Better Health: Rewards

The Better Health: Rewards food challenges have been helping you to gradually improve your diet in line with the recommendations in the Eatwell Guide. 

The Eatwell Guide shows how much of each food group you should be typically eating to achieve a healthy, balanced diet, which maintains good health and can help you to feel your best.  

• Keep using the Eatwell guide to improve your diet:
  • Try to eat at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day. 
  • Drink plenty of fluids (at least six to eight glasses a day).
  • Base your meals on higher fibre starchy foods, like potatoes, wholegrain bread, rice and pasta. 
  • If you typically eat foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar, gradually try to have these less often and in smaller amounts. Look out for the lower fat, salt or sugar options in supermarkets for easy swaps. 
  • Try to reduce your intake of foods high in saturated fats, such as butter, ghee, cakes, biscuits, sausages and bacon. High levels of dietary saturated fat can raise your cholesterol and increase your risk of heart disease. 
     
• The NHS Live Well website also has further advice about healthy living, including tips to eating a balanced diet, doing more exercise, maintaining a healthy weight and more. 
   
• Better Health has lots of free tools to support you and your family with your health, including more recipe ideas and tips. Check out the Better Health website and Better Health: Healthier Families.
   

The Better Health: Rewards fitness challenges have been helping you to gradually increase your number of daily steps and daily physical activity minutes.

Improving the amount of exercise you do can reduce your risk of major illnesses, such as coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and cancer. It can also boost your self-esteem, mood, sleep quality and energy levels, so it is a win-win. 

To stay healthy, the UK Chief Medical Officer recommends being active every day, walking as much as you can, and doing 150 minutes of physical activity over the week. And remember, no matter how much you do, physical activity is good for your body and mind. Some is good – more is better still! 

Here are our top tips: 

• Keep Walking: 
  • Walking is simple, free and one of the easiest ways to get more active and become healthier.  
  • Instead of using the car to get around, why not try walking to the shops, to work or to school?
  • Joining a walking group can be a great way to meet new people whilst increasing your steps. Check out Ramblers Wellbeing Walks Wolverhampton. Ramblers walks are local, they are free and they are friendly.
     
• Keep Moving: 
  • To help you build your activity routine, Better Health has pulled together some tools, tips and offers.  You could also read the NHS’s advice on strength exercises and aerobic exercises. 
  • Enjoyed using an app to move more? Why not try other free Better Health apps available from your app store, such as ‘Couch to 5k’ or ‘Active 10’?  
  • Couch to 5k is an evidence-backed programme that has helped millions of people in the UK to start running. Choose your trainer and start a fun nine-week course to running more. 
  • Active 10 records every minute of walking you do and helps you track your steps, set goals, track achievements and gives you tips to boost your activity. 
     
• Make it fun by trying new ways to get active: 
  • Home workouts can be great way to get active, especially if you are short on time. 
    • The NHS Fitness Studio has 23 free instructor-led online videos covering aerobics, strength and pilates. Better Health also has some great free online classes too. 
  • Parkrun - Looking for a free, fun way to keep up your steps or activity minutes? Why not take part in one of the friendly Wolverhampton 5km Parkruns that take place every Saturday morning at either East Park or West Park. You can walk, jog, run, volunteer or spectate – it’s up to you how you get involved.
  • Black Country Moving - Interested in trying out new sports clubs and facilities throughout the Black Country? Try the Active Black Country tool.
  • Head to the WVactive website to find more information about our leisure centres across Wolverhampton, including centres with gyms, sports facilities and swimming pools. 
  • Visit the Fit for a Fiver to see if you are eligible to receive discounted swimming vouchers. 

Better Health: Rewards in an app helping you to eat healthier and move more! There are thousands of rewards available to be unlocked in the app, including supermarket vouchers, cinema tickets, gym passes and many more.

Each week you choose up to two health goals you want to focus on, like doing 10 minutes of extra physical activity or eating more fruit and vegetables. Whatever goal you choose, the app will provide handy tips and recipe ideas along the way to help.

There are thousands of rewards up for grabs in the Better Health: Rewards app, including:

• ALDI, ASDA, Morrisons, Sainsburys & Tesco supermarket vouchers.
• Pure gym, Places gym, Nuffield, WV Active & Complexions gym passes.
• Gift cards for well-known retailers, including Argos, TKMAXX, the Wolves FC store and many more.
• Activities, such as cinema tickets and family days out.

Everyone could earn at least £40 of rewards by taking part in the app. Rewards are unlocked by taking easy actions in the app.

What research is the Better Health: Rewards app used for?

Better Health: Rewards is a research trial that has been funded as part of the Department of Health and Social Care's mission to encourage healthy behaviours and reduce health disparities.

The research will find out if giving people financial rewards is an effective way to support them to eat better and move more. It will also help researchers to understand what the best value of financial incentive is to support people in their physical activity and diet.

Why Wolverhampton?

The Better Health: Rewards app is being trialled in one local area. Wolverhampton was selected as the trial location as the City of Wolverhampton are leading the way to trial innovative solutions to improve the health and wellbeing of their population.

This Privacy Notice relates to the Department of Health and Social Care's Better Health: Rewards pilot programme. The Privacy Notice was updated on 11 April 2024 to include the following changes:

1. Extended HeadUp Systems Ltd’s retention period to 16 months for pseudonymised data so they can support the Department of Health and Social Care to evaluate the Better Health: Rewards programme.
2. Extended the Behavioural Insights Team’s retention period to 9 months for pseudonymised data so they can support the Department of Health and Social Care to evaluate the Better Health: Rewards programme.
3. Added that pseudonymised data may be shared with research partners in order to conduct further research.
4. Updated contact information should you have queries about your data.

Published May 2023, updated April 2024

Summary of Initiative/Policy

Healthy eating and physical activity are important for health. For example, walking, exercising, and eating fruit and vegetables regularly can all contribute to good health. 

Getting rewards for healthy behaviours can help people to be healthier. For example, research suggests that rewards can be used to help people to give up smoking. 

We want to support adults in England to meet Government recommendations for diet and physical activity. To do this, we are piloting an app-based financial incentive scheme to encourage adults to eat healthier and move more. The scheme, called 'Better Health: Rewards', will run in Wolverhampton. It is available for Wolverhampton residents over 18 years of age only. 

By taking part, you get free access to the Better Health: Rewards app. You will also get a free fitness tracker, if you do not already own one. The app provides personalised physical activity and nutrition challenges and content. The recommendations come from a mix of data collected from your fitness tracker and data you provide.

You can earn points for demonstrating healthy behaviours. For example, increasing your step count or fruit and vegetable consumption. And you will have access to thousands of rewards from a variety of popular retailers and leisure outlets.

To participate in the programme you will need to consent to the participate in the research study. Please note, consenting to the research study is separate to agreeing to the data processing set out in this Privacy notice. 

Data Controller and Data Processors

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) is the data controller for the personal information we process. HeadUp Systems Ltd (HeadUp) is the data processor and collects data on behalf of DHSC. HeadUp collects this data to conduct the research pilot and to provide the app and supporting services.

The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) is a data sub-processor. BIT will undertake an evaluation of the Better Health: Rewards programme.

Additional data sub-processors will also process your personal information. This is so they can deliver services that support the programme. An example of this includes the processing of your address:

• by a logistics company to deliver your free fitness tracker (if required) 
• by a rewards retailer to provide you with your reward

We limit the sharing of personal information with sub-processors to only what is necessary to deliver a service, as outlined below.

What personal data we collect

HeadUp will collect the following information about you. We need to collect and / or ask you for this information for purposes such as account verification, research, marketing and reward fulfilment. 

For account verification and reward fulfilment purposes, this includes:

• Your contact information, including your full name, email address, telephone number and postal address
• We may ask you to provide proof of address for anti-fraud purposes if an unexpectedly high number of people have ordered a fitness tracker to your address

For research purposes, this includes:

• Your full name, email address and telephone number. We may use this to invite you to optional interviews about your experience
• Your sex*, height, weight, postcode and ethnicity*
• Your date of birth. We will only share this as your age 
• Your challenge progress, such as challenges selected and completed
• How you chose to redeem your points, such as the retailer and value of reward

HeadUp will ask you for the following information. We ask you to provide this for purposes such as behaviour validation and research. We collect some information by you entering it into the app. We collect other information when you connect an activity tracker. You can choose not to provide this information, but it is necessary for some functions of the app. 

For behaviour validation and research purposes, this includes: 

• Data collected by a fitness tracker, such as physical activity (e.g. your step count) that you link to the mobile application
  Note: You may be asked to share your location and GPS data when you connect/sync your fitness tracker to the app. The app does not collect, access, process, or store this data. 
   
• Information about your dietary behaviours, including photos of your food and/or proof of purchase 
  Note: Please do not share images that contain personal or sensitive information. For example, your photo ID, credit card or images of yourself or other people. HeadUp will store any image you upload on its server for 6 months, so please do not include any private information. We also collect data about the image you upload (called metadata) to reduce the risk of fraud. This includes the image source, created date, and last modified date. 

HeadUp will collect the following information. We collect this information to help us diagnose issues with the app and to provide customer support:

• Certain information about your device, such as your device version and type. 

HeadUp will ask you to provide information for purposes such as research, marketing, and customer service. You can choose not to provide this and still fully experience the Better Health: Rewards app. 

For research purposes this includes:

• Other health-related information. This includes disability status* and mental wellbeing. It also includes related wellbeing activities, such as your motivation to change*  
• Information to understand more about you. This includes your educational attainment*
• Data collected by a fitness tracker, such as sleep, that you link to the mobile application

For marketing and research purposes, this includes:

• How you heard about the Better Health: Rewards app. For example, via social media, advertisement, or recommended by a friend 
• Note that some of the data collected for research, such as your age, sex* and ethnicity*, may also be used to monitor recruitment to the pilot 

For customer service purposes this includes:

• Your email address so we can contact you if you submit a customer support query
• Information you may provide when submitting queries or responding to surveys in the app 

For personalisation of your experience this includes:

• A profile photo

* ’Prefer not to say’ option available 

In the unlikely event we receive information suggesting a safety or safeguarding concern, we may: 

• share some information with Wolverhampton Local Authority safeguarding services
• share some information with emergency services 

This includes information such as your contact details. We will only share information for safeguarding purposes where it requires a referral. 

If we suspect fraudulent activity, we may contact you to ask you about your use of the app and request further information from you. We may also share some of your data with anti-fraud bodies. This is for the purposes of prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of fraud. 

Legal Basis for Processing Data

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the legal basis we rely on for processing personal data depends on the purpose for which we use the data. The following lawful bases may apply where we process your personal data as part of the Better Health: Rewards programme: 

Personal Information

UK GDPR Article 6(1)(e) – where the processing is necessary to carry out a task in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller 

Personal Information Concerning Health

UK GDPR Article 9(2)(i) – where the processing is necessary for reasons of public interest in the area of public health

We may process data for purposes that are compatible with the original purposes identified in this notice. The UK GDPR states that the following purposes are compatible purposes:

• archiving purposes in the public interest;
• scientific or historical research purposes; and
• statistical purposes. 

Data Processors and other recipients of personal data

If you sign up to the Better Health: Rewards programme, you acknowledge that:

• HeadUp, on behalf of DHSC, will share some information with sub-processors and third parties. We share this to conduct the programme and the supporting services.  

When sharing information, we have measures in place to:

• minimise data we share;
• keep data protected
• use the data securely; and
• only use the data for the purposes outlined below.

We may pass personal information on to additional sub processors listed below:

• BIT – for research and programme evaluation purposes
• Office for National Statistics (ONS) – as a secure platform for the hosting of pseudonymised data, for access by independent, accredited research teams, in order for those teams to conduct further scientific public health research. 
• Research partners- in order to conduct further research using pseudonymised data. Once selected, research partners will be named.
• Power2Motivate** and other rewards partners** - to redeem and deliver rewards
• E-shop WooCommerce – to enable you to redeem the free fitness tracker (if required)
• Allegro logistics – to deliver free fitness tracker (if required)
• Intake24 – to collect diet behaviour data
• Amazon SES – to verify your email address
• Gov Notify service – to validate your user account 
• Freshworks – to provide customer service
• TangoCard – to provide e-vouchers for follow up interviews
• McGowan Transcriptions Ltd – to transcribe follow up interviews
• Microsoft Ltd and Google – to host data needed to provide the app and conduct evaluation

In addition, we may pass personal information on to additional sub-processors if there is a need to do so to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the pilot: Head Up may share data with DHSC, BIT and the City of Wolverhampton Council, and any other delivery partners who are part of the trial governance, to understand and remediate issues. Head Up will minimise data shared, and in most cases your personal data will not be shared. In exceptional cases it may be necessary to share pseudonymised personal data. In exceptional circumstances, the Trial Steering Group will ask external academics to perform additional analysis or scrutiny of unblinded data, if this is needed to ensure the trial remains safe and effective.

We may pass personal information on to additional third parties listed below:

• DHSC Anti-Fraud Unit – to prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute fraud or other unlawful activity
• Emergency Services and Wolverhampton Local Authority Safeguarding Service – to share information in the unlikely event we receive information suggesting a safety or safeguarding concern
• Royal Mail – to deliver a Better Health Rewards fitness tracker (if required).
• Facebook and Google – if you opt to sign in with your Facebook or Google account

** Each retailer will have their own specific privacy policies in place. They will make these available to you upon selecting your reward. Some partners may require credit or debit card details to register and unlock your reward. Participating retailers may group up information they collect about people participating in the programme and share that information with DHSC to help improve the programme. You will never be identifiable from this information.

We do not rent or sell your personal information to any third parties.

We do not disclose or share personal information with third parties except as indicated in this privacy policy or as required by law. 

International data transfers and storage location(s)

We process all data in line with EU/UK adequacy provisions.

During the pilot, HeadUp, BIT, DHSC and third parties will store all data in the UK except for customer service data. Customer service data will be stored in Germany. To facilitate customer service our delivery partner utilises a number of international mail redirection servers which securely delete transferred information once the transaction is complete. Named data will not be processed at these international mail redirection servers.

Following the end of the scheme, HeadUp will securely transfer data to DHSC. DHSC will store the data in compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR. 

Retention and disposal policy

Data processors and data retention periods:

Please note, data retention periods may be reviewed. 

We will physically destroy or securely overwrite hard drives and removable storage (e.g. USB drives, CDs, backup tapes etc.) 

Non-physical data stores will be hard-deleted from the database. 

At the end of life of systems and projects, we:

• use rigorous data-handling and hardware-disposal processes so data is not recoverable; and 
• destroy printed documents containing confidential information. We destroy data using a crosscut shredder or a commercial secure document destruction service.

Note: neither you nor third parties may access or request data after we destroy or pseudonymise*** it for research purposes. 

*** Pseudonymisation is where we replace, remove or transform information that identifies an individual. This means it cannot identify an individual without the use of additional information.

How we keep your data secure

We store all data in compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK GDPR.

We use security technologies and procedures to:

• protect your personal information from unauthorised access, use or disclosure; and 
• preserve the confidentiality, integrity and availability of your personal information. 

Measures we use to protect your information include:

• password-protecting files;
• restricting access permissions;
• encryption of personal information in transit; 
• converting passwords into strings of characters and/or numbers using encryption before storing them;  
• communicating privacy and security guidelines to all employees and contractors; and 
• strictly enforcing information security and privacy safeguards.  

For accredited researchers accessing data from the ONS, DHSC will only grant access for legitimate research purposes. The ONS will store and allow access to the data following the 5 Safes Framework.

Your rights as a data subject

Under data protection law, you have rights we need to make you aware of. This processing does not take away or reduce these rights under the EU GDPR (2016/679) or the UK Data Protection Act 2018. These rights are:

1. The right to be informed - you have the right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal data as set out in this privacy notice.
2. The right of access - you have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information. 
3. The right to rectification - you have the right to ask us to rectify information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete. 
4. The right to restriction of processing - you have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your information. For example, if you think inaccurate information is being used. 
5. The right to object to processing - you can ask for any information held about you to not be used. However, this is not an absolute right, and continued use of the information may be necessary. We will inform you if this is the case. 
6. The right to not be subject to automated decision making - We will not make decisions that may significantly impact you based solely on automated decision-making. Automated decision making is where a decision is made using an electronic system without human involvement.

If you would like to make a data access request, or for any other privacy queries contact, please contact data_protection@dhsc.gov.uk

Comments or complaints

If you are unhappy or wish to complain about how we use personal data as part of this programme, contact data_protection@dhsc.gov.uk 

Or you can write to: Data Protection Officer, 1st Floor North, 39 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0EU

Anyone who is still not satisfied can complain to the Information Commissioners Office. Their website address is www.ico.org.uk and their postal address is: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF

Changes to this policy

We regularly review this privacy notice. This privacy notice was last updated on 11 April 2024 

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Information Risk Management & Assurance/Office of the Data Protection Officer www.gov.uk/dhsc

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