Contents:
1.0 Preface
2.0 The information we collect about you
3.0 How we Store your Information
4.0 How we use your information
5.0 How we share your information
6.0 Giving or changing your consent for us to use your information
7.0 If you do not consent to certain uses of your information
8.0 How you can review or update your consents and the information held by us
9.0 Provisions for children under the age of 13 years
1.0 Preface
1.1 This statement explains how we manage your personal information and should be read in conjunction with the Society’s Data Protection and Media Consent Policies.
1.2 Whilst we have done what we can to make this document simple to read, please tell us if there is anything that you do not understand.
1.3 This statement comes into effect on 1st May 2022 and the following revisions made:
- Sections and Paragraphs are now numbered;
- Section 5.2: (Exchange Members) Wording changes to better explain the sharing of our Journal with Exchange Members;
- Section 5.5: (Information published in journals) Wording change;
- Section 6.1: Consent to publish personal information: Wording changes to make this clearer
- The addition of Section 9: Provisions for children under the age of 13 years;
- The addition of section 1.2 above.
1.4 The following previous versions of this statement can be downloaded from our web site:
1.5 In this document (and elsewhere):
Contact Address means your email address by default or, where you do not use email, your postal address. Where another member wishes to make contact and one of you does not use email we would like to disclose your postal address.
Publish means publication both in paper and electronic formats, including on our web site and in data sets accessible to our members.
Appropriate Consent means that you have given your consent, either direct via our web site, or within emails and paper communications between you and us.
2.0 The information we collect about you
2.1 We collect basic information from you to create your account and to communicate with you. This information is received direct via our web site, or within emails and paper communications between you and us.
2.2 This amounts to your name(s), postal address, email address, telephone number (optional for UK residents) and details of your historic family interests. We may also receive family trees or written materials which you have submitted for publication to our membership.
2.3 We do not collect information about you from your use of our web site or any personal financial details. Personal and financial information may be received by us where you make payment to us.
2.4 Payment information remains confidential and is destroyed when no longer required.
3.0 How we Store your Information
3.1 Depending on the type of information, it will be stored on our UK web servers, and on personal devices owned and controlled by some Committee Members. Additionally, information is stored (and shared between Committee Members) using Google Drive, Dropbox or Microsoft OneDrive.
3.2 Paper documents are also stored securely by Committee members at their home addresses.
3.3 All Committee members are aware of their obligations and are compliant with The Data Protection Act and The General Data Protection Regulation.
4.0 How we use your information
4.1 We make use of your information:
• to Identify you from other members;
• to create and manage your membership account;
• to allocate payments made by you;
• to communicate with you regarding you membership; and
• to send you our quarterly journal and other communications - Occasionally we might issue an electronic newsletter, survey or questionnaire, in addition to our quarterly journal.
4.2 You will not be sent third party communications.
4.3 We ask UK members to provide us with a telephone number, just in case other methods of communication with you fail. This is voluntary and not a condition of membership.
4.4 Where the appropriate consent is given by you, we also use your contact address so that other members can contact you about shared research interests. You can choose if this contact is by email, letter or both.
4.5 Personal information may also be anonymised and used by us for statistical purposes.
5.0 How we share your information
5.1 Beyond the purposes detailed below, your personal information will not be shared with any person outside of the Society without your consent. No personal details are divulged to any other organisation for any purpose whatsoever. Members' details are held in a format on the website which precludes the use of data-mining or other forms of automated trawling programs being able to identify names and addresses.
5.2 Our quarterly journal is distributed to members in electronic and paper formats. Some third-party organisations and Family History Societies (commonly known as ‘Exchange Members’) also receive copies of our quarterly journal. The copies that they receive are identical to those sent to members, so will contain personal information, where the appropriate consent has been given to publish that information, under paragraph 6.1 below.
5.3 We are also legally bound to provide paper copies of the original publication to the British Library and the Agency for Legal Deposits.
Subsequently non-members of the society may have access to copies of these journals, and the personal information contained within and this access is beyond the control of the Society.
5.4 Personal information (names and postal addresses) is also shared with Thistle Print, Leeds, so that paper copies of the journal can be sent to members. This information is in the form of a spreadsheet containing members’ names, addresses and membership numbers. Thistle Print are GDPR compliant and destroy their copies of distribution lists once the journals are despatched.
5.5 When you join our Society, we would like to publish, subject to the appropriate consent having been given, your name, membership number, contact address and surname interests. Commencing from May 2019 we have no longer published any changed membership details in our journal.
5.6 When you submit names to our Surnames Interests database or an article for publication there is an expectation that it will generate interest from other members who may wish to contact you. For that reason you must provide the appropriate consent so that we can publish your name, membership number and contact address if you submit any material for inclusion in our journal or other publication.
5.7 If you have submitted Surname Interests, these have been added to a password protected database accessible to members only, and your name, membership number and contact address may be accessible as part of a search result, so that they may contact you.
6.0 Giving or changing your consent for us to use your information
Copies of our journal may be shared with other organisations and persons outside of our society membership.
Your consent is sought for the purposes contained in 6.1 and 6.2 below:
6.1 Consent to Publish Personal Information
The publishing of your name, membership number and contact address. This is to allow us to include your name in our journal and newsletters, or on our web site. This might be because you have just joined us, have changed your contact address, submitted an article or enquiry for publication, or have won an award.
By giving this consent we may also publish your personal details elsewhere in the public domain, such as in a news article, in which case we will contact and discuss this with you beforehand.
6.2 Consent to Disclose Personal Information to Members
Your contact address being shared with other members. This is necessary if you have submitted surnames for inclusion in our Surnames Interests Database. It will also allow us to share your contact details with other members, either upon request or through a secure on-line search facility.
7.0 If you do not consent to certain uses of your information
7.1 Whilst we would prefer you to consent fully to the use of your information as described above, we understand that you may wish to withhold all or part of your consent and can reassure you that this will not have any effect on your access to our resources or your membership in general.
7.2 If you do not give or withdraw your consent, then the following will happen:
If you have submitted surnames to the Member’s Interests database, then your entries will not be displayed in any search results.
7.3 Whilst every effort will be made to comply with your wish to not have your email or postal address published, it will not be possible to remove this contact information from historic material held online or in our archive, such as journals, family trees (Pedigree Index) and other material submitted to us previously for publication.
8.0 How you can review or update your consents and the information held by us
8.1 You may change any consents to the use of this information at any time, by logging into your account (click on Communication Consent) or by contacting the Membership Secretary by letter or email.
8.2 If you would like to see a copy of your personal information held by us or think that something is wrong or should be removed, you should send a request by email or post to the Membership Secretary.
8.3 Under normal circumstances the law requires us to provide you with a copy of your information (free of charge) or rectify any errors to your information within one month, but we aim to make our initial response and any changes to your information and consents within 72 hours.
9.0 Provisions for children under the age of 13 years
9.1 We welcome members of all ages into our Society, and do not collect or ask for any information about the age or date of birth of members. Whilst the personal information of every member is processed and used lawfully, as outlined in Sections 2-8 above, special provisions apply if the member is a child.
9.2 In the UK only children aged 13 years or over can provide their own consent. Children who are under the age of 13 years require parental consent.
9.3 If you are a child under the age of 13 years, or are subscribing on behalf of one, you must inform us separately, in writing, so that we can make a note on your membership record. This also applies to existing members at the time of publication.
9.4 We will make reasonable efforts (using available technology) to verify that the person giving consent does, in fact, hold parental responsibility for the child. If that is not the case, we reserve the right to cancel that membership.
9.5 Children have the same rights as adults over their personal data which they can exercise so long as they are competent to do so, and the provisions contained in Sections 2-8 above apply equally to children and adults.
9.6 Where a child is not considered to be competent, an adult with parental responsibility may usually exercise the child’s data protection rights on their behalf.
9.7 For more information about protecting the information of children, visit the Information Commissioner’s Office website.