Any personal data provided by you to the New Hope Counselling through any means (verbal, written, in electronic form, or by your use of our website) will be held and processed in accordance with the data protection principles set out in the Data Protection Act 1998 and the General Data Protection Regulation for the purposes for which you have given consent, to provide the services you have requested from us, and to meet the legitimate interests of the Company.
Introduction
Your privacy is a top priority. We're committed to always being a good custodian of your personal information, handling it in a responsible manner, and securing it with industry standard administrative, technical and physical safeguards. We follow two guiding principles when it comes to your privacy:
New Hope Counselling is registered as a data controller with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) (ICO registered number ZB708609).
It is also a company registered in England and Wales (company number 14940352), registered address 85 Great Portland Street, First Floor, London, England, W1W 7LT.
If you have any queries about this privacy notice or about any aspect of our data management, please contact our Data Protection Lead at: info@newhopecounselling.uk
The following privacy policy sets out where and how New Hope Counselling records your personal data, what we do with it and what we do to keep it secure. It also outlines your rights over the personal data we hold about you.This privacy policy applies to you if you use our services in our locations, over the telephone, online or through mobile applications or otherwise by using our website or by interacting with us on social media, via telephone, by post or by email (our “Services”).
We'll update this privacy notice regularly to ensure it continues to comply with the latest regulations and best practice.
What information do we collect?
Registering with us to request access to our counselling service can be done online, on paper or in person. Our request process involves providing us with your name, address, telephone numbers and email address. We may also request information on your availability, therapeutic issues, and other details which we deem relevant to processing your request.
At an initial appointment we ask about your current personal, social, medical and financial circumstances. We may also ask about your background and family history, as well as the issues which are affecting you now. We require this information so that we can decide about our offer of counselling to you, to assign you to a counsellor, and to manage the service we provide to you.
Volunteer Placements Counsellors, receptionists and other volunteers may apply for placements by form, letter, or email. They may also be interviewed. We may ask about your background, qualifications, experience and professional memberships. We also ask for your name, address, telephone numbers, email address, and address and telephone details for referees and people we may need to contact for you in emergencies.
In order to apply for job opportunities advertised on our website and elsewhere, and to become an employee of the charity, you will be required to provide your contact details and other personal information contained in your CV (such as employment history and qualifications), as well as contact details of referees. This information is only processed for the purpose of considering your job application, making any offer of employment, and administering your contract of employment.
We use Google Analytics to collect anonymous data relating to user behaviour and ‘web traffic’ statistics. The collection and use of this data by Google Inc. is subject to their own Privacy Policies.
The information you give us on our forms (including all enquiry and application forms) may include your name, postal address, email address, phone number and other messages to us.
How we use your information
We use information held about you in the following ways:
▪To provide clients with the professional counselling service requested from us.
▪To enable us to offer appropriate opportunities and support to our counsellors, receptionists and other volunteers.
▪To offer suitable counselling appointments, and to allocate clients and counsellors for counselling.
▪To notify you about changes to your appointments and other changes to our services.
▪To seek feedback from you on your experience of counselling with us.
▪To improve our service to ensure that it is provided in the most effective manner for you and for us.
▪To administer our service, including the arrangement of appointments, the handling of donations, and for financial control, data analysis, research, statistical and survey purposes.
▪To keep in touch with those who consent to this, for the purposes of organisational, service and professional development.
▪To fulfil our administrative, legal and contractual obligations as an employer.
a) Storage and management of personal informationOur principal data management system is a Microsoft Dynamics CRM system, which is maintained and developed by a third party processor. This system enables us to efficiently store any information about our members, former members and other stakeholders in a way that ensures adequate security and only allows people who have the right level of authority to access personal information. It also simplifies our responsibilities for data retention and subject access requests.We process special category data that requires an Appropriate Policy Document (APD).
b) Visitors to our website and social media platforms
When someone visits our website, we use a third-party service, Google Analytics, to collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns. We do this to find out things such as the number of visitors to the various parts of the site. This information is only processed in a way that does not identify anyone. We do not make, and do not allow Google to make, any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting our website. We use Google Analytics so that we can continually improve our service to you - read the Google Analytics privacy notice.
We use Writeupp as the content management system for our website - find out about Writeupp data protection.
Like most websites we use cookies to help the site work more efficiently - find out about our use of cookies.
If you fill in a form on our website, that data will be temporarily stored on the web host before being sent to us.Where we provide links to websites of other organisations, this privacy notice does not cover how that organisation processes personal information. We encourage you to read the privacy notices on the other websites you visit.
New Hope Counselling has a presence on various social media platforms. If you engage with us via these platforms we will not usually collect or store your personal data. Where we are collecting personal data for future use, we will let you know and provide you with details about the intended use. We have a presence on Facebook, LinkedIn and X. To find out how these companies use your data and how you can control the way they use your data please refer to their privacy policies, which should be available on their websites.
Social media
New Hope Counselling has a presence on various social media platforms. If you engage with us via these platforms we will not usually collect or store your personal data unless you send us a message directly. Where we are collecting personal data for future use, we will let you know and provide you with details about the intended use. We have a presence on Facebook, LinkedIn Instagram and X.
Data collected by the Meta (Facebook) pixel will be used by Meta and New Hope Counselling. It will enable us to optimise our Facebook and Instagram adverts, understand how people interact with our website and make improvements as a result. Find out more about the Meta (Facebook) pixel.
To find out how Meta uses your data and how you can control the way they use your data please refer to their privacy policies, which should be available on their website.
Sharing your information
During your contact with us, we'll tell you how your information will be used and that it may be necessary to share it with other services and organisations. We will not share your information with any third parties unless:
How do we keep your information safe?
All information you provide to us is stored as securely as possible.
All paper forms and correspondence are kept in locked filing cabinets on our premises.
All electronic records are stored securely on a cloud server using the latest firewalls and data security protocols, and all access is by password-protected authentication, or by our IT service provider using secure cloud technology.
Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is never completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your information using industry-standard protocols and encryption, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to us via email, including forms completed on our website which are transmitted by email; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.
Your identifiable personal information is kept separately from any session notes and other descriptive material.
Client notes and other documentation are destroyed 3 years after the end of counselling and personal contact details are destroyed/deleted after 7 years of no contact or updates.
Your rights
You have the right to ask us to provide a copy of the information held by us in our records. You also have the right to require us to correct any inaccuracies in your information. If you would like to do this, please contact the Director using our contact form. You may withdraw your consent for us to hold and process your data at any time. However, if you do this while actively receiving counselling from New Hope Counselling, your counselling would have to end. You can withdraw your consent by submitting our Consent Withdrawal Form, or by contacting the Director.
Cookies
We do not use cookies to collect any personal information on our website, or to share your browsing behaviour with any third party except:Google Analytics we use Google Analytics to collect generic, anonymous data from all visitors to monitor how our website is used. This data is shared with Google in return for the service they provide.Cookie Notice the law requires that you receive a notification about our use of cookies, and so we have to use another set of cookies specifically and only to collect the information that you have seen this notice and agreed to it.
If you are aware of, or find any other cookies on this website, please let us know immediately as they have not been installed by New Hope Counselling.
Changes to this policy
We may edit this policy from time to time. If we make any substantial changes we will notify you by posting a prominent announcement on our website.