Data Protection and Privacy Policy.  

 

This privacy policy sets out how York Women's Counselling Service uses and protects any information which you give us. Whether you are a service user, a supporter, a volunteer, or a staff member, it’s important you know as much as possible about how we use your data.  This policy is designed to:

  • explain what data we hold;  what we do with your data; and, why we do it

  • help you keep control of your data and make informed decisions

  • show how your data is safeguarded

Important information about who we are

 

The York Women's Counselling Service (YWCS) is an independent non-profit organisation (Registered Charity Number 1207150) providing support to women living in York and the surrounding areas who are experiencing emotional and mental health difficulties. 

Our address is: The Priory St Centre 15 Priory St, York YO1 6ET

York Women’s Counselling Service is committed to protecting your personal privacy.  We ensure that all personal data is held in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018. 

Compliance is ensured by the YWCS Operations Manager with support from a Trustee, Sally Jude, who takes responsibility for Data Protection.  She will answer any questions you may have about this privacy policy.  You may contact her at:

·       the YWCS address given above

·       by email: enquiries@yorkwomenscounselling.org

·       by phone:  01904 652706

This policy covers data collected via the website, through social media and through our general charitable activities.  If our interaction with you is as a client, requiring us to elicit and keep sensitive information, we always seek your further permission to collect and store such details. 

What data we collect

 

Data that we collect is mostly provided by you and will contain:

  • Your name and preferred contact information, gender, and your business details if given

  • A record of your interactions with us including your donations,

  • Your contact preferences

 For people who use our services, additional information will include 

  • Initial assessment data from phone and face to face interactions

  • Notes relating to counselling sessions and review sessions as required by the BACP 

  • Progress review data collected usually at 6, 12 and 17 weeks.

  • Further identity data including ethnicity and whether you have a disability.  This is help YWCS understand whether we are ensuring equal opportunities access to services. 

How we use the data

 

We use your records to provide you with services and to keep you in touch with YWCS where you have agreed that we can do so. In so doing, we will only use your personal data when the law allows.  Most commonly this is in the following circumstances:

  • To perform the contract that we are about to, or have entered into with you, for example, to inform and facilitate ongoing counselling, or to process a donation.

  • Where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party), e.g., for overall statistical monitoring of the service or to comply with the ethical framework of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) or the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP),  under which all our Counsellors operate.

  • Where we need to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation, e.g.,  as required by BACP or to collect gift aid.

We never pass information on to other people or groups unless there is a legal requirement to do so, nor do we share your information with other organisations for marketing purposes.

How we store the data

 

We are committed to keeping your information secure. To prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure information collected online and in person. 

Access to records are restricted to a need-to-know basis and security arrangements are regularly reviewed to ensure their continued suitability. 

Your rights to your data

 

Under the GDPR, you have the right to access your data; to correct it: to erase it (in certain circumstances): to restrict its use; and to object to its use or portability (in certain circumstances). You also have the right to withdraw any consent you have given. 

You may request details of the personal information we hold for you by submitting a Subject Access Request to enquiries@yorkwomenscounselling.org.  YWCS agrees to provide the information requested within 30 working days of the request, once we have verified your identity.

If you inform YWCS of a correction required to your data, YWCS agrees to make this amendment within 10 working days of the request. 

Data relating to counselling is treated in accordance with BACP and UKCP requirements and is kept for a period of 6 years only.  At this point, your counselling data will be irrevocably and securely destroyed. 

You can also update your communications preferences at any time by emailing enquiries@yorkwomenscounselling.org

You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s supervisory authority for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk). We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with any concerns you may have before you approach the ICO, so please contact us first. We hope we can resolve the issue before needing to involve the ICO.

Changes to the privacy notice and your duty to inform us of changes

 

It’s important that the personal data that we hold about you is accurate and up to date. Please keep us informed if your personal data changes during the duration of your relationship with us.

We may revise this privacy policy from time to time.  The most up-to-date version is at www.yorkwomenscounselling.org.   If we make a change that we believe to be significant to you, we will notify you by email.

How we use cookies 

 

A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer's hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies are very common and used by many leading websites. They allow websites and web applications to tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.

YWCS uses traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. The data collected is not shared with any third party. We use this information only for statistical analysis purposes, after which the data is removed from the system. Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website, by 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 installed by the site. For more details, see www.allaboutcookies.org. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer.  However, some services and functionalities may not work.

Other websites 

 

Our website may contain links to other websites that are outside our control and are not covered by this privacy notice. If you access other sites using the links provided, the operators of these sites may collect information from you that will be used by them in accordance with their privacy notice which may differ from ours.

Policy reviews 

 

This privacy policy was last reviewed February 2024 and, alongside the procedures for Data Management and Security is reviewed annually. 

Updated online YWCS 1 May 2024