Privacy Notice - February 2023

Hexham Town Twinning Association (HTTA) is part of a three-way twinning arrangement with Metzingen in Southern Germany and Noyon in Northern France. These links were established in 1989 and 1992. Its aim is to develop a greater understanding and appreciation of our respective cultures through regular exchange visits and personal contacts, involving the local mayors and town councils. The town twinning process offers opportunities for connecting in a diverse range of community activity and enterprise, thereby working to overcome the initial barriers of language and nationality.

Personal information we hold about you and how it is used

This is derived in the first instance from the Application Form completed on becoming a member and covers name and address, email address, and telephone number/s. We will use this information to contact you about organised events, other topics of interest or relevance, and to request payment of annual subscriptions, when these become due.

Sharing of information

If you decide to take part in our exchange visits, personal information will need to be shared with the committees of our twin towns, and additional details will be sought for planning the event and, where appropriate, to arrange group travel. Some information may also be shared between host families in Hexham, Metzingen and Noyon, on the occasion of these visits.

During such visits and at other events referred to previously, photographs or videos may be taken and shown on display boards or computer screens, published in newspapers, or uploaded to the Association’s website and social media accounts. You have the right to object to the use of material in this way by contacting the Membership Secretary, who is the primary contact for questions of data protection, or alternatively, at particular events, any other member of the committee.

Data Security

All communications with you by email will use the blind copying option (BCC), so that your address is not shared with other members. Data will be shared with other members of the committee on a need-to-know basis and will be stored on password-protected home computers, equipped with up-to-date security software.

Data Protection Act 2018

The information we hold is governed by the regulations specified in this legislation, which sets out the legal bases on which data can be held. HTTA has elected to rely on ‘legitimate interest’ as its own basis, having taken the view that the type of data it holds about members is of a general nature and will be used in ways they would reasonably expect, without which it could not easily function. This means that explicit consent would not normally be sought, unless circumstances arose in which the use of data fell outside the purposes above described.

Rights of members

The Act gives you rights towards the data we hold, including rights of access, correction, erasure, restriction and objection. As mentioned above, if you have cause to exercise any of these rights, the primary point of contact will be the Membership Secretary, Jan Lambert, via the contact page, who can be notified via our website contact page. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at: Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, or via their website at: https://ico.org.uk/.

Retention of information after ending membership

When you indicate a wish to end your membership, or it is otherwise inferred by non-renewal of the subscription, your personal details other than your name will be deleted from our records after the AGM of the year following the year of termination. Your name only will be retained in our records for up to five years, after which it will remain off-line as part of the Association’s archive material, unless you specify to the contrary.