Data Protection, Privacy and Communications Policy

Data protection, privacy and communications policy of 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards Regimental Comrades Association and Home Headquarters QDG dated 13 May 2021

1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards Regimental Comrades Association (QDG RCA) is an organisation run by an elected committee, administratively managed by Home Headquarters, 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards (HHQ QDG). This policy covers data concerning members of the RCA and any personal data collected by the RCA, and HHQ QDG through any other connection with 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards, or its antecedent regiments, or from whatever source. It covers also personal data collected by HHQ QDG in relation to the 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards Regimental Trust and the QDG Heritage Trust.

Our main contact address is: HHQ QDG, Maindy Barracks, Cardiff, CF14 3YE.

QDG RCA takes the privacy of our members, supporters and volunteers very seriously. At the QDG RCA we are strongly committed to protecting your privacy and every reasonable effort is taken to ensure that your information is kept secure and intact. This policy describes how HHQ QDG collects and uses personal information about the people who give us their data including but not limited to by phone, face-to-face, through our website, by email and in writing. This policy also states how and why we use data, how we store it and how individual personal preferences can be amended.

The terms of this policy may change, so please check it from time to time. This version, supersedes all previous versions.

If you have any queries about this policy please contact the QDG RCA Data Protection Officer who is currently the Regimental Secretary at:

The Regimental Secretary
HHQ QDG
Maindy Barracks
Cardiff
CF14 3YE

E-Mail:  aohhqqdg1959@gmail.com

Phone: 02920 781213

QDG RCA Privacy Statement

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provides the legal framework that defines how personal information can be used. HHQ QDG is committed to complying with the principles set out in GDPR and has a legal duty to protect any personal information we collect from you. Please read this privacy policy to understand how we use your data. In summary:

  • Your personal information is only used for the purpose for which we collect it.
  • Your personal information is only seen by those who need it to do their jobs.
  • We will only disclose data with your consent, or where we are obliged to disclose personal data by law, or as expressly permitted under the GDPR (through contract; legal obligation; vital interests; public task; or legitimate interests).
  • We will endeavour to keep your information up to date. Inaccurate or misleading data will be corrected as soon as possible.
  • Personal information is retained only for as long as it is required for the purpose collected, or as required by law.
  • Your information will be protected from unauthorised or accidental disclosure and processed in an appropriate manner to maintain its integrity and confidentiality.
  • We will provide you with a copy of your personal information on request (please see below for information on access rights and requests).

These principles apply whether we hold your information in hard copy or in electronic form.

How do we collect information?

If you provide services to HHQ QDG, we will collect information in line with your contract for services.

We obtain personal information from you when you join the QDG RCA as a member, or support our organisation, or through contact through our activities.

We will only ever collect the information that we need, including data that will be useful to help improve our services.

What information do we collect?

The personal information we collect will include but is not limited to, name, nick name, service number, date of birth, dates of service, email address, postal address and telephone numbers.

We may also collect special categories of personal data such as information about your health if this is required for the purpose you have contacted HHQ QDG. We collect special categories of personal data only if we are permitted to do so by data protection law, and we have additional measures in place to protect this data.

Why do we collect this information?

We collect this information for the purpose of promoting the aims of the QDG RCA and HHQ QDG, communicating effectively and appropriately with our members and supporters. The lawful basis for which we process your information is:

  • your consent;
  • processing is necessary for the performance of the QDG RCA and HHQ QDG. If you fail to provide this information we may be unable to perform as efficiently.
  • processing is necessary to protect your interests or that of another person;
  • processing is necessary for the purpose of the legitimate interest pursued by us, except where your rights as a data subject override our legitimate interest. The legitimate interest we rely upon is subject to an assessment based on the specific context and circumstances.

How do we use this information?

We will use the information you provide in the ways set out below:

  • promote the aims of HHQ QDG;
  • to provide and personalise our services to our members and supporters;
  • to communicate with our members and supporters, dealing with your enquiries and requests, recording contact with you if needed;
  • to provide you with information, to include but not limited to information about the Regiment, Regimental events, funerals, QDG RCA events, QDG RCA branch events, fundraising and how you can donate to our regimental charities;
  • to claim Gift Aid on your donations;
  • to conduct market research;
  • for administrative purposes.

We will only share your data with other parties who facilitate our ability to communicate with you more effectively, for example we use MailChimp, an all-in-one marketing platform that helps us manage and communicate with different cohorts within the RCA.

Do we share your information with anybody else?

We do not share your personal information with any other parties; however, we may need to disclose your information if required to do so by law or as expressly permitted under applicable data protection legislation.

We do not sell personal details to third parties.

Our website may include links to websites run by other organisations. HHQ QDG is not responsible for the privacy practices of these other websites so you should read their privacy policies carefully before sharing any personal or financial data.

Storing and protecting your information We recognise the concerns that many people have about giving personal information.

We place great importance on the security of all personally identifiable information associated with our QDG RCA members, supporters, staff and volunteers. We have security measures in place to protect against the loss, misuse and alteration or destruction of personal data under our control. Information is stored by us on secure Ministry of Defence computers. We may also store information in hardcopy paper files. All our online forms are protected by encryption. We also use a secure server when you make a payment via our website.

However, no data transmission over the internet is 100% secure. As a result, whilst we cannot absolutely guarantee that loss, misuse or alteration of data will not occur while it is under our control. We use our best efforts to prevent this and protect your personal information.  HHQ QDG is currently looking into updating our website, which will give us an up to date set of controls to provide protection from the most modern prevalent cyber security threats.

Except as required by law, we will keep your information only for as long as we need it to provide you with the services of being a member or supporter of the QDG RCA, or as HHQ otherwise requires. When your information is no longer required, we will always dispose of it securely.

Payment Card Information

HHQ QDG does not store any sensitive payment card data in our systems. We have an active Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) compliance programme in place. This is the international standard for safe card payment processes.

Transfer of Information Outside of the EEA

Given that the Internet is a global environment, using it to collect and process personal data necessarily involves the transmission of data on an international basis. This means for instance that data you pass to us may be processed outside the European Economic Area (EEA), although the data will always be held securely and we will take steps to ensure that any third-party organisation we engage to process data on our behalf provides an adequate level of protection in accordance with GDPR. By submitting your personal information, you agree to this transfer, storing or processing at a location outside the EEA.

Under 13s

HHQ QDG is concerned to protect the privacy of children aged under 13.  We will not knowingly request or collect information from a child under 13 for any purpose.

Heritage Lottery

Due to Gambling Commission regulations, we cannot allow people under the age of 18 to take part in the Heritage Lottery.

Your Rights

You have a right to object to HHQ QDG processing your personal information at any time where we rely on our legitimate interests for doing so.  Such a request must be sent to the Data Protection Officer. HHQ QDG will always act upon your choices around what type of communications you want to receive and how you want to receive them. If you don’t want to hear from us, please inform the HHQ QDG team.

You have a right to ask us to confirm whether we are processing information about you, and to request access to this information (‘right of access’).  Please contact us at the address below for further information on how to request access.

The Regimental Secretary
HHQ QDG
Maindy Barracks
Cardiff
CF14 3YE

E-Mail:  aohhqqdg1959@gmail.com

Phone: 02920 781213

You may ask us, or we may ask you, to rectify information you or we think is inaccurate, and you may also ask us to remove information which is inaccurate or add to information, which is incomplete (‘right to rectification’). If your personal details change, please help us to keep your information up to date by notifying us at the address below:

The Regimental Secretary
HHQ QDG
Maindy Barracks
Cardiff
CF14 3YE

E-Mail:   aohhqqdg1959@gmail.com

Phone: 02920 781213

You have a right to obtain your personal data from us and reuse it for your own purposes, perhaps for another service, without hindering the usability of the data (‘right of portability’). This right does not apply where processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest, or in the exercise of official authority vested in us.

You have a right to seek the erasure of your data (often referred to as the ‘right to be forgotten’). If you may wish to exercise this right for any reason, for example where it is no longer necessary for us to continue holding or processing your personal data you may withdraw your consent. You should note that we are entitled to and reserve the right to retain your data for statistical purposes. This right is not absolute, as we may need to continue processing this information, for example, to comply with our legal obligations, or for reasons of public interest.

You have a right to ask us to restrict our processing of your information (‘right to restriction’) if:

  • you contest its accuracy and we need to verify whether it is accurate
  • the processing is unlawful and you ask us to restrict use of it instead of erasing it
  • we no longer need the information for the purpose of processing, but you need it to establish or defend legal claims
  • you have objected to processing of your information being necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest, or for the purposes of our legitimate interests. The restriction would apply while we carry out a balancing act between your rights and our legitimate interests.
  • you exercise your right to restrict processing, we would still need to process your information for the purpose of exercising or defending legal claims, protecting the rights of another person or for public interest reasons.

If you would like to exercise any of your rights above, please contact the Data Protection Officer, unless we have provided specific contact details in respect of one of the rights we have set out. We will act in accordance with your instructions as soon as reasonably possible and there will be no charge.

You have a right to report any of your concerns about our use of your data to the Information Commissioner’s Office. You may do so by calling their helpline at 0303 123 1113.

Cookie Usage

HHQ QDG website may use cookies, tracking pixels and related technologies. Cookies are small data files that are served by our platform and stored on your device.  Most browsers will allow you to turn off cookies. Please note however that turning off cookies may restrict your use of our website. To learn more about cookies and how to manage them, visit https://www.aboutcookies.org/ .

Trademarks and copyright HHQ QDG website contains material which is protected by copyright and/or other intellectual property rights. All copyright and intellectual property rights including the names, images and logos are owned by QDG unless otherwise stated. All rights are reserved.

You are responsible for complying with all applicable copyright laws. We permit you to make copies of information on HHQ QDG website as necessary incidental acts during your viewing and you may take a print for your personal use of so much of the site as is reasonable for private purposes. All other uses are prohibited. Nothing in these terms shall be construed as conferring any right to use any trademark, logo, patent right or copyright of HHQ QDG.

Changes

We may change the terms of this privacy statement on occasion, but will not reduce your rights under this Privacy Policy without your explicit consent. If we do so, we will inform you via social media, email and newsletter. We will also keep prior versions of this Privacy Policy in an archive. By continuing to be a member, supporter or volunteer of the QDG RCA, or use our website, you will be deemed to have accepted such changes.

If you have any questions about this policy or how we use data please contact the Data Protection Officer at the above address or via email

Data Protection Regulator

Further information and advice about data protection is available from:

The Office of the Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Tel: +44 (0) 01625 545 745

Website: www.ico.org.uk