Privacy policy

This Privacy Policy applies to Age UK Wigan Borough and its trading and other associated companies where applicable, including Age UK Wigan Borough Enterprises Ltd.

Cookies

Cookies are tiny software files that are stored on a computer or mobile device when an individual visits a website. Cookies allow websites to recognise that a user on an individual computer has previously visited the site. The cookies save some information about that user for when they access the site again in the future. The Age UK Wigan Borough website is managed by Age UK. By using the website and any services we offer via the site, you are agreeing to be bound by the privacy policy. To find out more about the cookies used on the website, please click here.

Who we are

Age UK Wigan Borough is the trading name of Age Concern Wigan Borough which is a registered charity (no 1103022) and company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales (no 5004789). We also operate a trading company, Age UK Wigan Borough Enterprises Ltd which is registered in England and Wales (no 3315916) and donates its net profit to Age Concern Wigan Borough.

Our head office is at 74-80 Hallgate, Wigan WN1 1HP. We put on activities throughout Wigan Borough. Our data controller is the Chief Executive Officer, Bryonie Shaw. She can be contacted by ringing 01942 615880 or emailing enquiries@ageukwiganborough.org.uk.

What information we keep and why

We process personal data relating to clients, customers, supporters, staff, volunteers and trustees of our organisation. This is to allow us to offer services, products and help and guidance to our clients and to be able to keep people up-to-date with our work and plans.

We need to keep some basic information about you to be able to help you with any advice or issues you have asked us about, and to be able to offer you services. This may include name, address, date of birth, contact details, marital status, employment details, GP information, National Insurance number, accommodation details, living arrangements, health/disability information, a record of what you have chosen to talk to us about and any risks associated with worknig with you. This will allow us to ensure you are getting the appropriate support from us.

We also collect details about your ethnicity.  It is recognised that this is sensitive data and is used to ensure that we provide a service to a wide section of the population of people over 55 in Wigan Borough.

In most cases, we will ask your consent before storing or processing your data. However, where we are acting under contract, you may have given consent to the organisation asking us to do the work (e.g. the Council), rather than directly with us, but you will have agreed to have your information passed on to us.

We store the information on a database, Charitylog, which is run externally by a company called Dizions Ltd. This is a database specifically developed for charities, it has strong security features and double password protection. Access is limited to staff and volunteers who have permission to use it. We regularly audit use of Charitylog to ensure that it is being properly used. On some occasions staff from Dizions may also have access when specific support services are required. In some cases, we also store information on computer spreadsheets or in paper format. In these cases access is limited to key staff and volunteers and is securely stored.

When people visit our website, we collect various personal information which may include your name, address, contact details, IP address and information regarding which pages are accessed and when.

How we will contact you

If you have agreed to receive marketing and promotional information from us, we will send that out to you using an agreed contact method. We will not use the information you gave us to find out more about you.

If you wish to change how we contact you

All our materials, whether sent out by post, email or other method, will tell you how you can stop receiving information from us.

You can stop receiving information from us at any time. To do this, you can write to us at the address above, ring 01942 615880 or email enquiries@ageukwiganborough.org.uk.

We aim to fulfil all requests to stop sending information within five working days of receiving it.

Who will see your personal data

Your information is visible to staff and volunteers that work within Age UK Wigan Borough. We will only share your information with people if you have agreed this with us. This may include people whose help we need to progress your case, either within Age UK Wigan Borough or externally. We will always ask you before sharing your details. You can say no to this request.

With your agreement, we may share your details with other services within Age UK Wigan Borough or other local groups or organisations that offer services and advice to older people in our area. This will be limited to organisations offering advice or services that you have requested that we cannot offer, or that fit directly with issues you have raised with us. We will only do this if you have agreed and you can say no to this request. Such organisations may then contact you directly.

If you have used our services, we may share basic demographic and service information with Age UK the national charity and other funders of the service so they can monitor and ultimately improve the services we provide.  The information we share will not include your name or contact details unless you give us your consent to do so for a specific purpose, such as sharing your story.  When we do share this information, we do so under the lawful basis of legitimate interest.

Age UK and Citizens Advice Wigan Borough also has access to our database for the purpose of helping us quality control the advice that we give through our Information and Advice service. This is done under the lawful basis of legitimate interest.

We will never give your data away or rent/sell it to anyone.  We will not share your information with other organisations for marketing purposes.

We may transfer your personal information to a third party as part of a sale of some or all of our business and assets or as part of any business restructuring or reorganisation.  Transfer may also take place if we're under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation or to enforce or apply our terms of use or to protect the rights, property or safety of our staff, supporters, customers, users of the website or others.  However, we will take steps with the aim of ensuring that your privacy rights continue to be protected.

What data will be kept

We are required to keep some personal data, even after we’ve finished dealing with your case or after you have stopped being a supporter of our work. This will include contact details, record of our discussions, records of who we have spoken to on your behalf, any correspondence and an outline of any steps we have taken or advice given. We will also keep information about your date of birth, marital status, ethnic group, disabilities and living arrangements.  This is to ensure we reach a wide range of people in the work that we do.  We will keep data for a total of six years. This is to ensure that we have a record of what we did in the event of a complaint or legal claim.

All data will be stored on an encrypted database, with limited access for staff. It will not be accessed except in response to a query about our actions in the case. No decisions will be made about you based on this data and you will not suffer any detriment or harm by having it stored on our secure systems.

At the end of six years, data will be removed from the database so that all details of the case are removed, unless there is a legal claim or query associated with it. However, we will keep a summary of who we have been associated with (name and address), in what capacity and for how long which will only be used to prove an association should a legacy be given to Age UK or any associated organisations.

We also keep an overall summary of the number of people who contact us and the types of issues people contact us about. This is aggregated data and it is not possible to identify individual cases or people from that data.

The collection of this information will benefit clients by:
- Allowing us to identify important issues that are affecting older people in Wigan Borough;
- Helping us to design services and projects to address need;
- Focusing our campaigning and public engagement;
- Ensuring we train our staff and volunteers in the areas that matter;
- Tailoring our resources to the issues that matter most to our clients.

Lawful processing

The Data Protection Act 2018 requires us to rely on one or more lawful grounds to process your personal information.  We use the following grounds in our work:

- Consent: the individual has given clear consent to process their personal data for a specific purpose;

- Contract: the processing is necessary for a contract we have;

- Legal Obligation: the processing is necessary for us to comply with the law;

- Vital Interests: the processing is necessary to protect someone's life;

- Legitimate Interests: the processing is necessary for us to perform a task in the public interest or for our official functions and the task or funciton has a clear basis in law.

Your rights regarding the information we hold about you

You can ask to see a copy of all the information we hold about you. To do this, please contact us stating you wish to make a Subject Access Request. You can write to the Chief Executive Officer at 74-80 Hallgate, Wigan WN1 1HP, email us at enquiries@ageukwiganborough.org.uk or ring us on 01942 615880. Normally your information will be provided within one month. If this is not feasible, we will explain why. Normally information will be provided free of charge unless the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive.

If you believe that the information we hold is inaccurate or incomplete, you are entitled to have it changed. To do this, contact us as above, stating that you would like your data to be rectified and the changes you would like. Rectification of records will normally done within one month.

You have the right to request that your information is deleted or removed. To do this, contact us as above, stating that you would like your data to be erased.

You have the right to request the restriction or suppression of your personal data or to object to your data being used in a certain way.  This enables us to store the data but not to use it.  To do this, contact us as above, explaining how you would like your data to be used in the future.

We will normally agree to any request unless there are compelling reasons not to. If this is the case, we will explain what these reasons are. We may restrict the use of your data when reviewing requests.

If you want to complain about how we collect, store or use your data

You can contact us if you have any concerns or complaints about how we have collected, used or stored your personal data. You can write to The Central Servcies Manager at the address above, email us at enquiries@ageukwiganborough.org.uk or ring us on 01942 615880 and ask for the Central Services Manager.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner by ringing 0303 123 1113. Their website is https://ico.org.uk and you can live chat  through this.

Reviewed and updated July 2023