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PRIVACY NOTICE

Data Protection – what you need to know:

Staffordshire Search and Rescue Team (SSART) takes your privacy seriously. This statement sets out how we will deal with any personal information we collect from you or that you provide to us.

SSART will collect and deal with your personal information in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). SSART is the Data Controller of personal data we hold about you; this means we decide how your personal data is processed and for what purposes.

What information might we collect from you?

We may collect and process the following information about you:

• Your contact details – title, name, date of birth, address, telephone number and email address;

• dates of joining;

• Positions held within the team;

• Information contained in emails or other correspondence from you and records of telephone calls or meetings with you;

• Your SSART membership status;

• Details of money that you give to SSART;

• Your bank details for payment of expenses claims when provided.

Sensitive Personal Data

The Data Protection Act recognises some information as Sensitive Personal Data. This includes, but is not limited to information which reveals your religious beliefs, health issues, race or ethnic origin. We hold your Special data (health records) in case of emergency, to enable us to provide relevant details to the emergency service and to contact your next of kin.

Data Protection legislation allows us to process this information as we regard it as being in the Team’s legitimate interest and in the case of your Special data in your ‘vital interests’ in the event of an emergency. Your contact details will be removed from our records within twelve months of you no longer being a member of the Team

Team members are also required to submit a Data Barring Service check to the team and details of any criminal records disclosed are held by the team and accessed by the Personnel Officer, Deputy Chair and Chair.

Data Protection Officer

Our ‘Data Protection Officer’ is the Deputy Chair. They can be contacted via e-mail to deputychair@ssart.org

Purpose of processing

As an organisation we process your personal data when you join the team to enable us to manage your membership within the team and allow us to contact you with team information or your next of kin in the event of an emergency.

Personal information that we collect may be used by us in a number of ways:

• To maintain our list of SSART members;

• To help us to communicate with you;

• To provide welfare and support for members;

• To maintain our accounts and records;

• To respond effectively to enquirers and to properly handle any complaints;

• Exceptionally, to deal with team discipline in accordance with the team’s constitution.

Legal basis

Our legal basis for processing your ordinary personal data will be either that it is necessary to do so to prove your competencies for third parties, such as the Police and to provide you with information. We also process your special data (your health data) as it is in your “vital interests” in the event that you become injured during team operations and to ensure your safety and that of other team members.

Team members are required to provide us with your ordinary personal data in order to be a full member of the team and so that the team can fulfil its legal obligations – for example in respect of safeguarding, etc.

Team members are required to provide their special data (health and DBS records) in order to receive operational status.

Recipients

Sharing your personal data:

We will share your ordinary personal information with executive officers within the team, with Emergency Services during team operations and with Lowland Rescue, our national association. We will only share your special data (health) with the Clinical Lead, Personnel Officer, Search Managers and emergency services (should it be in your vital interests to do so). Criminal (DBS) records will only be shared with the Police, The Personnel Officer, Chair and Deputy Chair.

Your personal data will be treated as strictly confidential and will only be shared with other members and executive members of SSART in order to carry out a service to other members or for purposes connected with the team. The Membership database containing your contact details may be distributed electronically by email or in hard copy to team Executive Committee Members. Similarly, subject to your consent, we will share your contact details with all team members. We will share your data with third parties outside of SSART only with your consent. However, we may share team members information with the Police when requested to do so by them.

The data that we control may be transferred and stored electronically on servers outside the European Economic Area (EEA), including for example on Google Drive, Dropbox, and Whatsapp. All such data files will be password protected against unauthorised access.

We will take all reasonable and necessary steps to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this privacy statement.

We will share your ordinary personal information with executive officers within the team, with Emergency Services during team operations and with Lowland Rescue, our national association. We will only share your special data (health or criminal (DBS) records) with the Clinical Lead, Personnel Officer and emergency services (should it be in your vital interests to do so).

Retention

We will store your personal information for no longer than is reasonably necessary, usually only for the time that you are involved with SSART. After this we may continue to hold your contact details for as long as you agree in order to keep you informed about the Team.

We will store your information whilst you remain a team member and for a period of twelve months after the termination of your membership.

Specifically, we retain membership data while it is still current. Association accounts and all associated documentation is retained for a period of 6 years after the calendar year to which the data relates.

Your rights -in brief

If we process your personal data you may, depending on your circumstances have a right of access to it; to correct inaccurate information; to restrict our processing of it or to have your personal data erased. If you wish to exercise a right please contact the Personnel Officer or Deputy Chair.

You have the following rights with respect to your personal data:

The right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal data – as detailed in this Privacy Notice.

• The right of access to a copy of the personal data we hold about you – to which we must respond within one month.

• The right to require that we correct any personal information if it is found to be inaccurate.

• The right to request that your personal data is erased from our records. However, this may affect your membership status.

• The right to restrict processing of your personal data; when processing is restricted, we are permitted to store the personal data, but not to process it further.

• The right to object to the processing of personal data. [Only applies where processing is based on legitimate interests (or the performance of a task in the public interest/exercise of official authority), direct marketing and processing for the purposes of scientific/historical research and statistics].

• The right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe that SSART has not handled your personal data in accordance with data protection law.

Complaints

Please speak to the Deputy Chair initially but if you have any concerns about the way we have processed your personal information then you can contact the Information Commissioner. They can be contacted at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF https://ico.org.uk/concerns/