Best Practice Guidelines for Compliance with the Data Protection Act (1998) Confidential CPRE Guide for Regional, Branch and District Staff Only Revised October 2011 “Data is nothing but potential until it becomes information and worth little until it becomes knowledge; and knowledge is worthless until it changes practice; and practice is most valuable when learning takes place and becomes know-how….” Introduction The Data Protection Act (1998) is a very important piece of legislation, for it lays down very clear guidelines as to how any organisation must handle electronic and paper based information on people they deal with and want to retain information on (staff, members, supporters, suppliers, volunteers etc.). You should ensure that you read this brief introduction to the DPA (1998) so you can begin to understand the importance of the law and the reasons why CPRE’s field organisation would benefit from following it. The information supplied in this brief document is not designed to cause concerns that result in ‘knee-jerk’ reactions to complying with the law as written. In truth, I believe that for once we have some legislation that can actually benefit a charity. This is because the DPA (1998) actually lays down certain principles that you must follow and by following these you will have a much better understanding of your members' needs, likes, dislikes etc. Better understanding of people who support you means that you are better able to develop their support in the future. In 2002 CPRE undertook an audit of CPRE data handling and data protection compliance status. Whilst we only audited CPRE national office, it was felt that there were a number of key issues that need to be understood by the branch network. The DPA- Business Decision All organisations are required to follow the legislation as written. Clearly this will mean some changes to data handling (data is classed as information on living people held in electronic or paper formats). There is however, always a need to apply a ‘business decision’ on the way you interpret and comply with that interpretation. These guidelines do not set out to instruct you on the business decision you must take in regard to the act. They merely outline the most important sections and definitions and support these with some explanation on the benefits of complying as fully as possible with the legislation. As with any law, there are penalties for non-compliance complaints being upheld by the Information Commissioner (the person who is responsible for data protection and freedom of information issues within the UK). Currently the maximum penalty is a fine of up to £400,000. The business decision and subsequent risk assessment is the responsibility of the Data Protection Officer. In the case of CPRE Branch offices this is likely to be the Branch President who, unless anyone else is specifically named on your Page 2 of 19 data protection registration, would be seen as the person within your organisation who is nominated as having overall responsibility for DPA issues. You must do your level best to implement all the requirements as written, and not live in hope that no complaints are made. In reality, the Act is a fine way of driving forward more robust data handling procedures, which can only benefit any organisation that adopts them. A short introduction to the Data Protection Act (1998) The Data Protection Act (1998) replaced the 1984 legislation and was designed to strengthen the laws surrounding the gathering, holding and managing of personal data (personal data is defined as any information on living people wherever they are, be it home or work). Unlike the 1984 legislation, the new act now covers paper based records, so you can understand why it is important to charities such as CPRE. The new act tightened up the rules concerning the gathering, holding and managing of personal data in both electronic and paper based systems and gave the subject (the person whose data you hold) increased rights on what you can or cannot do with the information you hold on them. The DPA (1998) was developed because the EC wanted to get all member states into line in terms of data protection and, create a ‘data protected’ trading block. This current trading block is called the European Economic Area (EEA) and any data held cannot be transferred outside of this without specific guarantees (known as ‘safe-harbour’ agreements) being in place. CPRE currently does not transfer any data outside of these specified areas. All of us have an impact on CPRE compliance status in regard to the DPA (1998). We use data, handle it, create it, manage it, or in the case of planned communications, drive new contacts to us. It is therefore, very important to understand the ways in which we are now required to work with information on our members and supporters (past and present). More importantly, understanding is the key to good communication. If we know when, how or why someone needs CPRE to communicate with them, and we respond to their needs in the way they prefer, then we can really start to cement our relationships. Why communicate with people who do not want to hear from us? They don’t like it and the law now says you cannot do it. Any individual who thinks we hold information on them has full access, under the terms of the act, on all the information we hold on them so they can use the law to get it. This is why we have to be very organised in the way we Page 3 of 19 gather, handle and manage the data we use. This applies whether we hold 50,000 records on our database, or just 500. An important point to remember; all of us, as individuals, have protection under the DPA (1998). This means that some understanding of what your rights are could be useful when you find companies, or organisations have your personal details and you don’t know how they got them. It can be really handy at times, particularly if they phone you in the middle of your tea! Page 4 of 19 The Eight Data Principles The DPA is centred on a set of eight data principles. These were designed to give data managers a clear indication of what was expected from them in terms of the way they managed their data. They are: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Data is fairly processed Data is used for lawful purposes Data should be relevant and not excessive to purpose Data will be accurate and kept up to date Data should not be held indefinitely The rights of the subject will be respected Data shall be free from unauthorised use and kept secure Data will not be transferred outside of the European Economic Area It is important that this document gives you, in a bit more detail, a fuller explanation of each of these principles, so you can see how and when they could affect your current data handling operations. Because CPRE national office holds a central database of all members with all of their mailing preferences logged, most branches and districts will not need to worry about opt-outs as they receive their data direct from our database. If however a branch holds or gathers details of contacts who are not on the national database, then strict adherence to opt-outs must be kept on these contacts. Principle One- Data is Fairly Processed This means that you must have the consent of the subject to be on your database or listing. We have already covered part of this issue in the section on DPA declaration. Whilst it is not unlawful to gather information on prospective contacts and hold this on a database or file, you must have consent before continuing to hold the information. This rule is the cause of the most confusion in DPA terms (opt-out versus opt-in). You must record what consents you have got on all your databases This means that every record should clearly flag the type of consent obtained. A flag should exist against every record to show: o o o o Where you have asked consent Where consent has been given Where consent has been refused Where no response to consent question has been received CPRE national office holds this information. On lists and spreadsheets supplied, the contact will be marked with requested no contact if they have asked not to receive mail. Other mailing opt-outs are also stored against contacts' records, such as Countryside Voice, Raffle Tickets, Merchandise, Page 5 of 19 Reciprocal mailings (if someone requests not to have their details passed on to third parties), telephone calls, and number of appeals. Principle Two- Data is used for lawful purposes We have no doubt that all your data is used for lawful purposes. This rule exists to stop disreputable traders from selling illegal products via direct mail etc. Principle Three - Data should be relevant and not excessive to purpose If you gather data on supporters and have not issued a DPA declaration seeking consent, then the subject could consider other approaches as excessive to purpose. Additionally, you must be careful of what information you hold on people. You can only hold data that is relevant to the communication needs of both CPRE and the recipient. This means that apart from full name, address/contact information etc., it is quite legitimate to hold local donation history, volunteer interests and so on. Where the line becomes faded is if you gather information that is too subjective and personal. If it is not relevant, then you cannot hold it. Principle Four – Data will be accurate and kept up to date Clearly this is an issue if your flagging is insufficient to attempt to meet the terms of the act. Having a big database is not considered an excuse in terms of the DPA. It is far better to have a smaller database that is well organised, than have a large one that continually causes selection problems. The national database is well organised and very efficiently managed. National office has strict controls on external suppliers in terms of their data gathering and update information they supply to the main database, and the information you receive from national office through listings, movement reports and new member reports is therefore fully DPA compliant If you receive information direct from your contacts, such as a change of address, death or resignation, please make the changes and ensure that this is passed on to Supporter Services at national office as soon as possible. Because the national database changes on a daily basis, you must always request labels or a new list if you are going to approach your members as close to your mailing date as possible. You will therefore only be approaching current members and will not be in danger of contravening the DPA. Page 6 of 19 Principle Five- Data should not be kept indefinitely Some organisations view this principle as ‘If you don’t use it, you lose it’. Charities have historically had a problem with the long-term storage of data. This rule does not apply to subjects who you regularly have a two-way relationship with. It is the issue of lapsed donors that it affects. Our professional view as direct marketers is that you; “Should draw a line in the sand”. By this we mean that you should take a view of data that is beyond an agreed date (e.g. members who lapsed should be removed from your list or held on a separate list, and members who have resigned or died should be removed immediately when you are notified by national office). This rule really helps an organisation to hold data that is relevant to their needs today. As national office holds all archived data you will always be able to retrieve information by asking Supporter Services, so there is no need to keep irrelevant data at branch level. Principle Six- The rights of the subject will be respected The new act outlines a number of subject rights. These are as follows: It is unfair to contact someone who has requested not to be contacted by informing the Data Protection Officer of that desire. This means that if any person, resident on your current database, has asked not to be mailed, contacted etc., then you must adhere to their wishes. If someone is marked by national office as having asked not to be contacted you must not phone or mail them. It is unfair to contact someone who has registered with the local Mail/Telephone/Fax Preference service. (MPS stands for Mailing Preference Service. TPS stands for Telephone Preference Service and FPS stands for Fax Preference Service). These three free service operations are available to individuals and business personnel to register their name, telephone, fax or address details and so stop any unsolicited communications to them. The MPS and TPS are observed by a voluntary code within the UK Marketing sector. TPS is now backed by law. It is for this reason that they were included within the Data Protection Act (1998) and we should be very careful to observe these additional subject rights. What all of this means is that you cannot necessarily write to someone before checking if they are listed on any of these services. If they have given you consent however, then there is no problem because you are doing what they want you to do. When someone joins CPRE they are giving consent to be contacted unless stated otherwise, so this only affects you if you are writing to or calling ‘cold’ contacts. Page 7 of 19 It is unfair to contact someone whose name was unfairly obtained via a third party list. If you obtain data from any third party (list brokers, other organisations or individuals etc.), it must be accompanied by a clear declaration that the records supplied have full consent to their issue to you (CPRE). If you were to mail, telephone or canvas a contact name without their consent (even though it was not your originated data) you are considered liable under the DPA regulations. You must record where you got third party records from - and with what consents This applies to the use of third-party lists. Alongside the standard source for your new contacts, you must have full consent flagging (see above). You must record who you sent records to and where you sent them. You must show against each record the name of the person you sent that record to (be that in electronic or hard copy format) and their location. The same rules apply if you send the data to an external organisation. Keep a log of who has a copy of your lists or data, and ensure that they have signed a DPA Agreement. This is very important at branch and district level where data may be kept in more than one place on paper or on personal computers or laptops, and at the homes or offices of volunteers. Principle Seven- Data shall be free from unauthorised use and kept secure Data is your most valuable asset and should be secure. This means not only creating transfer protocols for electronic data (eg. password protection), but also taking special care to ensure that sensitive paper-based records and files are securely locked away in cabinets, or other lockable devices. This is also an important principle to comply with for your desktop systems. You must ensure that all data holding and viewing desktop computers have a secure password screensaver in place. This will ensure that any staff working on sensitive of DPA regulated data can be assured that when away from their desk, other non-authorised staff cannot access the information viewable on their screens. Principle Eight – Data will not be transferred outside of the EEA This principle does not affect CPRE as far as we can see. It mainly exists to control the flow of information to countries such as the USA where there are no real DP regulations. Other countries have signed up to ‘safe harbour’ Page 8 of 19 agreements. This means that they have some form of regulation in place and may be considered adequate protectors of personal data. Whilst this list of countries contains Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and Japan, it also includes Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man (these areas are not covered under the UK act). This is an important rule for CPRE if you are ever going to set up offices overseas and transmit data to them from the UK for any purpose, including analysis. For example it would not be possible under the current DPA regulations to transmit information to New York as there is no ‘safe harbour’ agreement in place with the US at present. Page 9 of 19 Other Subject Rights Apart from the rules stated in the previous section, the subject has other rights that they can exercise. These are as follows: o The subject has the right of access to data held o The subject has the right to know the purpose for which it is held o The subject has the right to know which third parties now have their details These three rights are most important and are one of the main reasons why you must be able to link all your databases, or move to one common database platform for the whole organisation. National office holds all data on the Visual ALMS database, and your lists, spreadsheets and labels all come from this source. It is important to update your records as soon as you receive updates from national office. What all of this means is: Any person who receives a communication from CPRE, or who believes that their details are held on your systems has the right to know all the information you hold on them, why you are holding it and where you may have sent it. They could be a lapsed donor, someone who has been told by a third party that you hold details on them or more simply, someone who guesses you might have their details because they get mailings from other charities. The subject has the right to a hard copy of all relevant data on them This means that if they write to the Data Protection Officer (or in truth, to anywhere else within the organisation), asking for the information you hold, you have to provide full details in hard copy format. You can charge up to £10 for supplying these details and you have 40 days in which to supply them. If you do not supply the details within the 40 days, the subject has the right to take out a Court Order to enforce their request. If a subject telephones asking for the details, you have the right to ask them to put their request in writing before you disclose the details you hold. The subject has the right to prevent processing- where processing is likely to cause substantial distress or damage Suppose a widow, or widower writes to you asking that their deceased partner receive no future mailings. There are successful cases where failure to comply, or not manage the suppression of a deceased flag, has led to compensation being paid to distressed parties who could prove that their wishes were not Page 10 of 19 adhered to. If such a request is received, you have 21 days to comply (respond and suppress). This is another good reason for tracking protocols on your database, and why you must keep your records updated regularly from the reports sent by supporter services at national office. You must also use the mailing label facilities supplied by national office rather than use your own lists to produce labels for your members, as the database is updated daily whereas yours is likely to be updated following each monthly movement report. The subject has the right to rectify, erase or destroy inaccurate data Data is considered inaccurate if it is incorrect or misleading. If any subject asks you to get their details correct, you must do so. This means being able to identify every base on which their details are held and ensure that the correct details are listed. The subject has the right to sue for damage/distress caused What constitutes damage or distress is up to the individual to determine and prove. As shown in the example above, an individual could claim distress if their deceased partner continued to receive mailings. We have examples of distress claims that have been successful and would be happy to discuss these with you. The subject has the right to request the Information Commissioner to investigate breaches This is the ‘worst case’ scenario. If an individual feels that their requests are not being met, then they can ask for a formal investigation into your data processes. If this was to happen, then you could find that your database operations were suspended until the investigation team were happy. This could be very disruptive to supporter and member mailing programmes. Additionally, if breaches are seen to have been committed, then you could be subject to a fine, compensation to the injured party or censure. Page 11 of 19 DPA declarations Principle One states that data must be fairly processed. This means that you must have the consent of the data subject to hold their details. All your communications must therefore, carry a clear DPA declaration, plus an opportunity for the recipient to indicate what their consent is. Most commonly, this is a simple tick box where recipients can indicate if they do not want to receive any further communications from CPRE. This is called an ‘optout’ declaration, and is printed on all membership forms produced from 2001 onwards. You must include this on all leaflets you produce locally. If the recipient ticks the ‘opt-out’ box and returns the form it is printed on (usually the mailing letter/leaflet etc.), then we cannot mail them again. We must enter their consent status onto the database to ensure they are not selected for any more communications. If the recipient does not tick the box and sends back the form, or does not respond at all, we can continue to mail them (for in the case of no response, it is considered that the recipient has not told us we can’t send communications to them). If we are contacting members, supporters or prospects by telephone and we gather information, we should also make a verbal DPA declaration (any subsequent written communication will contain an ‘opt-out’ declaration for the recipient to consider). It is very important to understand the ‘opt-out’ rule and the reasons why all our communications must carry a DPA declaration. Remember- When we are dealing with information on minors (under 16’s) we apply an ‘opt-in’ ruling. This means that we must have the permission of the parent/guardian to hold information on minors. The ‘Opt-Out ‘ versus ‘Opt-In’ debate One of the most hotly contested arguments that surround the new legislation is the interpretation of Data Principle One – Data should be fairly processed. The Direct Marketing Association in the UK has tried to establish a line in terms of compliance with this rule through ‘Opt-out’. Many organisations however, have opted for legal, as opposed to marketing, advice on this issue and found, as a result, that their degree of flexibility has been greatly reduced. Does consent mean that you must have a positive indication from the subject that you can hold their data? If this was the case, then we should all follow an Page 12 of 19 ‘Opt-in’ policy and only hold details where positive consent has been given. This could mean that with those subjects who do not say either yes or no we could not view their silence as consent. This would not be the most positive way to develop our supporter base, as we know that not everyone would complete an ‘Opt-in’ form, particularly if they were not responding by making a donation. I take this important issue very seriously and made a number of representations to the Information Commissioner (IC) in the attempt to get a positive ruling. This was not forthcoming (for reasons we could not fully appreciate), so we created a rationale for continuing with ‘Opt-out’. This was cleared by our own legal advisors, as well as by the Deputy Information Commissioner who has responsibility for legal issues surrounding the DPA (1998). Our view is as follows: The DPA (1998) does state that you must have consent to hold personal details on the subject. The act does not however outline the definition of the word consent (as it relates to the act). In our view, the issuing of a clear and unequivocal statement, along with a clear ‘Opt-out’ statement for the subject to complete, should be sufficient to abide by the regulations. If all communications carried a standard, clear, DPA statement, then it would achieve compliance for the following reasons: All subjects would have an opportunity to ‘Opt-out’ from being communicated with. Any subject who donated, or entered into positive communication with an organisation (eg. a Gift Aid declaration or setting up a Direct Debit), whilst not ‘Opting-out’ could be considered to have given implied consent for the holding of their details. The express wish of any subject who did ‘Opt-out’ could be followed and a clear record kept of their request. Any subject who did not respond at all could not easily challenge the holding of their details, as they had not taken a clear opportunity to ask for communications to cease. This will only work however, if a clear statement is given at every opportunity. In our view, any statement should quote the Data Protection Act (1998), as well as making a passing reference to the Human Rights Act (article 8 – the right to privacy). Whilst all this sounds overly complicated, it can be written very simply and clearly and should, if used correctly, supply the organisation with a defendable position. Page 13 of 19 Until a positive ruling on this issue is given, we believe that it is most advisable to continue with ‘Opt-out’, but ensure that a clear DPA (1998) statement is always issued. In this way you have the opportunity to develop that data where no committed relationships have yet been formed. All charities need to have the maximum opportunity to develop the data it has. The consent issue in the DPA (1998) has brought the managing of data to the fore, but more importantly, has given all organisations the ability to review its communications and build new and meaningful long-term relationships with prospects, suspects and of course, committed supporters. Once you have decided the declaration route you want to take, you should plan to implement it across the whole organisation. You must also use the same DPA declaration when canvassing callers on the telephone (donor development etc.). This should be part of any call handler script. CPRE’s preferred text is as follows: CPRE holds and manages data in strict accordance with the Data Protection Act (1998). Occasionally other organisations with beliefs sympathetic to our own as to write to our supporters. If you would prefer NOT to hear from them, please tick this box □ We would like to keep you informed of our future activities, but if you would prefer NOT to receive future communications please tick this box □ Page 14 of 19 Electronic mail marketing Please note that with email communications the industry standard is to use opt-in only, so the most important thing to remember is that you can only carry out unsolicited electronic marketing if the person you're targeting has given you their permission. However, there is an exception to this rule. Known as the 'soft opt-in' it applies if the following conditions are met; • where you've obtained a person's details in the course of a sale or negotiations for a sale of a product or service; • where the messages are only marketing similiar products or services; • and where the person is given a simple opportunity to refuse marketing when their details are collected, and if they don't opt out at this point, are given a simple way to do so in future messages. When you send an electronic marketing message, you must tell the recipient who you are and provide a valid contact address. The rules on emails don't apply to emails sent to organisations, though you must still identify yourself and provide an address. In summary, we recommend that your marketing campaigns are always permission-based and you explain clearly what a person's details will be used for. Provide a simple way for them to opt out of marketing messages and have a system in place for dealing with complaints. Page 15 of 19 Branches CPRE’s branches are separate registered charities. The issue of membership data supplied to the field has been discussed and our advice is to view the sharing of essential membership data with the field organisation as ‘non-sharing’. This is because the member supplying CPRE with their details is joining both nationally and locally and would therefore assume that CPRE national office and the branch are one organisation. Information on Minors As stated previously, if you are writing to, or gathering information from minors (16 and under), then you must have the consent of the parent/guardian in order to hold the information. This information is often picked up during a sponsored event, although you do have family memberships and there is the chance that data may be offered. We advise, that you do not hold any information on minors where you do not have the written consent of the parent/guardian. This means that on any communication that is likely to attract the details of a minor (a fundraising event, CPRE campaign etc.) must have the following wording (or something similar): If you are aged 16 or under, then we must have the permission of your parent/guardian to hold your details on our systems. Ask them if this is okay and get them to sign the bottom of this form and send it back to us. In this way, we will be able to keep you informed about CPRE and the other ways you may be able to help us. Signed………………………………Parent/Guardian Personnel Data held on staff members is now subject to the same regulations as all other data. Individuals have access rights to data held. The way in which job application data is held and the CPRE policy for handling application data from non-successful applicants is sound and within DPA regulation interpretation. Security of Paper Records Hard copy information must be held securely. In the case of banking details, held by CPRE or any other agent, these must be kept locked away, yet easily accessible. The same principles apply to any CPRE department who hold paper Page 16 of 19 records on their supporters, contacts etc. contact information and so on. These can include bank details, Whilst any organisation likes to be able to vouch for the trustworthiness of its employees, there is always the issue of visitors, or outside contractors who may, from time to time, have free access to the offices. If you are going to hold sensitive information on supporters, even if it is locked away, you must develop clear access rights on who is going to handle it. You must have a privacy/confidentiality agreement with all staff, permanent or temporary, who handle sensitive information. We know that you hold information that is sensitive (celebrity donors for example), so you need to ensure that all staff that can observe, amend or handle that information has some form of confidentiality agreement in place. The same principles apply to external agencies. You should have written confidentiality agreements in place with any suppliers you choose to use. This means that if you send your membership list to a mailing house to laser envelopes for your newsletter, you must have a signed confidentiality agreement from them. Events All events materials must have a comprehensive DPA declaration. This should include an opportunity to gather consent from the parent/guardian of minors (16yrs old or younger). Member Information The data held within this area has major financial intelligence about members, supporters and donors. If you are capturing data at branch or district level or starting a donor program, you should use a strong set of data capture protocols, and have secure areas in which to hold important and sensitive banking information. If we consider what sorts of information we could hold on members or supporters then we may end up with a list that looks something like this: o o o o o o o Donation Totals Direct Debit Forms Gift Aid Forms Standing Order Forms Bank Statements Publication Purchases High Profile Donors/Supporters Page 17 of 19 o High Value Donors You must create a secure area (e.g. lockable cabinets and password protected databases) for the holding of important and essential financial information on supporters. This is particularly important if you are holding bank information along with personal information. If you are, then to hold this insecurely is in direct contravention of the DPA (1998) and must be addressed. Page 18 of 19 Conclusion In reality you do have some issues to consider. The most important thing to achieve is the ability to view and understand all supporter or contact records in one place, easily and efficiently. I hope that these few points will summarise effectively the contents of this document: 1. You must have robust data handling operations for member details. The holding, insecurely, of sensitive data is one that has got to be taken very seriously. 2. You should adopt a clear DPA (1998) declaration policy on all communications. 3. You must ensure that you have consent from parent/guardian before holding any data on your system for minors (persons 16yrs of age and under) 4. Any staff that handle or manage, or view data should sign a confidentiality agreement. 5. We suggest that you should keep only one database that is regularly updated to avoid mistakes in mailing deceased or resigned members for example, and that you should request fully updated lists or labels from national office as close to the communication date as possible. 6. We suggest that you should ensure you get a privacy statement uploaded onto any email communications you send (CPRE national office have one and you could simply follow the same wording). 7. We would suggest that you have robust consent gathering procedures. 8. We would recommend the creation of a set of standard data handling protocols. These would help in creating a robust data-handling platform that all the staff could adhere to. It would also act to re-enforce the CPRE Branch approach to the DPA and all data intelligence gathering. If you would like any more information, please contact the Data Protection Officer at CPRE (currently Adrian Mitchell) or the Supporter Services team on 020 7981 2870. 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