BRASS Privacy Policy

This privacy policy sets out the standards you can expect when we ask for or record your personal information, and explains how we’ll use it.

Our commitment

When we handle and store our clients’ personal information we follow the law, including the Data Protection Act 1998 and General Data Protection Regulations 2018.

When we ask you for personal information we promise to:

explain why we need it

only ask for what we need

treat it as confidential

When we record and use your personal information we promise to:

only access it when we have a valid reason to do so

only share what is necessary and relevant

protect it and make sure nobody has access to it who shouldn’t

not sell it to commercial organisations

When we share your personal information with another organisation we promise to:

ensure that this is only done with your consent, or if we’re required to do so by law

follow the ICO Data Sharing Code of Practice to ensure the other organisation treats your information with the same level of care that we do

All staff who handle personal information are given training and we take it very seriously if someone fails to use or protect it properly.

If you're unhappy with how we record and use your information you should follow our complaints procedure. You can also ask for a copy of our complaints’ procedure.

Please let us know as soon as possible if anything relating to your contact details or issue changes, which may affect the information we hold.

Your rights

BRASS's legal basis for holding client personal data is that we have a Legitimate Interest. To support and protect our Refugee and Asylum Seeker clients and our organisation we need to record personal information, actions and advice. We retain this information for six years.

You have the right as a client to:

be informed
have access
rectify the information
erase the information
restrict processing
restrict data portability
object to what we are doing

What you’re agreeing to

If you give us your approval you are saying that we can:

Record and use your personal information to help with your issue(s) and case.
With your permission refer you to other advice providers and share your personal information with those advice providers so that they have initial information to help you further with your issue

How you give your approval

BRASS staff will inform you as they are recording personal information.

How to withdraw your approval

If you’ve changed your mind about approval you’ve already given, contact BRASS at info@brass27b.org or by telephone 01234 211381

How we’ll use your information

First and foremost your information will be used to help with your case. We also use unnamed information (with no personal details) to help us understand how different problems are affecting society and to take action to tackle these problems. We also write research and publish evidence reports based on our work and provide summaries of our completed work on our website and additional performance data in our annual reports.

BRASS will not use your personal information for automated decision-making or profiling.

The kind of information we record and use

It is up to you to decide what you share with us. Some information is personal, it could be used to identify you. This includes your name, date of birth, address, or phone number. Some may be sensitive information related to your racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, trade union membership, health, sexuality or sex life, offences or convictions.

How we’ll store your information

We’ll store the record of your case in a secure case management system, which is only accessed by us. Paper copies of your information may also be stored securely and accessed by staff and volunteers of BRASS.

How we might share your personal information

We won’t share your personal information without your permission, unless we’re required to do so by law.

The role of a data controller

A data controller is responsible for your data and must make sure that your data is processed in accordance with the law. For example, they are responsible for making sure that the information held about you is accurate and is stored securely.

For the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998 and General Data Protection Regulations 2018 BRASS are the data controllers for the data held in our electronic case systems. This means that BRASS are responsible for your data.

Contact us

If you have any questions or concerns about how we use your information, contact us at info@brass27b.org