Provide Volunteering Confidentiality and Data Protection Policy

Data Protection Policy

Provide Volunteering is committed to ensuring that we store, maintain and use information held on volunteers, external organisations and voluntary opportunities in compliance with University and Students’ Union policies on such matters.

The Data Protection Principles

The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) concerns personal data held about living individuals, and provides that such data must:

• be obtained and processed fairly and lawfully and only if certain conditions are met;
• be obtained for specified and lawful purposes;
• be adequate, relevant and not excessive for those purposes;
• be accurate and up-to-date;
• not be kept for longer than is necessary;
• be processed in accordance with the rights of data subjects;
• be kept safe from unauthorised access, loss or destruction;
• not be transferred to countries outside the European Economic Area, unless to countries with equivalent levels of data protection.

Personal Data

Provide Volunteering holds and processes data relating to students and recent graduates in order to undertake the organisation and administration of volunteer opportunities. We may hold the following information under the terms of the Universities policy and the DPA.

• Personal Details
• Photographs
• Information linking individuals with specific opportunities
• Status on various accreditation schemes
• References
• Information on CRB Disclosure checks

We may anonymously combine records together to produce reports to monitor the service.

Sensitive Personal Data

The DPA defines certain types of data as sensitive. Such data cannot be collected or processed without your explicit consent.
Provide volunteering may ask volunteers to disclose any disability or issues that may affect the type of volunteering that they could undertake. There is no requirement to provide this information but it may assist Provide in matching the volunteer with an appropriate opportunity or taking appropriate action to open up otherwise restricted volunteering opportunities.
When information such as this is disclosed it will be kept in the strictest of confidence.
If this information is to be disclosed to a third party the volunteer will be asked for their consent before such a disclosure occurs.

College Policies

Privacy and Monitoring of Data Policy
Access to Information Policy

Confidentiality

It is bad practice to disclose any confidential information about Provide’s volunteers, clients or organisations. Any breach of confidence will be dealt with according to the complaints procedure and is considered very serious.

What exactly is meant by a breach of confidence?

• If a child/person under the age of eighteen makes a disclosure of abuse or something else that may harm them to a volunteer then the volunteer is obliged by law to follow the procedures laid down by the organisation they are working for. 
• Volunteers should feel free to discuss any worries, questions or general observations with the Volunteer Coordinator or the contact within the organisation.
• Personal information about clients does need to remain confidential. 
• For example:  there is no reason why a volunteer needs to know why a client has mental health issues.  If this information is revealed to a volunteer by the client then it is not appropriate to discuss this outside of the project and should be considered as confidential.  Personal information about any client is to be treated respectfully and the client may not wish what they have told you to become common knowledge even if they have not specifically indicated this.
• Provide is committed to confidentiality on a “need to know” basis and accepts the need for information to be disclosed according to the discretion of its volunteers.
• Confidential matters must not be discussed with members of the general public (including other students) who may not have the necessary insight into the work.
• Personal information about other volunteers even if disclosed in a social setting should not be repeated and should be treated in a sensitive manner.

For more information about the Data Protection Act 1998, please click here
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1998/19980029.htm