.

10. Where can you get more information?

Please ask whoever is helping you with this research. They will answer your questions or show you where to access further information.