Privacy Policy
- About this statement
Your privacy and the security of your personal data is important to us. This statement sets out what personal data of yours we hold, what we do with it, where we get it and your rights around your personal data.
If you want to contact us about anything in this privacy statement, our contact details are: Open Door Charity, Bloom Building, 3 Abbey Close, Birkenhead, CH41 5FQ. You can call us on 0151 639 4545 or email us at [email protected].
You can find this statement on our website, and we have physical copies available to view at our buildings where you access our services.
- The type of personal information we collect
Examples of personal information we collect include your name, your phone number, your email address, your home address and your date of birth. This list isn’t comprehensive, and you can contact us to find out what information of yours we keep.
Some of your data may be considered to be sensitive data, such as ethnicity or sexuality. We’ll only ever collect this with your consent, and we’ll never share your personal sensitive data with anyone else. Anything we do share will be anonymised, so you can’t be identified.
- How we get your data and how we use it
Most of the information we get from you will come directly from you when you access the Branch website or talk to the Branch matching team. We may get your data from third parties. For example, if a school or college asked you if you wanted to be referred to Branch.
We use your data to allow you to access Branch to find the most appropriate support for you. For example, you may use the Branch website to find support, and then decide to speak to the matching team. The matching team uses this data to find the most appropriate support for you.
We also use data (including sensitive data) to evaluate our own services to see how we can improve, but we’ll always use anonymised data for this and you’ll never be able to be identified by the data. However, we may use your personal data to invite you to surveys or research with your consent.
Under UK General Data Protection Regulation (the law that tells us what we can and can’t do with your data), we need to give a lawful basis for processing your data.
If you’re accessing Branch, the lawful basis is consent, and we’ll always ask for your consent when you sign up with us. You can withdraw your consent at any time. If you’re under 18, we’ll ask for consent from your parent or carer, but you can still contact us if you have any questions about your personal data. In some cases, you may be referred by a trusted adult, such as doctor. When this happens, either you or a parent or carer will provide consent.
We will never sell your personal data or pass it on to third parties without your explicit consent.
- How we store your data
Your data will always be stored securely. Our IT systems are password protected, and we store our data on Beacon, which is secure and complies with several data protection laws and regulations around the world. We may also store data on Google Drive or other cloud-based storage services in password-protected files.
We’ll only keep your information for as long as we need it. Our data retention policy for Branch will be 8 years after the last service request, in line with NHS Records Management Code of Practice for Health & Social Care 2021. Data stored securely on Beacon or cloud-based storage systems such as Google Drive will be deleted, and any physical data (such as forms) will be securely shredded.
- Your rights
You have rights around your personal data. These are:
- Right of access – you can always ask us for a copy of the personal information we hold on you.
- Right to rectification – you can tell us to correct any information that you think is inaccurate. You can also tell us to complete any information that you think is incomplete.
- Right to erasure – you can tell us to delete your personal data.
- Right to restriction of processing – You can tell us to restrict the processing of your personal information.
You’ll never have to pay for a request to do with your personal data, and if you make a request, we have one month to respond to you.
- How to make a complaint
If you’d like to make a complaint, feel free to contact us with the information at the top of this notice. You can also complain to the ICO if you’re unhappy with how we’ve used your data. The ICO’s address is: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. The ICO’s number is 0303 123 1113, and you can visit the website at http://www.ico.org.uk.