-

Christchurch Town Council Privacy Statement

In accordance with guidelines set down by NALC.

This privacy statement is intended to cover the activities of Christchurch Town Council.

Christchurch Town Council works with a number of different public bodies and communities.

Organisations and individuals fall into one of four categories:

  • National and local government and their associated agencies
  • National and local commercial organisations
  • National and local voluntary organisations
  • Private individuals

Keeping in touch with the council’s communities is a key strategy, and the council strives to facilitate this on a daily basis.

This statement is intended to provide information about how Christchurch Town Council will use individual personal data. This information is provided because Data Protection Law gives individuals rights to understand how their data is used.

Whose Data does Christchurch Town Council hold?

Christchurch Town Council holds personal data from a broad range of individuals from across our community.

Why does Christchurch Town Council hold data?

Christchurch Town Council holds data in order to work with its communities. Whether as a resident or a member of an organisation, the council accepts that many parties have a legitimate interest in Christchurch Town Council through their current or recent involvement with the council. All data held relates to individuals who have a pre-existing relationship with Christchurch Town Council.

Christchurch Town Council may use data for the purposes of:

  • Invitations to events
  • News provision
  • Town Council Meetings
  • Volunteering opportunities
  • Commercial transactions regarding the council’s purchases or sales

What data does Christchurch Town Council hold?

This may vary from individual to individual according to personal link with the council and their level of engagement in recent years. The data held may include:

  • Full name
  • Date of birth
  • Home and work contact details (addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses)
  • Interests and involvement with Christchurch Town Council
  • Bank details (only for organisations and individuals who transact with Christchurch Town Council)

How is the Data collected?

Generally, Christchurch Town Council receives personal data from the individual directly. This may be via a form, or simply in the ordinary course of interaction or communication (such as email or phone calls).

However, in some cases personal data will be supplied by third parties (for example directories of suppliers); or collected from publicly available resources.

How is the data stored and used?

The Data is stored and transmitted securely. Access is controlled and the data is used on a daily basis in a considered manner, in many different ways such as:

  • Planning events
  • Sharing Christchurch Town Council news
  • Circulating meeting papers for Town council meetings and annual meetings
  • Overseeing registration and payment for events
  • Identifying individuals who may want to support a specific project
  • Arranging volunteering opportunities

Christchurch Town Council will endeavour to ensure that all personal data held in relation to an individual is as up to date and accurate as possible. Individuals should notify the town clerk of any significant changes to important information, such as contact details held about them.

An individual has the right to request that any out-of-date, irrelevant or inaccurate or information about them is erased or corrected (subject to certain exemptions and limitations under Data Protection Law): please see above for details of why Christchurch Town Council may need to process your data and of who you may contact if you disagree.

Christchurch Town Council will take appropriate technical and organisational steps to ensure the security of personal data about individuals, including policies around use of technology and devices, and access to systems.

Is Data shared?

Data is not normally shared with external third parties. However, on occasions it may be shared after consent has been sought for a legitimate reason. Some examples of these are:

Enable a principal authority to contact a resident about a concern they have raised;

Encourage individuals to volunteer for an activity.

How long does Christchurch Town Council keep personal data?

Christchurch Town Council will retain personal data securely and only in line with how long it is necessary to keep for a legitimate and lawful reason. If you have any specific queries about how our retention policy is applied, or wish to request that personal data that you no longer believe to be relevant is considered for erasure, please contact the town clerk (contact details are below).

A limited and reasonable amount of information will be kept for archiving purposes even where you have requested we no longer keep in touch with you, we will need to keep a record of the fact in order to fulfil your wishes (called a “suppression record”).

Email Privacy

The content of e-mails sent from Christchurch Town Council or any e-mail address ending in “@christchurch-tc.gov.uk” is confidential, may be legally privileged and is intended for the recipient specified in the message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of an e-mail message from Christchurch Town Council or any e-mail address ending in “@christcurch-tc.gov.uk”  with any third party, without written consent of the sender. If you received a message by mistake, please reply to the sender of the message stating that to be the case and then delete it.

​Christchurch Town Council, ensures that email security is a high priority. Therefore, we have put efforts into ensuring that the message is error and virus-free. Unfortunately, full security of the e-mail cannot be ensured as, despite our efforts, the data included in e-mails could be infected, intercepted, or corrupted. Therefore, the recipient should check the e-mail for threats with proper software, as the sender does not accept liability for any damage inflicted by viewing the content of an e-mail.

​By Contacting Christchurch Town Council or any e-mail address ending in “@christcurch-tc.gov.uk”  you agree that your contact details may be held and processed for the purpose of corresponding with you.

​You may request access to the information we hold on you by contacting the Clerk at townclerk@christcurch-tc.gov.uk

​You may request to be removed as a contact at any time by contacting the Clerk at townclerk@christcurch-tc.gov.uk

Cookies

Category Cookie Name Purpose
Necessary Cookies PHPSESSID Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.
Necessary Cookies cookiesAccepted Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.
Necessary Cookies close_site_notice Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.
Necessary Cookies cookiesAcceptedAnalytics Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.
Analytics '_ga_Y1YGKZ9ZVL','_ga' Used to see how our website users navigate the site

What to do if you would want to find out more or make a complaint relating to data control?

Whatever an individual’s link with Christchurch Town Council it is vital that they feel informed about how the council uses and controls their personal data. Our Town Clerk will answer questions relating to the use of data, and individuals can request a change to the way that their data is managed by contacting the Town Clerk at:

Old Town Hall, 30 High Street, Christchurch. BH23 1AY or email townclerk@christcurch-tc.gov.uk

Updated: 30 September 2021