Data Protection Policy:

British Sikh Consultative Forum (BSCF)

  1. Definition
    1. Personal data is information about a person which is identifiable as being about them. It can be stored electronically or on paper and includes images and audio recordings as well as written information.
    2. Data protection is about how we, as an organisation, ensure we protect the rights and privacy of individuals, and comply with the law when collecting, storing, using, amending, sharing, destroying or deleting personal data.
  2. Responsibility
    1. The overall and final responsibility for data protection lies with the executive committee, who are responsible for overseeing activities and ensuring this policy is upheld.
    2. All staff and volunteers are responsible for observing this policy, and related procedures, in all areas of their work for the forum.
  3. Overall policy statement
    1. BSCF needs to keep personal data about its committee, members, staff, volunteers and supporters to carry out its activities.
    2. We will collect, store, use, amend, share, destroy or delete personal data only in ways that protect people’s privacy and comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other relevant legislation.
    3. We will only collect, store and use the minimum amount of data that we need for clear purposes, and will not collect, store or use data we do not need.
    4. We will only collect, store and use data for:
      • purposes for which the individual has given explicit consent, or
      • purposes that are in our forum’s legitimate interests, or
      • contracts with the individual whose data it is, or
      • to comply with legal obligations, or
      • to protect someone’s life, or
      • to perform public tasks.
    5. We will provide individuals with details of the data we have about them when requested by the relevant individual.
    6. We will delete data if requested by the relevant individual unless we need to keep it for legal reasons.
    7. We will endeavour to keep personal data up-to-date and accurate.
    8. We will store personal data securely.
    9. We will keep clear records of the purposes of collecting and holding specific data, to ensure it is only used for these purposes.
    10. We will not share personal data with third parties without the explicit consent of the relevant individual unless legally required to do so.
    11. We will endeavour not to have data breaches. In the event of a data breach, we will endeavour to rectify the breach by getting any lost or shared data back. We will evaluate our processes and understand how to avoid it happening again. Serious data breaches which may risk someone’s personal rights or freedom will be reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office within 72 hours, and to the individual concerned.
    12. To uphold this policy, we will maintain a set of data protection procedures for our committee, staff and volunteers to follow.
  4. Cookies Policy

    The Cookie Policy explains what cookies are and how we use them – what type of cookies we use, the information we collect using cookies and how that information is used.

    What are Cookies?

    Cookies are little text files which are stored on the browser or hard drive of your computer or mobile device when you visit a webpage or application. Cookies work to make your experience browsing our site as smooth as possible and they remember your preferences, so you don’t have to insert your details again and again. There are different types of cookies. Some cookies come directly from our website and others come from third parties which place cookies on our site. Cookies can be stored for varying lengths of time on your browser or device. Session cookies are deleted from your computer or device when you close your web-browser. Persistent cookies will remain stored on your computer or device until deleted or until they reach their expiry date.

    How do we use Cookies?

    We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience by:

      • recognising when you log in and any preferred settings
      • giving you a browsing experience that is unique to you and to serve you content which we believe improves your site experience
      • analysing how you use our site which helps us to troubleshoot any problems and to monitor our own performance.
  5. Review
    • This policy will be reviewed every two years.
    • Last reviewed May 2021.