This privacy notice explains how we collect, process, transfer and store your personal information.

At Venus, we are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. We want you to be confident that we are handling your personal data in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

This applies to information we collect about:

  • People who are referred to or use our services.
  • Our funders, commissioners, and supporters
  • People who deliver and govern our services.

What do we collect?

Venus aims to provide you with the highest quality of service. To do this we keep relevant records about you and the service we have provided or plan to provide for you. Only information that we actually need is collected and it is only seen by those who need it to do their jobs.

These records will be specific to the type of service you are accessing and may include:

  • Basic details about you, like address, date of birth, contact information etc.
  • Contact we have had with you such as meetings / visits.
  • Notes and reports about your circumstances (eg: your health, financial circumstances, social care history, housing / accommodation etc)
  • Details and records about your interaction with the service (ie: case notes)
  • Relevant information from other people who hold information about you, such as relevant professionals, relatives, etc.

 

Normally, information is collected directly from you (the data subject); however, in some cases, we receive personal information about you as part of a referral from a partner agency or from other services that are or have previously been providing you with services. Whatever the source, we are committed to holding your records in strict confidence.

How we look after your information

All personal information held by Venus is kept safe. Everyone who accesses your records, in any format, is obliged to keep your information confidential. We aim to share only as much information as is needed to be able to fulfil their role in providing our services to you. We will never share information with third parties for marketing purposes. Other information that does not include your personal details may be used for planning, training, research and reporting but will remain anonymised.

We will only disclose data to third parties when obliged to disclose personal data by law, the disclosure is necessary for the purpose of national security or safeguarding cases, or with your consent.

Personal information is retained only for as long as it is required for the purpose collected. Wherever we hold information on the basis of your consent, we will look to renew your consent every two years.

  • We will keep your information upto date.
  • Your information will be protected from unauthorised/accidental disclosure.
  • We will provide you with a copy of your personal information on request.
  • Inaccurate or misleading data will be corrected without delay.
  • These principles are applied regardless of the format of the information.

How we use your data 

Employees and volunteers at Venus involved in providing our services will use your information to:

  • Provide the basis on which decisions are made regarding your care.
  • Allow you to work with us in providing our services to you.
  • Make sure we deliver our services to you safely and effectively.
  • Work effectively with others to provide services to you.

Other people outside of Venus may need to use information we hold about you. This is to:

  • Protect you or others from harm.
  • Monitor the quality of the service provided to you.
  • Investigate any concerns or complaints.
  • Manage the organisation.
  • Help with planning and research.

Some information may be held centrally for planning and monitoring; however, we take strict measures to make sure individuals cannot be identified. We anonymise information wherever possible but may use identifiable information for essential purposes only. This information will only be used with your consent unless we have to do so to comply with law.

How we share your information

We will share your record with the people providing you with a service or monitoring the quality of your service. We will not share information that identifies you for any reason other than providing your services, unless:

  • You ask us to share it.
  • We request permission and you give us specific permission.
  • We have to share it by law.
  • We have special permission because the public good is thought to be of greater importance than your confidentiality.

Sometimes we need to share your information with partner agencies; we will usually seek your specific permission to do this. If we share information without your permission, we will make sure that this is in line with the General Data Protection Regulation 2016, Data Protection Act 2018, Human Rights Act 1998, Common Law Duty of Confidentiality and national guidelines on best practice.

How you can access your records

You are entitled to request copies of records held by us by way of a Subject Access Request (SAR), either directly, or through a third party. We are expected to provide you with the information you request within one month of your request or communicate why this will take longer.

We will seek to verify the identity of the person making the SAR request before releasing the information if necessary.

Your rights under Data Protection Law

Under the Data Protection Act, you have the following rights:

  • To access your information.
  • For inaccurate data to be rectified.

And under certain circumstances:

  • To restrict how we process your information.
  • For your information to be removed altogether.
  • To object to processing.
  • For us to transfer your data to another organisation.

How we store your personal information

Your information is securely stored. The length of time we store your data depends on the nature of the services you have accessed. We will retain and remove your data in line with our Data Retention Schedule which is informed by law and best practice.

Who you can contact for queries

Venus is the data processor and controller of your information. Queries should be made to our Information Governance Lead sue.potts@venuscharity.org

The Venus Centre

215 Linacre Lane

Bootle

L20 6AD

0151 474 4744

hello@venuscharity.org

Supervisory Authority

Data Protection is regulated in the UK by the Information Commissioners Office (ICO). Venus is registered with the ICO – registration number Z3213354.

The ICO’s address:

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Helpline number: 0303 123 1113

ICO website: https://www.ico.org.uk

How we use the information we collect to improve our website

Venus may collect and store the following information each time you visit our site: the date and time, the originating IP, the type of browser and operating system used, the URL of the referring page, the object requested, and the completion status of the request.

Visitors to our public website remain anonymous as none of the data collected is linked to any personal information. The information allows us to assess the popularity of the pages on the website, so that we can continue to improve our site and access to information.

Cookies

When we provide services, we want to make them easy, useful and reliable. Where services are delivered on the internet, this sometimes involves placing small amounts of information on your device, for example, computer or mobile phone. These include small files known as cookies. They cannot be used to identify you personally. These pieces of information are used to improve services for you through, for example:

  • Enabling a service to recognise your device so you don’t have to give the same information several times during one task.
  • Recognising that you may already have given a username and password, so you don’t need to do it for every web page requested.
  • Measuring how many people are using services, so they can be made easier to use and there’s enough capacity to ensure they are fast.