Hull Geological Society

Data Protection Procedure:

This procedure was adopted by the Committee in May 2018 to fulfil our obligations under the General Data Protection Regulations 2018. It was amended in July 2020 by the Committee.

The personal data held by the Society falls into the following main categories–

·        Membership details for sending mailings, checking subscriptions have been paid and reclaiming gift aid

·        Historic data about members contributions to the Society’s activities and publications

·        Photographs of Society activities and geological specimens

·        “Friends of the Society” who wish to receive details of our events

·        RIGS Group membership and site records which may include contact details of site owners and managers

·        Outstanding enquiries from the public

 Members’ personal data

The Hull Geological Society holds the following data about members –

·        Name

·        Postal address

·        E-mail address (if provided)

·        Telephone number (if provided)

·        Type of membership

·        Subscriptions and donations

·        Date of joining

·        Gift aid declarations

·        Additional personal information of the Officers (e.g. date of birth)

·        Photographs of members taking part in Society events

·        Photographs of geological specimens in members’ collections

Storage -

The members’ data are held on computer and paper files by the Secretary and Treasurer. The computerised data may be backed-up to a “cloud” or portable devise (such as USB memory stick) to be shared between the Officers of the Society. The data are not encrypted. The data might be transmitted by e-mail between the Officers. The Society does not keep members’ bank details (apart from those who pay by regular bank transfers or standing order); though the Secretary and Treasurer will be able to see the details on cheques until they are presented to the Society’s bank.

Sharing –

·        The contact details of members will not be sold or shared with other organisations.

·        The addresses and contact details of members will not be intentionally shared with other members or third parties. Members wishing to contact other members may ask the Secretary to forward correspondence.

·        The Officers of the Society are the Trustees of the Charity – their personal data will be shared with the Charity Commission and they may be published

·        The personal contact details of Committee members will be shared with other Committee members so that they are able to contact each other for the purpose of discussing Committee items and arranging events.

·        The names and town of residence of prospective members will be read to a General Meeting before they are elected and may be announced in a newsletter (unless they specifically request otherwise)

·        The names of the committee members, editors and officers will be published.

·        The data relating to Gift Aid (name, house number and post code) will be shared with the Inland Revenue when we claim the gift aid.

·        A list of members’ names may be shared with the University of Hull Library (members of the Society may use the Library as readers but not borrowers)

Usage -

·        The name and address of members is used to post the AGM agenda, Summer Programme and Winter Programme

·        Members may prefer to receive the AGM agenda, Summer Programme and Winter Programme by e-mail

·        The email address is used to send an e-mail newsletter, Society Notices or information that the Officers think will be of interest to members. The e-newsletter will be sent as a “blind copy” to “undisclosed recipients”.

·        The telephone number may be used to contact members if the details of a meeting have changed.

·        The names of the leaders of field excursions or the organisers of events will be published. If a leader of a field trip or organiser of an event wishes to use a booking system their chosen contact details will be published to enable the bookings to be taken.

·        The names and towns of members may be published in the Society’s journal as part of a membership list.

·        Historical records (including photographs) may be used to compile tributes (e.g. to medallists or retiring officers) or obituaries. Historical records may be published (such as date of joining); we will not intentionally publish the full current personal contact details.

·        Photographs of the Society’s activities may be published in our journal, on our website or on Social media. We would not normally name the members in the photographs without permission unless the image is of historic significance (such as a medal presentation).

·        Photographs of members’ geological collections may be published in our journal, on our website or on Social media. We would not normally name the members’ without permission unless the collections are in the public domain.

·        Details of members’ geological archives (e.g. notebooks or collections catalogues) may be published in our journal, on our website or on Social media. We would not normally name the members’ without permission unless the archives are in the public domain.

·        If contacted by the University of Hull Library we will confirm whether an individual is a current member of the Society.

Special use of personal data

·        Some events require members and guests to book – the personal information provided will be shared with the member(s) organising the event and may be used to notify the people who have booked if there are changes to the event or it is cancelled. If the booking is made by e-mail the message may remain in the e-mail inbox indefinitely, but will not be shared beyond the event leader and the Secretary.

·        If an Officer believes that the health or welfare of a member is at risk the personal data of the member may be shared with the emergency services, NHS or a bona fide colleague.

·        At times when the Government declares a medical epidemic the contact details of people attending meetings will be gathered and kept for a specified period. For indoor lecture meetings this data will be kept by the Secretary. For other indoor meetings and outdoor meetings the data will be gathered and kept by the leader or organiser of the event. This should be a paper record which should be destroyed after a specified period of time.

Deletion of personal data –

·        The personal contact data held by the Society will be deleted when the member resigns if requested.

·        If a member requests we will delete their personal data; that will mean that we cannot keep the member informed of Society activities.

·        Photographs of members and archives on our website or social media will be deleted or redacted upon specific request from the member or their estate

Social Media –

·        Information about people using the Society’s social media presence (e.g. “liking” the Society’s Facebook Page) will not be kept but the Society; the use of the personal data by the owners of the social media platform is beyond the control of the Society.

Historical and published data

The names of members are recorded in our manuscript minutes book when they are elected to membership, contribute to a meeting, lead a field trip, are elected to the Committee, resign or die. Members or their estate may donate their archives to the Society, or allow the Society access to them. These records may be used for historical purposes. The names of speakers at meetings or leaders of field excursions may be published in newsletters or reports. The contact details for authors of articles published in our journal Humberside Geologist or on our website are only published if requested by the author.

“Friends of the Society” and corresponding societies.

The Society does not normally store information about non-members. Enquiries about the Society from non-members may be kept for a short while by the Secretary, but not shared with any other member or officer without the permission of the enquirer.

Personal details of “friends of the Society” (e.g. people with similar research interests or corresponding Societies) will not be shared without their consent unless their contact details are in the public domain.

Usage -

·        The e-mail addresses and postal addresses of “friends of the Society” and Corresponding Societies may be used to send Programmes and Newsletters.

Deletion of personal data –

·        Personal details of “friends of the Society” will be deleted upon request

Enquiries from the public –

The contact details of people sending enquiries to the officers of the Society will not be shared with others without permission. There must be explicit consent from the enquirer for their contact details to be circulated. The contact details may be kept on a computer or paper file for as long as is appropriate.

Members of the public attending Society meetings and events –

There may be times when the Society requests the contact details of non-members attending meetings and events. The data will be used in accordance with this policy and the “special use of data” section in particular.

Regionally Important Geological Sites (RIGS) –

·        Data about sites will be held by the RIGS Officer and Secretary. This may include contact details for the owners and/or managers of the sites. Those contact details will not be published or shared with third parties without consent, but may be shared with UKRIGS and local planning authorities.

·        Some details of the sites will be published; that should not imply that the site owner has given permission for access to the sites.

·        The RIGS Officer and Secretary may also hold contact details for non-members so that they may be invited to meetings about RIGS or consulted on the conservation of sites. Those contact details will not be published or shared with third parties without consent.

Breaches of this data protection – if we accidentally break this policy we will contact the people involved with details and an apology a soon as we realise. If the personal data are leaked or compromised by factors beyond our control we will inform the people involved with details of the problem as soon as were are aware of it.

Active informed consent –

The data protection policy has already been published. This more detailed procedure was sent to current members in 2018, and will made available on request in the future and published on the Society Website. Current members in May 2018 were asked to confirm that they contented for the Society to hold their personal details for the purposes listed above. It is assumed that in future years that members give their consent for storage of their personal data as set out above by paying their annual subscription. “Friends of the Society” were asked to register for a new e-mail address list in 2018. RIGS contacts and site owners and managers will be informed about the personal data held by the RIGS Officer and asked to consent to future use.

The membership application form will be amended so that new members are asked to give their active consent for personal data to be stored when they apply to join the Society. The website will be amended to inform people that if they contact the Society by e-mail or post they are giving their consent for their data to be stored temporally; it will not be shared without their consent. By requesting to receive the “Friends of the Society” newsletter people are giving their active consent for their contact details to be stored; this will not be shared without consent and will be deleted on request.

“Good Faith” –

This procedure has been compiled by the Committee of the Hull Geological Society and published in May 2018, following a data audit. The Procedure was updated in 2020 during the Coronavirus pandemic after were concerns were raised about whether the procedure would allow the sharing of data with the emergency services.

Copyright - Hull Geological Society 2020

Registered Educational Charity No. 229147

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