This privacy notice was updated on 6th February 2023.
Controller of personal information
We are the Wales
Learning Disability
A learning disability is to do with the way someone's brain works. It makes it harder for someone to learn, understand or do things.
Helpline.
We are part of Royal Mencap Society (Mencap Cymru), which is a registered charity.
We are also registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office as a Data Controller (registration number Z5709720) under the Data Protection Act 2018.
The Wales Learning Disability Helpline is located at Mencap Cymru, G2/G3 Tŷ Menter, Navigation Park, Abercynon, Rhondda Cynon Taff, CF45 4SN.
If you have any questions about this privacy notice, do not hesitate to contact our Data Protection Officer at DPO@mencap.org.uk.
Within the context of this privacy notice, ‘we’, ‘us’, and ‘our’ refers to the Wales Learning Disability Helpline.
Why and how we collect your personal information
If you contact the Wales Learning Disability Helpline, your telephone number area code will be collected, used and stored with a third party named Call Handling, which helps direct your call to the right Helpline.
This will be done using the Legitimate Interest basis under the Data Protection Act 2018.
Once you speak with any employee of the Wales Learning Disability Helpline, your details will be stored within our
Customer
A customer is a person who buys something or uses a
service
A service gives people what they need, like healthcare services that help people when they are ill, and support services that give people support.
.
Record System, so that we can keep track of the advice you need from us. The same thing will be done if you contact us via email.
The table below will give you an idea of how we use your information and for how long.
| Type of information | Why do we need this information | How long we keep this information for | Lawful basis for requesting this information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | To contact you | 7 years from the closure of your case | Legitimate interest and to protect against legal claims |
| Address and postcode | To contact you, and to report on the areas we get calls from (this would not contain your name or other information) | ||
| Telephone number | To contact you | Legitimate interest | |
| Telephone area code | For call handling to direct your call to the right region | ||
| Email address | To contact you | ||
| Age | To ensure that we give age appropriate advice, and for reporting purposes (this would not contain other information) | Legitimate interest and legal reasons | |
| Your local authority | To ensure we give you the correct advice, and for reporting purposes (this would not contain other information or be attached to your name) | Legitimate interest | |
| Type of disability | To ensure that we give you advice in a way that fits you, and for reporting purposes (this would not contain other information or be attached to your name) |
Legitimate interest and relevant GDPR Article 9 conditions | |
| Type of issue you are contacting us about | For reporting purposes, so that we can organise a campaign if we see a surge in a specific issue. This would not contain any other information beside the number of a certain issue we are assisting with | Legitimate interest | |
| Your feedback to us | To improve our service and to encourage our team, and for reporting purposes (this would not contain other information or be attached to your name). | Legitimate interest | |
| Case details | To help you with your query, keep track of the advice we give you and what referrals you consented to | Legitimate interest, legal requirement and appropriate GDPR Section 9 criteria for the processing of special category data | Your funding authority | In cases where you are having issues with your funding authority, we will report on themes and trends. (This would not contain other information, and your name or identifying data will never be in our reports). | Your ethnicity | To tell whether our services are reaching every member of our community, to inform us of what resources we need to create and offer, so that we can effectively help as many people as possible. For reporting purposes (this would not contain other information, and your name or identifying data will never be in our reports) You can refuse to give this information if you do want to share it with us. | Legitimate interest, and appropriate GDPR Section 9 criteria for the processing of special category data. | Your gender | To tell whether our services are reaching every member of our community, to inform us of what resources we need to create and offer, so that we can effectively help as many people as possible. For reporting purposes (this would not contain other information, and your name or identifying data will never be in our reports) You can refuse to give this information if you do want to share it with us.. | Legitimate interest, and appropriate GDPR Section 9 criteria for the processing of special category data. | Your marital status and household data | So that we can properly advise on elements of housing, benefits, or money matters where your household, and the relationships of people in your household, have a bearing on the advice we give. For reporting purposes (this would not contain other information, and your name or identifying data will never be in our reports) You can refuse to give this information if you do want to share it with us. | Legitimate interest, and appropriate GDPR Section 9 criteria for the processing of special category data. | Information about your finances | So that we can properly advise on elements of benefit entitlement, care charges and cost of living issues, where your income and savings have a bearing on the advice that we give. For reporting purposes (this would not contain other information and your name and identifying data will never be in our reports) You can refuse to give this information if you do not want to share it with us. | Legitimate interest, and appropriate GDPR Section 9 criteria for the processing of special category data. |
Why are we not asking for your Consent to store and use your information?
Under the GDPR and UK Data Protection Act 2018,
consent
Consent is when you say yes to something, like an operation, or Mencap using your photo for a story. You may have to sign something to say yes. If you can't make your own decisions, someone else can say yes or no for you. They must think about what is right for you.
is only valid if it is not seen as ‘coerced’, and you still obtain the same service without giving your consent for us to store and use your information.
However, because of legal requirements surrounding helpline work, legal claims and insurance, we cannot provide the same level of service or depth of information if you refuse to give us your information. Therefore, the consent obtained would not be valid.
However, Legitimate Interest is a valid reason to collect, use, and store your information. If you want to see the Legitimate Interest
Assessment
An assessment is a way of finding out what help a person needs. When you have an assessment, you might have to go to a meeting or fill in a form.
, please contact DPO@mencap.org.uk.
What does this mean for me?
In practice, it means you can refuse to give us the information we require. If you want to stay anonymous, you can.
You will not receive the same depth of information than if you had given us your details, but because we are not using Consent as a reason to collect the details in the first place, then the Wales Learning Disability Helpline will not be breaking the Data Protection
Law
Laws are the rules that everyone in the country has to follow. If you don't follow the rules you can get in trouble with the police.
.
Who we might share your information with and why
Internally, we will share your anonymized information (this means that your name and precise address and contact details would not be shared) with Mencap’s policy team and campaigns team, so that Mencap can coordinate a
campaign
A campaign is when people work together to try to change something.
or other influential work if we notice a large number of the same issue occurring.
We will also share this information with our fundraising team, so that they can also design a fundraising campaign to assist with the costs of doing this. This would be done on a Legitimate Interest Basis.
Your case could also be used as a
case study
A case study is a piece of writing that tells people more information about someone's
experience
Experience is when you have learned or tried something before.
.
with Mencap’s campaigns, fundraising and/or marketing teams. That would only be done with your consent.
Externally, we will share your information with your consent, with other
organisations
Organisations are groups like companies and businesses.
who might be able to help you. We will make you complete a short form for this. If you do not consent, we will give you the contact details of these organisations so you can contact them yourself, so you are not at a disadvantage.
If we are concerned about your welfare or safety, we are obligated by law to let the appropriate authorities know of this.
We will never sell your details to third parties. The Wales Learning Disability Helpline will not contact you about marketing and fundraising activities without your consent.
How we keep your personal information safe and who has access to it
Your information is kept safe within Mencap’s IT environment, which is password protected and only
accessible
Accessible means something is easy for people to use or join in with. For example: Accessible writing means the writing is easy to read and understand.
to Mencap.
The Customer Record System and voicemail systems are only accessible to Wales Learning Disability Helpline employees.
Your rights
You have
rights
Rights are the things everyone should be allowed to do like have a say, or go to school.
in regard to the information we hold about you. You have the right to:
- ask to see a copy of the information we have about you. You can do this by completing our request form and you will need one piece of ID to complete the form.
- revoke your consent at any time by contacting the Wales Learning Disability Helpline
- lodge complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office if you are not satisfied with how we treat your personal information
- object to your information being used in a
certain
Certain means you are sure about something.
way - request the erasure of the information we hold about you.
To exercise any of these rights, or if you have any question or complaint, please contact the Wales Learning Disability Helpline and the Data Protection Officer at DPO@mencap.org.uk.
We've created an
easy read
Easy Read is a way of making written information easier to understand. Pictures are usually added next to the writing.
version of our privacy notice for the Learning Disability Helpline in Wales.
What are your data protection rights?
This video explains the rights you have with your personal details that Mencap uses.
These rights are part of data protection law in the UK.
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A website is a page you can go to on the internet like Google or YouTube.
. It helps the website to remember you and your preferences.
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