This statement applies to:
Signpost for Carers is a registered charity in England and Wales 1085727 and a Company Limited by Guarantee 04176004.
Signpost for Carers is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (registration number Z6268938) and you can find out more about our work through the about us section of our website.
Further information about our work can be found on our website Who We Are | Signpost for Carers.
As a Charity supporting Adult and Young Carers with a wide range of services, this means that we hold a range of personal data including:
Signpost for Carers collect your personal information from a range of contact points including paper-based forms, telephone and the Signpost website. Each collection point contains a brief privacy notice relating to its specific use and signposting to this overall statement.
Data protection law requires us to rely on one or more lawful grounds to process your personal information. Depending on the service you are accessing these will change. We consider the following grounds to be relevant:
When we legitimately process your personal information in this way, we consider and balance any potential impact on you (both positive and negative), and your rights under data protection laws. We will not use your personal information where our own interests are overridden by the impact on you, for example, where use would be excessively intrusive (unless, for instance, we are otherwise required or permitted to by law).
When we use sensitive personal information, we require an additional legal basis to do so under data protection laws, so will either do so on the basis of your explicit consent or another route that is lawfully available (for example, if we need to process it for employment, social security or social protection purposes, your vital interests, or, in some cases, if it is in the public interest for us to do so).
Signpost for Carers will only share information with those that need to know it. Further information on who we share information with is within each service area.
We do share anonymised statistical information and case studies with our funders and commissioners including Stockport Council – no personal individual can be identified from this data.
Personal information will only be shared with those that need to know it in order to complete our service to you. Examples of this include sending bank details to SMBC for completed Carers Assessments.
Where your information is being shared it will be stated clearly at the point of collection whether that is in a paper-based form or through our website.
If you have any queries regarding if your data is shared and the sharing processes, we undertake please speak to the member of staff you are working with or alternatively contact Gill Bruder on gill@signpostforcarers.org.uk.
Your information may also be shared with other people and organisations where the organisations are required by law to do so or with appropriate justification under the Data Protection Act (2018), for example where the disclosure is necessary to a public body or another organisation to exercise its statutory functions. Examples of this include the sharing of data with HMRC regarding payroll functions or where we have a duty of care such as a safeguarding concern.
By law, we are required to protect public funds that we are responsible for. This means we may also use any of the information you provide to prevent and detect fraud. This may involve sharing this information with organisations responsible for auditing or administering public funds including the local authority and the clinical care commission.
When necessary and appropriate information held will be shared with organisations such as the Police to prevent or detect crime, apprehend or prosecute offenders or prevent the risk of harm to an individual e.g. safeguarding.
We take our obligations to look after your data very seriously and abide by the principle of data protection. We have put in place appropriate technical and organisational measures to meet the requirements of accountability. These include:
Signpost for Carers main database and server systems are hosted in the UK and technically our main support contracts are provided by a UK-based organisation. However, on occasion, it may be necessary to transfer personal data outside of the EEA. If we transfer your information beyond the EU, we will make sure that it’s protected in the same way as if it was being used in the EEA.
To keep your information safe, we will either:
Information must be kept for different lengths of time that is often dictated either by law or funding terms and conditions. This can vary from 1 year up to 75 years. Your information will be held for the minimum length of time that these various laws and legal regulations state they must be held for. Where laws do not specify how long information must be kept for the organisation will use recommendations from legal advisors and how long other specialists in the organisations decide it is necessary to keep it for. All decisions that are not based on legal requirements must be explained.
Due to the many different types of information that are used by Signpost for Carers, we have included how long we keep the data under each project or service notice. If you wish to know the length of time particular information regarding yourself or your organisation is held, please contact Signpost for Carers for further information.
Automated decision-making occurs when an electronic system uses your personal information to decide without human intervention. No decisions within Signpost for Carers are taken about you based solely on automated decision-making, including profiling.
You have the right to ask for access to any of the personal information that Signpost for Carers hold about you. If you want to ask for this information, please contact our data protection lead – Gill Bruder on gill@signpostforcarers.org.uk.
You have the right to complain if you feel your information is not being used in the right way. To begin with, it may be better to speak with the member of staff that is working with you to talk through your concerns.
Alternatively, you can simply contact our data protection lead – Gill Bruder, 0161 4420442.
If you are still not satisfied with your response from Signpost for Carers, you also have the right to raise a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office. For further details on this and your information rights please visit the Information Commissioner’s Office Website HERE.
If you are aged under 16, please ensure you obtain your parent/guardian’s consent before sending any personal information to this website or Signpost for Carers. Please note that Signpost for Carers will not accept online donations or orders for goods or services from persons aged under 16 years.
We do have activities for under 16s, for our young carers; prior to taking part in these please ensure you speak to your parent or guardian. Parent/Guardian consent is required for all those under 16.
We encourage you to be aware of the activities in which your children are participating in both offline and online, particularly regarding third party websites. If your children voluntarily disclose information, this may encourage unsolicited messages. We suggest that you discourage your child from providing any information without your consent.
We collect your information to:
CCTV recordings at our offices are used for the safety interests of both staff, tenants, hirers, volunteers and members of the public. It is also for the prevention and detection of crime. Recordings can also provide enforcement agencies with evidence of criminal activity, for formal actions including prosecutions in court and identification of offenders in investigations. These recordings contain images of the public going about their daily business as well as offenders, persons wanted and missing.
What type(s) of information do we use?
CCTV captures visual images of persons in or around our buildings and facilities.
What is the legal basis for using your information?
Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest in particular for the interest of public safety, the prevention and detection of crime, apprehension and prosecution of offenders and for legal proceedings. In particular relevant law and legislation include the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
Where do we get your information?
CCTV Cameras situated in our building feed live video images into the CCTV monitors. CCTV video images are recorded in real-time onto a secure CCTV-locked system which is stand-alone and not connected to any internal or external network.
Who do we share your information with?
We do not standardly share CCTV images to any third party (other than our third-party CCTV maintenance service providers), without express permission being given by the Business Manager. Images will only be disclosed to a third party in accordance with Data Protection Laws. Additionally, in appropriate circumstances, we may allow law enforcement agencies to view or remove CCTV footage where this is required in the detection or prosecution of crime.
How long will we keep your information?
CCTV images are held for 30 days (non-requested footage). Where images are being used for a specific purpose e.g. investigation of a crime or where we are using the CCTV Data for staff disciplinary purposes, the images will be kept at least until the process is completed. At the end of its useful life and in any event within 7 years all Data stored in whatever format will be erased permanently and securely.
Signpost for Carers recognises that a photograph where an individual is uniquely identifiable is categorized as a “special category of personal data”. Photographic consent is collected during both event registration and event sign-in processes. We also have processes in place to ensure your photograph is not taken if you object/don’t want it to.
Photographs/video taken and any reproductions may be used by Signpost for Carers for any advertising purposes or for the purposes of illustrating wording. The photographs/video may be used in promotional material including, but not limited to, promotional flyers, website, posters, social media and display boards, with any reasonable retouching or alteration.
If you wish to withdraw your consent, you may do so at any time by contacting Signpost for Carers.
Photographs are stored on the Signpost for Carers server and IT systems and access is restricted to only relevant Signpost staff.
We collect your information to:
To administer our room hire services, and keep clients updated on their room bookings at the Heatons Centre.
What type(s) of information do we use?
What is the legal basis for using your information?
Where do we get your information?
Who do we share your information with?
How long will we keep your information?
We collect your information to:
Provide advice, information, and support to carers. Understand your caring role and needs so we can offer appropriate help. Make referrals to other services, where appropriate and with your consent. Communicate with you about support, events, or changes to services. Monitor and improve our services. Meet legal, funding, and safeguarding requirements.
What type(s) of information do we use?
We collect basic personal details, information about your caring role, and any relevant health or support needs so we can provide appropriate support. We only collect what we need and handle your information securely in line with UK GDPR.
What is the legal basis for using your information?
Where do we get your information?
We usually get your information directly from you. With your permission, we may also receive relevant information from partner organisations or referrers so we can provide appropriate support.
Who do we share your information with?
We may share your information with partner organisations or services that support carers or where required by law. We only share what is necessary and do so safely and lawfully.
How long will we keep your information?
Signpost for Carers Stockport only keeps your personal information for as long as it is necessary to provide support, meet legal requirements, and manage our service properly. We regularly review the information we hold and securely delete or anonymise it when it is no longer needed.
We collect your information to:
Provide advice, information, and support to carers. Understand your caring role and needs so we can offer appropriate help. Make referrals to other services, where appropriate and with your consent. Communicate with you about support, events, or changes to services. Monitor and improve our services. Meet legal, funding, and safeguarding requirements. Collect information required on SMBC’s LiquidLogic database (required for uploading a Carers Assessment (CA). Ensure your carer’s budget can be paid to you via your bank account. Provide you with a support plan tailored to your needs and, where relevant, support you with suggestions of support for the person you care for. Link you to the person you care on SMBC’s LiquidLogic database. To understand the impact our support and services have had on your situation.
What type(s) of information do we use?
We collect basic personal details, information about your caring role, and any relevant health or support needs so we can provide appropriate support. We collect bank details (CA only). We collect personal information about the person you care for and any relevant health or support needs so we can provide appropriate support and link them to you on SMBC’s LiquidLogic database. We only collect what we need and handle your information securely in line with UK GDPR. We collect outcome information for the purposes of measuring impact and for service improvement purposes.
What is the legal basis for using your information?
Where do we get your information?
We usually get your information directly from you. With your permission, we may also receive relevant information from partner organisations or referrers so we can provide appropriate support, such as SMBC, the Meadows, Stockport Support hub, Stockport Mind and Pennine Care (this is not a complete list).
Who do we share your information with?
We may share your information with trusted partner organisations such as SMBC, services that support carers, or where required by law. We only share what is necessary and do so safely and lawfully.
How long will we keep your information?
Signpost for Carers only keeps your personal information for as long as it is necessary to provide support, meet legal requirements, and manage our service properly. We regularly review the information we hold and securely delete or anonymise it when it is no longer needed. We will keep your bank details for up to 3 months with your permission to ensure that your carer’s budget has been paid successfully.
We collect your information to:
Upon joining the Signpost Young Carers Service it is necessary that we hold personal information about you and your family. We collect your information so that we can complete an assessment of your needs and those of your child. This enables us to provide advice, information, and a support package for the whole family. With your consent we will use your information to:
What type(s) of information do we use?
We collect personal information such as name, address, date of birth, place of school, other agencies involved and details of the illness or disability within the family.
What is the legal basis for using your information?
Where do we get your information?
Initially we get your information from the referrer (with your consent) about the child’s caring role and the details of the illness or disability within the family. When we are completing our assessments, we will ask you for further information so we can offer you an appropriate support package or refer you into other agencies.
Who do we share your information with?
With your consent where appropriate we will share your information with relevant agencies so we can ensure that your family is supported in all areas, e.g. school, Children’s Social Care. At point of assessment, we will ask for your permission to do this, and you will be given written information regarding our confidentiality, safeguarding procedures, and our legal obligations.
How long will we keep your information?
In line with Children’s Social Care data retention policy, we are obliged to keep information until the young carer’s 25th Birthday.
We collect your information to:
Once registered with Signpost and referred onto our Counselling Service, we carry out a counselling assessment with the carer. This is an assessment of carer’s needs and to ensure our counselling service is appropriate to support those needs. Once engaged in counselling sessions, after each session our counsellors make brief, objective, factual notes – these notes are a few lines long and include the main presenting issues discussed in each session. This data is only available on the Signpost database to the Counsellor, the Counselling Service Manager and the CEO.
What type(s) of information do we use?
We collect personal information about the caring role and the emotional and physical impact this is having on the carer. We ask about the carer’s psychological history such do they have a mental health diagnosis. If they are taking medication for either their mental health or a physical illness. If they currently have any professionals involved with the carer. We risk assess the carer by asking about suicidal ideation, self-harm and substance abuse. We ask if the carer is currently involved in any legal cases.
What is the legal basis for using your information?
Where do we get your information?
We get the information from the carer themselves at assessment and counselling notes.
Who do we share your information with?
With consent where appropriate we will share information with relevant agencies, so the carer is supported in all areas such as Adult Social Care or GPs. At point of assessment and at the first counselling session we will ask permission to do this, and the carer will be given written information regarding our confidentiality, safeguarding procedures and our legal obligations.
How long will we keep your information?
We retain assessment and counselling notes data for 7 years.
We collect your information to:
Enable us to provide you with relevant information and updates for your group or organisation via our weekly mailing.
What type(s) of information do we use?
What is the legal basis for using your information?
Where do we get your information?
Who do we share your information with?
Our mailing lists are never shared or sold with any third party, and we make sure that everything we send is relevant to our work including our support offer to organisations.
How long will we keep your information?
We will continue to keep your data until you withdraw your consent or unsubscribe from receiving a specific communication. We will delete your details if we become aware that your contact details are out of date or incorrect.
We collect your information to:
Keep our volunteers updated on volunteer roles, governance and support from our Volunteer Manager. To invite volunteers to attend and support our events and activities.
What type(s) of information do we use?
What is the legal basis for using your information?
Consent – We process your personal information for the purposes above based on your consent. You will be able to withdraw consent and unsubscribe to the communication you receive at any point by following the instruction provided in each communication we send you.
Performance of a contract – To enable us to provide products or services to you.
Legitimate interests – Where it is reasonably necessary to achieve our or others’ legitimate interests (as long as what the information is used for is fair and does not duly impact your rights). Examples of this include:
Where do we get your information?
Who do we share your information with?
Nobody, unless there is a safeguarding concern/report or if a crime has been committed.
How long will we keep your information?
People are made inactive as soon as they indicate they are leaving. We keep your information on our systems for 7 years.
We collect your information to:
Enable us to provide you with relevant information and updates of upcoming activities, including confirmation of booking and evaluation of our events so we can continue to improve our offering.
What type(s) of information do we use?
What is the legal basis for using your information?
Where do we get your information?
Who do we share your information with?
Our mailing lists are never shared or sold with any third party, and we make sure that everything we send is relevant to our work including our support offer to organisations. (We do also share names only internally with staff & volunteers).
How long will we keep your information?
We will continue to keep your data until you withdraw your consent or unsubscribe from receiving a specific communication. We will delete your details if we become aware that your contact details are out of date or incorrect. We keep your data for 7 years.
