Data Privacy Notice
Your personal data – what is it?
Personal data is information relating to a living individual who can be identified from that data. Identification can be by the information alone, or together with that data and other associated information, which is in the possession of, or likely to come into the possession of the ‘Data Controller’. In the UK, the processing of personal data is governed by the General Data Protection Regulation, also known as the GDPR.
Who are we?
The United Reformed Church Trust (contact details below) is what is known as the ‘Data Controller’ of the personal data you provide to us. This means it determines how your personal data is processed and for what purposes.
Why we need your personal data
Our primary purpose in collecting your information is to provide you with a service. You agree that we may use your personal information to:
- Provide the service to you;
- Notify you about your service including reminding you when it is due to lapse; and
- Carry out internal administration and analysis.
What is the legal basis for processing your personal data?
We use the following legal grounds to process your personal data. Although, some of these may overlap, we have highlighted which legal basis we use for what purposes (listed above).
- Contractual obligations
- Legitimate interests
How do we process your personal data?
The United Reformed Church Trust complies with its obligations under the GDPR by:
- Processing your personal data in a lawful, fair and transparent manner.
- Collecting only personal data which is adequate and relevant to the purposes we have specified in this notice.
- Not keeping your personal data longer than necessary for the purposes we have specified in this notice.
- Ensuring your personal data is accurate and up-to-date.
- Implementing appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised or unlawful processing, accidental loss, damage or destruction.
Types of personal data we process
We process your personal data relevant to the above purposes. This includes:
- Full name
- Contact detail e.g. address, email, telephone number, etc
Where did we obtain your personal data from?
Although most of your personal data comes directly to us by you; there are some elements of your personal data which we obtain from:
- the United Reformed Church national database of church office holders;
- the United Reformed Church Yearbook.
Who the information may be shared with
We will not sell or rent your information to third parties for their marketing purposes without your consent.
However, just like most service providers, Reform works with third parties who administer important functions for us that allow us to offer and enhance the services we provide. These providers are covered by an appropriate agreement and are located within the European Economic Area. Sometimes it will be necessary for us to disclose information required for the specific purpose to them so that the services can be performed and by requesting us to provide you with the services you consent to this disclosure.
We reserve the right to disclose to third parties your information to comply with applicable laws including but not limited to disclosure in accordance with the Act, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and lawful authority requests, to safeguard the proper operation of our systems and to protect ourselves and the companies we work with
How long is your personal data kept?
We keep your personal data for the duration of your subscription to Reform plus two years. This is for marketing purposes.
How we use the information for marketing
We will only send you direct marketing communications in circumstances where we have your specific consent or where we believe we can demonstrate a legitimate interest.
When you sign up to any of our services, we ask for your consent to send you direct marketing communication over a variety of channels. We will honour your right to withdraw your consent at any time.
When you enquire about or request a service from us, we may rely on our legitimate business interests to send you marketing communications (via post, email or telephone). These communications will always be related to our services and we believe will be of interest to you. We will always provide you with the opportunity to opt-out of this when you provide your information to us.
If you want to stop receiving direct marketing from us, you can use the unsubscribe mechanism on any email you receive, tell us when we call you or alternatively you can contact the Data Protection Officer using the details available in the Privacy Summary.
Periodically we conduct data profiling on the information we collect to better understand our customers in order to provide targeted communications which suit your needs. If you wish to stop your information being used for data profiling, please contact the Data Protection Officer. Please note that a request to opt out of data profiling will automatically stop direct marketing from us and vice versa.
Further processing
If we wish to use your personal data for a new purpose, not covered by this Data Privacy 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.
Transfers of personal data
We do not transfer your personal data outside of the UK/European Union.
What are your rights?
Unless subject to an exemption under the GDPR, you have the following rights with respect to your personal data:
- Request to access a copy of your personal data, which we hold about you.
- Request to rectify your personal data if you find it to be inaccurate or out of date.
- Request to have your personal data erased where it is no longer necessary for us to retain such data.
- Request to have a restriction placed on further processing of your personal data when there is a dispute in relation to the accuracy or processing of your personal data.
- Request to obtain a copy of your personal data in a common machine-readable format and transmit that data directly to another organisation.
Who can I contact?
If you have any questions about how your personal data is being used please contact us on
How do I complain?
If you are not satisfied with the way your personal data is being handled, or with the response received from us, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire. SK9 5AF, through email https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/email/ or by telephone on 0303 123 1113.