Any personal information that you give to me will be handled confidentially by me and the staff in my office, in line with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998 and the General Data Protection Regulation (effective 25th May 2018). If you would like information about the Data Protection Act 1998 or GDPR, this can be obtained from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) through their website www.ico.org.uk or advice line 0303 123 1113.

 

Individuals’ Rights

The GDPR includes the following rights for individuals:

• the right to be informed;

• the right of access;

• the right to rectification;

• the right to erasure;

• the right to restrict processing;

• the right to data portability

• the right to object; and

• the right not to be subject to automated decision-making, including profiling

 

Your rights:

You have a number of rights in relation to your personal information and the opportunity to choose how it is used. You can:

 

• Obtain copies of the personal information I hold about you (known as a “subject access request”)

• Request that I correct or update any personal information held about you

• Ask that we erase or restrict the way in which I use your information

• Request that personal information you have given your consent for me to use is provided in an electronic format so it can be transferred to another data controller (also known as “data portability”)

 

What information do we collect about you?

My office collects personal information that is supplied to me in my role as a Member of Parliament. It includes information supplied by my constituents and others in relation to matters which I have been asked to pursue in the interests of individuals and groups who live in my constituency such as, but not limited to:

 

• contact details for the constituent.

• sensitive and non-sensitive personal data in connection with constituency casework.

• information provided by signatories on petitions.

• responses to questionnaires.

• statistical data on the type and number of cases processed for monitoring processes.

• contact details for the purpose of communicating news and updates.

 

How will we use the information about you?

If you ask me to pursue a matter on your behalf, I will use your information in order to pursue the matter you have raised with me. My staff will see this information, record this data on a secure electronic and contact third party organisations to seek further advice and/or make representations on your behalf. 

 

Your personal and sensitive personal information may be passed to third party agencies (such as the Department for Work and Pensions, Local Authorities, Home Office etc.) if I believe this to be necessary to pursue the matter you have raised with me.

 

Sensitive personal data is information about a person’s:

• racial or ethnic origin;

• political opinions;

• religious beliefs;

• trade union membership;

• health;

• sexual life;

• alleged criminal activity; or

• court proceedings

 

If information we hold about you is inaccurate and it has been passed to a third party when dealing with your case, please inform us as soon as possible so that they be contacted in order to correct their records.

 

Constituency news and events

I would like to send you information about constituency news and events, by contacting me you are giving me the consent to sent you further emails about Constituency news and events. You can opt out of this at any time by requesting not the be included in future correspondence.

 

Consent:

Under Section 2 of the Data Protection Act, implied consent is a valid form of consent for the purposes of an MP processing personal data in relation to constituency casework. However where there is uncertainty about a constituent’s wishes, further verbal or written consent may be sought.

 

The Data Protection (Processing of Sensitive Personal Data)(Elected Representatives) Order 2002 (“the order”) provides an additional condition (Schedule 3) so that explicit consent is not always needed when an MP processes sensitive personal data in connection with constituency casework. However, the processing must be fair and lawful.

 

When a constituent contact me for a reply or assistance, consent will be assumed at the point of contact. Under the GDPR rules consent must be freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous. Should you wish to withdraw your consent at any time, please contact me using the contact details below. 

 

Occasionally third party organisations require express written consent in addition to the representations from the MP, in this instance you will be requested give me that written consent in order to satisfy the third party organisation that consent was given by the constituent.

 

Who I share your information with?

When I take up casework on your behalf, it may be necessary for me to share the details you provide with government departments, local authorities and other organisations. I will normally forward a full copy of your communication along with my correspondence, unless you specifically request me to withhold part or all our communication from third parties.

If you have any questions or concerns about how information you provide as part of a casework request is used, please contact me for more information.

 

Other than in the circumstances above, I will not share personal information with other organisations without your explicit consent.

 

In order to communicate with you about my work as the MP for North Northumberland Constituency, it may be necessary for me to transfer personal information to countries or jurisdictions outside the EU. In each case, I will take steps to ensure that the suppliers I use comply with the General Data Protection Regulation or are subject to the Privacy Shield scheme agreed between the European Union and the United States.

 

Providing Consent for other people

If you give me personal information about someone other than yourself, I may need to check the facts with that other person. If you ask me to take action on behalf of a friend or relative I may need to contact that person to confirm that they consent for me to act on their behalf – in some cases I will request that they contact me direct to ensure I have their written permission to deal with their case. 

 

Subject Access Requests (SAR)

 

The Subject Access Request can be made verbally, however you may be requested to provide proof of identification. Please specify in your Subject Access Request what data you require. Subject Access Requests will be processed within one month from the time the request is received by my office.

 

Under the General Data Protection Regulation, I do not have the permission to release third party identifying information. We will refuse requests that are manifestly unfounded or excessive. Should you require large print, please mention this in your request.

 

Data Retention

All personal data is collected on a secure electronic system. Any paper documents supplied to me are scanned onto the electronic system in the data subject’s case file and securely destroyed immediately or returned to the data subject in the post, if they have requested for their return. There are no paper records kept in my office and all electronic data is retained for a period of six years. You are advised to retain your own copies of correspondence older than six years, should you wish to keep a record of your case.  

 

By contacting me, you are consenting to receive information about my work, I will only retain your personal information so long as I am the MP for North Northumberland, or you ask not to be contacted further. You are also giving me consent to take your case up with any relevant authority on your behalf.

 

I will regularly review the personal information I hold to ensure that its use is necessary and proportionate.

 

IP Addresses and Cookies

This site does not automatically capture or store personal information, other than logging the user’s IP Address or the location of your computer or network on the Internet, for systems administration and troubleshooting purposes. I do not currently use IP addresses in the aggregate to track which pages people visit in order to improve the quality of the site.

 

A cookie is a tiny text file that is stored on your computer. Cookies may be used in order to tailor your experience on this site according to the preferences you have specified. Cookies on this website do not contain personally identifiable information, other than your IP address, which itself is only very rarely enough to identify you as an individual.

 

Access to your information and correction

If you wish to see any information that I hold about you, if you want me to update or correct any personal information that I hold about you, or if you have any queries regarding personal data that I hold about you, please contact me in using any of the methods below:

 

By phone: 

By E-mail: David.smith.mp@parliament.uk

(Please quote Subject Access Request in the header and provide your full name and address)

In Writing: David Smith M, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA.

 

Data Breaches

Procedures are in place to detect, report and investigate a personal data breach. The ICO will be notified if the data breach is likely to result in a risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals. We will also notify those concerned directly if the breach is likely to result in a high risks to the rights and freedoms of individuals.

 

Other websites

This privacy notice only applies to information on my website and does not apply

to information contained on other websites that are linked from this one, or on those on which I appear. I am not responsible for the content or privacy practices of these websites.

 

Changes to our privacy policy

This privacy policy was last updated on 12 September 2024

 

How to contact me?

If you wish to exercise your rights in respect of your personal data or have any concerns about how your data is used, or if you have any queries regarding this privacy policy please contact me:

 

David Smith MP

House of Commons

London

SW1A 0AA