Privacy Policy

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) of St. Peter’s Church, Merton

An overview of how we collect and use your information.

 This is an overview of:

•  the types of information we collect about you
• how we collect and use it
• who we might share it with
• the steps we’ll take to make sure it stays private and secure
• your rights to your information

 

1. Who we are

The PCC and the Incumbent of St. Peter’s Church, Merton, are the data controllers (contact details below). This means they decide how your personal data is processed and for what purposes.

 

2. What is your personal data?

Personal data relates to a living individual who can be identified from that data. Identification can be by the information alone or in conjunction with any other information in the data controller’s possession or likely to come into such possession. The processing of personal data is governed by the General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”).

 

3. How do we collect your personal data?

We collect information about you from different places including:

• directly from you
• from a third party acting on your behalf e.g. parent, spouse or other family member
• from the Diocese of Norwich
• from publicly available sources
• when we generate it ourselves
• from other organisations

We’ll only collect your information in line with relevant regulations and law and this may relate to any church events you may attend, or services you may sign up for, any appointed church post you currently hold or have held in the past.

You’re responsible for making sure you give us accurate and up to date information. If you provide information for another person, you’ll need to tell them how to find the Privacy Notice and make sure they agree to us using their information for the purposes set out in it.

 

We also use a third party called statcounter.com to collect anonymised information which consists of the device you use to view our website along with information such as screen size, the pages you visit, the length of time you spend on the website and other information to assist us improve the service we offer.  None of this information will identify you as it is all collected and submitted in bulk. You can view Statcounter’s privacy policy here.

 

4. Cookies

Cookies are small text files that are given to a web browser by a web server. The main purpose of a cookie is to identify users and possibly prepare customized web pages or to save site login information for you.  This website may not work properly if you do not accept cookies.  Cookies do not personally identify you.

However, cookies can be used by some systems to, for instance track your web usage to work out which advertisements to show you, or gain information about your social networking usage. If you worry that this impinges on your privacy, search for ‘block all cookies’ or view this page for an idea of how to tell your browser not to allow them

 

5. Website Hosting

This website is securely protected and holds an encryption certificate.  While information is being transmitted from our website to the website hosting company it is very safe indeed but we cannot of course guarantee absolute security while information is being transmitted from your device to our website.

 

6. How will we use your personal data?

The PCC of St. Peter’s Church, Merton will comply with its obligations under the “GDPR” 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 so far as is possible from loss, misuse, unauthorised access and disclosure, and by ensuring that appropriate online measures are in place to protect it.

We use your personal data for the following purposes: –

• To administer our membership records
• To manage our employees and volunteers
• To maintain our own accounts and records (including the processing of gift aid applications)
• To inform you of news, events, activities and services at St. Peter’s
• We will not share your details with any third party

 

7. What is the legal basis for processing your personal data?

• In order that we can keep you informed about news, events, activities and services, to process your gift aid donations and keep you informed about relevant diocesan events
• Processing is necessary for carrying out obligations under employment, social security or social protection law
• Processing is carried out by a not-for-profit body such as St. Peter’s Church Merton in relation only to members or former members (or those who have regular contact with it in connection with the purposes listed above)
• There is no disclosure to a third party.

 

8. Sharing your personal data

Your personal data will be treated as strictly confidential and will only be shared with other members of the church in order to carry out a service to you or other church members or for purposes connected with the church. We will not share your data with third parties.

 

9. How long do we keep your personal data?

We keep data in accordance with the guidance set out in the guide “Keep or Bin: Care of Your

Parish Records” which is available from the Church of England website.

Specifically, we retain electoral roll data while it is still current. Gift Aid declarations and associated paperwork are held for 6 years after the calendar year to which they relate; and parish registers (baptisms, marriages, funerals) are retained permanently. With regard to information held on children, with the written permission of the parent, we will hold the information until the child reaches 16 years of age or until such time as the parent/ guardian requests that the data be removed from our records.

 

10. Your rights and your personal data

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

• The right to request a copy of your personal data which St. Peter’s Church Merton holds about you
• The right to request that St. Peter’s Church Merton corrects any personal data if it is found to be inaccurate or out of date
• The right to request your personal data is erased where it is no longer necessary for St. Peter’s Church Merton to retain such data
• The right to withdraw your consent to the processing at any time
• The right, where there is a dispute in relation to the accuracy or processing of your personal data, to request a restriction is placed on further processing or to object to the processing of your personal data
• The right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office

 

11. Removing your data from our files

If you choose to opt out at any time and request that your personal information is removed from our files, or if your data is no longer deemed necessary to be retained by us, then please note that all electronic files will be deleted from our computers and all paper files will be shredded.

 

12. Further processing

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.

 

13. Third party links

There may be links to third party websites. We cannot be responsible, nor can we accept any liability for your personal information should you choose to share information with any third party.  You should check carefully the privacy policy of any website before sharing information with them or allowing them to collect information from you.

 

14. Contact Details

To exercise all relevant rights, queries or complaints, please in the first instance, contact the St Peter’s Merton churchwardens at pcc@stpeterschurch-merton.org

You can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office on 0303 123 1113 or via email

Email | ICO or at the Information Commissioner’s Office,

Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire. SK9 5AF