Data Governance Consultancy
Know what data you hold, who owns it, who can see it and when it’s deleted, all written down in plain English.
Services · Data Governance
Why it matters
Governance sounds like paperwork, but it is what makes your reporting trustworthy and your compliance defensible. Without it, nobody is sure which version of a dataset is right, who is allowed to change it or how long it should be kept.
UK GDPR also expects you to be able to show how you handle personal data. Good governance turns that from a scramble into a document you can hand over.
Who it’s for
- Organisations preparing for a client, regulator or insurer audit
- Teams whose reports are undermined by inconsistent data
- Businesses that hold personal data and have no written record of it
How we work
Inventory
We map the data you hold, where it lives and what it is used for.
Owners and access
Each dataset gets a named owner and clear rules on who can see and change it.
Retention
We agree how long each type of data is kept and why, and how it is deleted.
Quality checks
Simple, regular checks flag missing or inconsistent data before it reaches a report.
What you end up with
- An inventory of your data and where it lives
- A record of processing activities for personal data
- Named owners and access rules for each dataset
- A retention schedule with the reason for each period
- Data quality checks that flag problems early
Questions
Something else? Ask us directly.
What is data governance?
The rules and responsibilities for how an organisation’s data is collected, stored, used, shared and deleted. In practice: who owns each dataset, who can access it, how its quality is checked and how long it is kept.
Do small organisations need data governance?
Yes, in proportion to their size. A small organisation might only need a short data inventory, a retention schedule and named owners, but those few documents make reporting more reliable and UK GDPR compliance much easier to show.
What is a record of processing activities?
UK GDPR requires most organisations to keep a written record of the personal data they process, why, who it is shared with and how long it is kept. There is a limited exemption for organisations with fewer than 250 staff, but it does not apply if the processing is regular, which it usually is.
How long should we keep data?
Only as long as you need it for the purpose you collected it. UK GDPR does not set fixed periods, but some other rules do, such as those on keeping financial records. A retention schedule writes down the period for each type of data and the reason for it.