Our Policy Summary
We have provided this policy to outline the reasons we may hold data, the lawful basis for doing so and your rights in view of the GDPR regulation that came into force in May 2018.
Our main purpose for holding data is to help us effectively run the outreach activities we organise as a church. Sometimes that includes the fact that we have a duty of care, (over children for instance), and we need specific data on file to ensure we can fulfil that duty. Other times, it is about keeping in touch with the community and being able to publicise the activities we’re planning.
We recognise that care should be taken with all data and especially so when working with children. Please review our privacy policy in full if you have questions and feel free to get in touch should you want to discuss it any further. The latest version of our privacy policy is always available from our website, www.lancastergospelhall.org.uk/privacy.
The Details
1. Who are we?
1.1 Lancaster Gospel Hall is a small local church. We are a group of Christians working together to share the Word of God, meeting according to principles of the Bible. We do not have a central office or IT system. In the framework of data protection, Lancaster Gospel Hall is a non-profit body which exists for religious purposes and is exempt from registration with the ICO, according to their own guidance[1].
1.2 However, the Bible stresses the importance of good stewardship (1 Corinthians 4.2) - looking after what has been entrusted to one’s care - and this would extend to looking after data we hold about you or your children. In addition, we always seek to comply with the law and adopt good practice in the way we use and hold data.
1.3 Sometimes we refer to ourselves as an ‘assembly’ which is the word the Bible uses for a group of believers. It underlines the simplicity of our gatherings and everything we do, and that should come across in this privacy policy.
1.4 We can be contacted through our website or by writing to, Lancaster Gospel Hall, Tollgate Lane, Bury St Edmunds, IP32 6DF.
2. What data do we hold?
2.1 For those in ‘fellowship’ at Lancaster Gospel Hall, (or ‘membership’ as the legislation calls it), there is no enrolment as such; no membership forms are completed. We store personal data of those in fellowship in our assembly but only for contact purposes.
2.2 When data is collected for the purpose of registering a volunteer worker for DBS checks, no data is kept or recorded separately, other than data sent in for the application for a DBS certificate.
2.3 We do not keep personal files of a pastoral nature on individuals.
2.4 We hold data for the purposes of keeping financial accounts for the Hall.
2.5 We do not pass this information on to any other persons or company, or for transfer to another country.
2.6 When working with children, we only hold data when it has been voluntarily provided to us. We hold this data on the basis of what the law refers to as ‘legitimate interests’. For instance, parents provide information to us in order for us to be able to integrate their children into the activities which they have signed-up for including transporting children from their home address on our minibus. It also may be used so that we can contact a parent or guardian when needed or in an emergency.
2.7 Activities include:
a) The Girls Group: Connect,
b) Bereans Youth Work,
c) Sunday Club,
d) Jolly Tots
Personal information in this case is may include:
e) Child’s Name,
f) Child’s Address
g) Child’s date of birth (for allocation into correct age-related groups)
h) Parent/Guardian’s Telephone
2.8 We hold personal contact details by consent of children and adults who have attended our activities in the past so we can inform them of future activities they may wish to attend. These activities would include:
a) Holiday Club
b) Christmas workshop
c) Family Service
d) Other outreach services held at the Hall
Consent for this purpose can be withdrawn at any time by getting in touch through our website, or writing to the address specified above in 1.4.
2.9 If you use our website, the website software that we use may place a few files on your computer. These are called cookies. The first cookie is a session cookie and this does not store any personally identifiable information. It allows the website software to improve your overall experience, bearing in mind others may be using the website at the same time. We may also store a cookie that stores your choice about whether you wish for other cookies to be stored (which we might use in the future to further enhance our website). If you don’t want either of these to be placed on your computer you can get instructions on how to block cookies completely from: https://cookiesandyou.com/ but just bear in mind that it may cause parts of our website (and others), to stop working. We also use cookies to help the chat tool properly function. For more details on the cookies we use, please refer to Cookie Preferences tool. This is accessible by clicking the cookie icon in the bottom-hand left corner of this page.
2.10 If you contact us through our website, your correspondence will be processed in order for us to administer a response. The data that pertains to this process includes the following:
a) Your email address
b) the Name you provide us with
c) the contents of the message
Where applicable, we will delete your correspondence as soon as is reasonable to do so. Exceptions to this would include instances where we would be required by law to maintain a record. If you would prefer to speak to us, you can visit us at the address specified in 1.4.
2.11 We store address and telephone data for users who contact us for a free Bible. We therefore have a legitimate interest for processing this information and will only retain the information as long as necessary. You can ask us to erase this information by contacting us or visiting us at the address specified in 1.4
2.12 We do not use your data for profiling or as part of any automatic decision making.
3. How do we protect the data?
3.1 All in fellowship and those working with children who 'use' personal data are volunteers, and understand the importance of keeping data secure. Data is held electronically as well as on paper as required. Computers and phones are all password protected.
3.2 When personal data is no longer needed, it is always destroyed securely.
3.3 Written registers for holiday clubs and Christmas workshops and rewards cards with names and ages of children are always deposed of securely after use, by shredding.
3.4 Computer records no longer needed are deleted.
3.5 Any volunteer worker who determines they have lost any data will inform the data controller for Lancaster Gospel Hall.
4. What rights do you have?
4.1 We recognise that individuals on whom we hold data, have a right under data protection legislation to be informed and that is why we have written this policy. If after reading the policy you still have questions, you can contact us for further clarification.
4.2 Individuals also have the right to withdraw their consent and to ask to be removed and erased from our records if they no longer wish to be contacted in the future. Under these circumstances we would automatically erase the relevant data as we no longer have a lawful basis for processing.
4.3 In most other cases, we would not erase data on request where we have a legitimate interest for storing it. For instance, we cannot maintain our duty of care for a child if we do not store information provided to us about allergies. Even if a child is withdrawn from activities, we would retain this information for up to a year so that we could demonstrate our knowledge of this information and our efforts to attend to the duty of care of child whilst involved in activities.
4.4 Individuals may request details of what data we have stored for them or their children/dependants and should help us to rectify any details which are incorrect.
5. When do we pass data to Third parties?
5.1 We do not pass your data to thirds parties.
5.2 We may point you to third-party websites from our website. You are recommended to check the privacy policy of each website before you submit any personal data to it. We do not accept any responsibility for the way a third-party may use your data.
[1] See https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/data-protection-fee/
