Privacy Policy

Blackwater Valley District Privacy Notice / Policy

This Privacy Notice/Policy describes the categories of personal data Blackwater Valley District process and for what purposes.  Blackwater Valley District are committed to collecting and using such data fairly and in accordance with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), the regulations set by the European Union, and Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018), the UK law that encompasses the GDPR.

This Privacy Notice/Policy applies to members, parents/guardians of youth members, volunteers, employees, contractors, suppliers, supporters, donors and members of the public who will make contact with Blackwater Valley District.

Blackwater Valley District are a registered charity with the Charity Commission for England & Wales; charity number 302101.

The Data Controller for Blackwater Valley is the Executive Committee who are appointed at an Annual General Meeting and are Charity Trustees.  The Chair of the Charity Trustees is Michael Hughes who can be contacted here .  Blackwater Valley District includes the Explorer Scout Units which operate within the Blackwater Valley District.

From this point on Blackwater Valley District will be referred to as “we”.

Being a small charity, we are not required to appoint a Data Protection Officer.

The majority of the personal information we hold is provided to us directly by you or by the parents or legal guardians of youth members verbally or in paper form, digital form or via our online membership system Compass.  In the case of adult members and volunteers, data may also be provided by third parties, such as the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

Where a member is under the age of 18, this information will only be obtained from a parent or guardian and cannot be provided by the young person.

We may collect the following personal information:

  • Personal contact details such as name, title, address, telephone numbers and personal email address – so that we can contact you.
  • Date of birth – so that we can ensure young people are allocated to the appropriate Section for their age and that adults are old enough to take on an appointment with Scouting.
  • Gender – so that we can address individuals correctly and accommodate for any specific needs.
  • Emergency contact information – so that we are able to contact someone in the event of an emergency.
  • Government identification numbers e.g. national insurance, driving licence, passport – to be able to process volunteer criminal record checks.
  • Bank account details, payroll information and tax status information – so that we are able to pay any staff that might be employed by us and collect gift aid from HMRC where donations are made.
  • Training records – so that members can track their progression through the Scout programme or adult training scheme.
  • Race or ethnic origin – so that we can make suitable arrangements based on members’ cultural needs.
  • Health records – so that we can make suitable arrangements based on members’ medical needs.
  • Criminal records checks – to ensure Scouting is a safe space for young people and adults.
  • Photographs, videos and audio recordings – for use in connection with publicity or recruitment.

We comply with our obligations under the GDPR and DPA 2018 by keeping personal data up to date; by storing and destroying it securely; by not collecting or retaining excessive amounts of data; by protecting personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access and disclosure and by ensuring that appropriate technical measures are in place to protect personal data.

In most cases the lawful basis for processing will be through the performance of a contract for personal data of our adult volunteers and legitimate interest for personal data of our youth members. Sensitive (special category) data for both adult volunteers and our youth members will mostly align to the lawful basis of legitimate activities of an association.  Explicit consent is requested from parents/guardians to take photographs of our members. On occasion we may use legitimate interest to process photographs where it is not practical to gather and maintain consent such as large-scale events. On such occasions we will make it clear that this activity will take place and give individuals the opportunity to exercise their data subject rights.

We use personal data for the following purposes:

  • to provide information about Scout meetings, activities, training courses and events to our members and other volunteers in Blackwater Valley District
  • to provide a voluntary service for the benefit of the public in a particular geographical area as specified in our constitution
  • to administer membership records
  • to fundraise and promote the interests of Scouting
  • to manage our volunteers
  • to maintain our own accounts and records (including the processing of gift aid applications)
  • to inform you of news, events, activities and services being run or attended by Blackwater Valley District
  • to ensure and evidence your suitability if volunteering for a role in Scouting
  • to contact your next of kin in the event of an emergency
  • to ensure you have and maintain the correct qualifications and skills.

We use personal sensitive (special) data for the following purposes:

  • for the protection of a person’s health and safety whilst in the care of Blackwater Valley District
  • to respect a person’s religious beliefs with regards to activities, food and holidays
  • for equal opportunity monitoring and reporting.

We will retain data on young people under 18 for as long as they remain part of Blackwater Valley District and for up to 12 months thereafter. After 12 months, we may retain some data in a more limited form. This includes contact information and badgework records to allow us to support young people who may continue with higher awards beyond the age of 18 and contact information. We may also use contact information to invite young people to return as leaders in the future. Anyone who does not wish to be contacted can object by contacting the DESC here. 

Once an adult volunteer ceases to be a member of the Scout Association their data becomes inaccessible to the District and the Scout Association has its own policies on retention of data on dormant members.

Except for Chief Scouts Award Presentation Evening any data collected by a member of the District Team, in connection with events, will be destroyed securely within 3 months of the end of the event provided all outstanding matters in relation to the event have been finalised.

Data/information collected in paper form in respect of Chief Scouts Award Presentation Evening will be retained until one month after the event to enable communication, invitation to the event, preparation of certificates. Specific consent is requested on the nomination form.

The Scout Association’s Data Protection Policy can be found here and the Data Privacy Notice here.

Young people and other data subjects

We will normally only share personal information with adult volunteers holding an appointment in the Blackwater Valley District.

We will share the personal data of youth members and their parents/guardians with The Scout Association Headquarters for the purpose of managing safeguarding cases. The privacy and security notice for The Scout Association can be found here: https://www.scouts.org.uk/DPPolicy

The sharing of this data will be via the Online Scout Manager platform which is used by Blackwater Valley District to manage youth membership. The privacy and security notice for OSM can be found here: https://www.onlinescoutmanager.co.uk/security.html

Adult volunteers

We will normally only share personal information with adult volunteers holding appropriate appointments within the line management structure of The Scout Association for the Blackwater Valley District as well as with The Scout Association Headquarters as joint data controllers.

All data subjects

We will however share your personal information with others outside of Blackwater Valley District where we need to meet a legal obligation. This may include The Scout Association and its insurance subsidiary (Unity Insurance Services), local authority services and law enforcement.  We will only share your personal information to the extent needed for those purposes.

We will only share your data with third parties outside of the organisation where there is a legitimate reason to do so.

We will never sell your personal information to any third party.

Sometimes we may nominate a member for national awards, (such as Scouting awards or Duke of Edinburgh awards) such nominations would require us to provide contact details to that organisation.

Where personal data is shared with third parties we will seek assurances that your personal data will be kept confidential and that the third party fully complies with the GDPR and DPA 2018.

We generally store personal information in the following ways:

  • Compass – is the online membership system of The Scout Association, this system is used for the collection and storage of adult volunteer personal data.
  • Online Scout Manager – is the online membership system of Online Youth Manager, this system is used for the collection and storage of youth member personal data.
  • Google G-Suite – is the online email and file storage service which Blackwater Valley operates for use by its volunteer members.

In addition, adult volunteers will hold some personal data locally on personal computers, laptops and mobile devices, for example in the form of spreadsheets, databases or photographs and video.

Printed records and data held while attending events – paper is sometimes used to capture and retain some data for example:

  • Gift Aid administration
  • Event registration
  • Health and contact records forms (for events)
  • Events coordination with event organisers

Paper records for events are used rather than relying on secure digital systems, as often the events are held where internet and digital access will not be available.  We will minimise the use of paper to only what is required for the event.

If we wish to use your personal data for a new purpose, not covered by this Data Protection Notice, then we will provide you with a new notice explaining this new use prior to commencing the processing and setting out the relevant purposes and processing conditions.  Where and whenever necessary, we will seek your prior consent to the new processing.

A link to this website page is provided to those whose data is being processed by us.  A printed version is also available on request.

As a Data Subject, you have the right to object to how we process your personal information.  You also have the right to access, correct, sometimes delete and restrict the personal information we use.  In addition, you have a right to complain to us and to the Information Commissioner’s Office (www.ico.org.uk).

Unless subject to an exemption under the GDPR and DPA 2018, you have the following rights with respect to your personal data:

  • The right to be informed – you have a right to know how your data will be used by us.
  • The right to access your personal data – you can ask us to share with you the data we have about you. This is a Data Subject Access Request.
  • The right to rectification – this just means you can update your data if it’s inaccurate or if something is missing. Adult members will be able to edit and update some information directly on The Scout Association’s Compass membership system.
  • The right to erasure – this means that you have the right to request that we delete any personal data we have about you. There are some exceptions, for example, some information will be held by The Scout Association for legal reasons.
  • The right to restrict processing – if you think that we are not processing your data in line with this privacy notice then you have the right to restrict any further use of that data until the issue is resolved.
  • The right to data portability – this means that if you ask us we will have to share your data with you in a way that can be read digitally – such as a pdf. This makes it easier to share information with others.
  • The right to object – you can object to the ways your data is being used.
  • Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling – this protects you in cases where decisions are being made about you based entirely on automated processes rather than a human input, it’s highly unlikely that this will be used by us.

Forms related cookies

When you submit data through a form such as those found on our contact pages or comment forms, cookies may be set to remember your user details for future correspondence.

Third Party Cookies

Cookies are used in a strictly limited way in the management of the functionality of the District website www.bvscouts.org.uk. Cookies are used to manage login details and to manage shopping baskets in the Scout Shop area. No personal information is collected or stored. Details of cookies used can be found here.

If you have any queries relating to this Privacy Notice or our use of your personal data, please contact us here.

Version 2.0 – [6th July 2020]

Ver 1 Ratified by BWV District Executive at their meeting on 2nd July 2018

Ver 1.1 – 1/7/2018 Minor changes to grammar to aid reading.

Ver 1.2 – 6/7/2018 Added abnormal DBS handling

Ver 1.3 – 8/9/2018 – Added notes relating to Explorers

Ver 2.0 – 6th July 2020 – Revised to align to the Scout Association guidance on the creation of a privacy notice/policy here.