Privacy Policy

1. ABOUT US

Your personal data (i.e. any information which identifies you, or which can be identified as relating to you personally) will be collected and used by the Local Council Consultancy (LCC) which is a subsidiary company of Society of Local Council Clerks and SLCC Enterprises Ltd (SLCC) a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales with company registration number 10566132. Registered office: SLCC, Collar Factory, Suite 2.01, 112 St. Augustine Street, Taunton, Somerset TA1 1QN.

2. WHAT INFORMATION WE COLLECT

Personal data you provide
We collect data you provide to us such as personal details (name, email, address, telephone, your council name) when you make an enquiry on our website.

Information we generate

We conduct research and analysis on the information we hold, which can in turn generate personal data. For example, by analysing your interests and involvement with our work we may be able to build a profile which helps us decide which of our communications are likely to interest you. Section 6 (Research and profiling) contains more information about how we use information for profiling and targeted advertising.

Information from third parties

We may collect information from social media where you have given us permission to do so, or if you post on one of our social media pages.

Occasionally, we may collect information about certain clerks (e.g. particularly well known or influential people) from public sources. This could include public websites, news or other media. We don’t do this to everyone, and it is the exception not the rule.

3. HOW WE USE INFORMATION

We only ever use your personal data with your consent, or where it is necessary in order to: enter into, or perform, a contract with you; comply with a legal duty; protect your vital interests; for our own (or a third party’s) lawful interests, provided your rights don’t override these. In any event, we’ll only use your information for the purpose or purposes it was collected for (or else for closely related purposes):

Marketing

We use personal data to communicate and promote LCC.

4. DISCLOSING AND SHARING DATA

We will never sell your personal data. We may share personal data with subcontractors or suppliers who provide us with services. We’ll only share information when necessary and we’ll make sure to notify you first.

5. PROMOTIONAL COMMUNICATIONS

You can decide not to receive communications from LCC at any time. If you wish to do so please email [email protected] or write to LCC, Collar Factory, Suite 2.01, 112 St. Augustine Street, Taunton, Somerset TA1 1QN or call 01823 253646 (Lines open 9am – 5pm, Mon – Thurs, 9am – 4.30pm, Fri).

6. HOW WE PROTECT DATA

We employ a variety of physical and technical measures to keep your data safe and to prevent unauthorised access to or use or disclosure of your personal information. Electronic data and databases are stored on secure computer systems and we control who has access to information (using both physical and electronic means). Our staff receive data protection training and we have a set of detailed data protection procedures which personnel are required to follow when handling personal data.

7. STORAGE

Where we store information LCC’s operations are based in the UK and we store our data within the European Union. Some organisations which provide services to us may transfer personal data outside of the EEA, but we’ll only allow them to do if your data is adequately protected. For example, some of our systems use Microsoft products. As a US company, it may be that using their products result in personal data being transferred to or accessible from the US. However, we’ll allow this as we are certain personal data will still be adequately protected (as Microsoft is certified under the USA’s Privacy Shield scheme). How long we store information We will only use and store information for so long as it is required for the purposes it was collected for, this is usually seven years (six years plus current). We continually review what information we hold and delete what is no longer required. We never store payment card information.

8. KEEPING YOU IN CONTROL

We want to ensure you remain in control of your personal data. Part of this is making sure you understand your legal rights, which are as follows: the right to confirmation as to whether or not we have your personal data and, if we do, to obtain a copy of the personal information we hold (this is known as subject access request); the right to have your data erased (though this will not apply where it is necessary for us to continue to use the data for a lawful reason); the right to have inaccurate data rectified; the right to object to your data being used for marketing or profiling; and where technically feasible, you have the right to personal data you have provided to us which we process automatically on the basis of your consent or the performance of a contract. This information will be provided in a common electronic format. Please keep in mind that there are exceptions to the rights above and, though we will always try to respond to your satisfaction, there may be situations where we are unable to do so. If you would like further information on your rights or wish to exercise them, please write to our Information Officer at LCC, Collar Factory, Suite 2.01, 112 St. Augustine Street, Taunton, Somerset TA1 1QN or email [email protected]. We can provide you with a template subject access form which includes guidance on how to make your request (and will help us respond more quickly). Please contact us for a copy of this. Complaints You can complain to the LCC directly by contacting our Data Protection Officer using the details set out above. If wish to make a complaint which does not directly relate to your data protection and privacy rights, you can do so in accordance with our complaint policy. If you are not happy with our response, or you believe that your data protection or privacy rights have been infringed, you can complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office which regulates and enforces data protection law in the UK. Details of how to do this can be found at www.ico.org.uk

9. COOKIES AND LINKS TO OTHER SITES

To make this site simpler, we sometimes place small data files on your computer. These are known as cookies. Most big websites do this too. They improve things by: · remembering settings, so you don’t have to keep re-entering them whenever you visit a new page · remembering information you’ve given (e.g. your member log-in details) so you don’t need to keep entering it · measuring how you use the website so we can make sure it meets your needs Our cookies aren’t used to identify you personally. They’re just here to make the site work better for you. Indeed, you can manage and/or delete these small files as you wish. To learn more about cookies and how to manage them, visit AboutCookies.org. We use GA4 to collect information about how people use this site. We do this to make sure it’s meeting its users’ needs and to understand how we could do it better. GA4 stores information about what pages you visit, how long you are on the site, how you got here and what you click on. We do not collect or store your personal information (e.g. your name or address) so this information cannot be used to identify who you are. We do not allow Google to use or share our analytics data. The following cookies are set by GA4: Name: _utma Typical content: randomly generated number Expires: 2 years Name: _utmb Typical content: randomly generated number Expires: 30 minutes Name: _utmc Typical content: randomly generated number Expires: when user exits browser Name: _utmz Typical content: randomly generated number and information about how the page was reached (eg directly or via a link, organic search or paid search) Expires: 6 months Name: _utmmobile Typical content: randomly generated number Expires: 2 years Other Cookies: Name:PHPSESSID* Typical content: randomly generated number Expires: When you close your browser Name:hs_cookie Typical content: set to true when the cookie notification is hidden Expires: 31 days We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about our web traffic and make improvements to our website so that it better serves our customers’ needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system. No personally identifiable data is collected in this process. Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website, enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us. You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of our website, and websites generally. Links to other sites Our website contains hyperlinks to many other websites. We are not responsible for the content or functionality of any of those external websites (but please let us know if a link is not working by using the ‘Contact’ link at the top of the page). If an external website requests personal information from you (e.g. in connection with an order for goods or services), the information you provide will not be covered by the LCC’s Privacy Policy. We suggest you read the privacy policy of any website before providing any personal information. When purchasing goods or services from any of the businesses that our site links to, you will be entering into a contract with them (agreeing to their terms and conditions) and not with LCC.

10. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We’ll amend this Privacy Policy from time to time to ensure it remains up-to-date and accurately reflects how and why we use your personal data. The current version of our Privacy Policy will always be posted on our website. This Privacy Policy was last updated on 22.08.2023.