GDPR Policy

Data Protection and Compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (England) Policy

Aim and Scope of Policy

The policy, which is in line with UK data protection laws, Bloomsbury Surveyors is committed to safeguarding the personal data of our clients, employees, and partners. This policy outlines our duties and responsibilities under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and sets forth the procedures we follow to ensure that personal data is handled appropriately and securely.

To comply with these regulations the Surveying provider must have good governance of record keeping resulting in records that are comprehensively fit for purpose and securely maintained.

Bloomsbury Surveyors recognises that it must keep full, accurate, up-to-date records on work being carried out, staff and other aspects concerning the running of the service in line with data protection, confidentiality, secure storage and authorised access policies and procedures.

Bloomsbury Surveyors also understands that all records required for the protection of people receiving work and for the effective and efficient running of the surveying service should be collected, maintained and kept according to the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

This data protection policy applies to all manual and digital records kept by the service in relation to people receiving work, including those involved with them, whose personal data might be found on their records. This includes all staff and any third parties (agencies and professionals) with whom anyone's personal data information held by the service might have to be disclosed or shared.

The policy is used with other relevant record-keeping and information governance policies.

Policy Statement

Bloomsbury Surveyors recognises it must keep all records required for the protection and wellbeing of people receiving work, and those for the effective and efficient running of the surveying service such as staff records to comply currently with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into force in May 2018.

In line with its registration under the Data Protection Act, and to comply with GDPR, the service understands that it will be accountable for the processing, management and regulation, and storage and retention of all personal data held in the form of manual records and on computers.

This means that all personal data obtained and held by Bloomsbury Surveyors to carry out its activities as a registered survey provider must:

• have been obtained fairly and lawfully.
• be held for specified and lawful purposes as an organisation that is carrying out a public duty.
• be processed in recognition of people's data protection rights, which are described in GDPR in terms of the right:
  • to be informed
  • to have access
  • for the information to be accurate and for any inaccuracies to be corrected
  • to have information deleted (eg if inaccurate or inappropriately included)
  • to restrict the processing of the data to keep it fit for its purpose only
  • to have the information sent elsewhere as requested or consented to (eg in any transfer situation)
  • to object to the inclusion of any information (eg if considered to be irrelevant)
  • to regulate any automated decision-making and profiling of one's personal data
• be adequate, relevant, and not excessive in relation to the purpose for which it is being used.
• be kept accurate and up to date, using whatever recording means are used or agreed (eg manual or electronic)
• not be kept for longer than is necessary for its given purpose (eg in line with agreed retention protocols for each type of record)
• have appropriate safeguards against unauthorised use, loss or damage with clear procedures for investigating any breaches of the data security.
• comply with the relevant GDPR procedures for international transferring of personal data.

In line with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the GDPR, Bloomsbury Surveyors has a data controller and a nominated data protection officer, who is responsible for the safekeeping and safeguarding of all personal data held by Bloomsbury Surveyors.

Procedures

Bloomsbury Surveyors has taken the following steps to protect everyone's personal data, which it holds or to which it has access so that it complies with current data protection laws and GDPR.

1. It appoints or employs staff with specific responsibilities for:
   1. the processing and controlling of data
   2. the comprehensive reviewing and auditing of its data protection systems and procedures
   3. overviewing the effectiveness and integrity of all the data that must be protected

There are clear lines of responsibility and accountability for these different roles.

Note: How these roles and data protection functions are organised and distributed in an organisation will vary, but it is important to specify who is responsible for what.

2. It provides information to people who use services and others involved in their work on their data protection rights, national data opt-out policy, how it uses their personal data and how it protects it. The information includes the actions people who use services and staff can take if they think that their data has been compromised in any way (eg through the complaints procedure or grievance procedure in the case of staff).
3. It provides its staff with information and training to make them aware of the importance of protecting people's personal data, to teach them how to do this, and to understand how to treat information confidentially.
4. It can account for all personal data it holds, where it comes from, and who it is and might be shared with.
5. It carries out risk assessments as part of its reviewing activities to identify any vulnerabilities in its personal data handling and processing, and to take measures to reduce the risks of mishandling and potential breaches of data security. The procedure includes an assessment of the impact of both use and potential misuse of personal data in and by the service.
6. It recognises the importance of seeking individuals' consent for obtaining, recording, using, sharing, storing, and retaining their personal data, and regularly reviews its procedures for doing so, including the audit trails that are needed and are followed for all consent decisions.
7. It has policies and procedures for enabling people who use services and/or staff to have access to their personal information, and for the making of subject access requests that are in line with GDPR.
8. It has the appropriate mechanisms for detecting, reporting, and investigating suspected or actual personal data breaches, including security breaches. It is aware of its duty to report significant breaches that cause significant harm to the affected individuals to the Information Commissioner and is aware of the possible consequences (eg fine).

Training

New staff must read and understand the policies on data protection and confidentiality as part of their induction.

All staff receive training covering basic information about confidentiality, data protection and access to records.

Training in the correct method for entering information in an individual's records is given to all construction staff.

The nominated data controller/auditors/protection officers for the construction are trained appropriately in their roles under GDPR.

All staff who need to use the computer system are trained to protect individual's private data, to ensure data security, and to understand the consequences to them as individuals and the organisation of any potential lapses and breaches of the service's policies and procedures.