Visit County Durham (VCD) is strongly committed to preserving the privacy of its users. This Data Protection and Security Policy lets you know about our policy for the collection and use of information about you and your transactions with us.

Summary

We (VCD) may from time to time share your details with Durham County Council and Business Durham.
Aside from this we will never share your information with other companies without your prior permission.

Email

We will only send you marketing emails if you specifically give us your consent to do so.
We may collect the following information when you use our website:

Name
Postal Address
Telephone Number
E-mail address

The information we collect will depend on the nature of your enquiry with us.

We collect information only when you supply it to us by entering your details via an online form. When we collect information from you, we may provide an option for you to join our mailing list. The first e-mail you receive will carry an unsubscribe link, allowing you to opt out of any future communications. This information will not be shared with any third party, other than for evaluation purposes.

If you have any issues when trying to unsubscribe or wish to discuss data protection matters further please contact marketing@visitcountydurham.org

How we collect personal information

By the use of “cookies” on our website – cookies are small text files or variables which enable a website to “remember” who you are. Most browsers are automatically set to accept cookies but if you are using Microsoft’s Internet Explorer or Firefox, you should be able to configure your browser to restrict cookies or block all cookies if you wish. Browser-specific instructions on how to restrict or block cookies may be found on the IAB’s website.

Through website statistics – We do keep a record of traffic data which is logged automatically by our server, such as your IP address, the URL you visited before ours, the URL you visit after leaving our site and which pages you visit. We also collect some site statistics such as page impressions and page views. We are not readily able to identify any individual from traffic data or site statistics.

By you contacting us or by other methods other than the website – The website provides an email address for you to contact us. We will collect information from you through this method. We may also collect other information you supply to us after your initial contact with us.

The information we collect

The information we collect about you will depend on the nature of your enquiry with us. Here is a brief description of the information we collect and how we use it.

Research statistics – We anonymise the information we collect and then use it to produce and publish statistics. We will always ensure the statutory safeguards for statistical research are in place. So we will never use personal information in the course of this research to support measures or decisions with respect to particular individuals or in such a way that is likely to cause substantial damage or substantial distress to any individual. Any resulting research statistics will not be made available in a form which identifies individuals, unless those individuals have agreed to be identified.

How we safeguard personal information

We recognise that you retain rights in the personal information we hold about you. We will keep that information secure, and use it only for specific legitimate purposes.

We have obligations to keep personal information secure, which we take seriously – We will keep personal information secure by taking appropriate technical and staff measures against the unauthorised or unlawful processing of that information and against its accidental loss, destruction or damage.

Your rights under data protection

You have various rights. You are most likely to want to exercise the following ones.

Your right to see a copy of the information we hold about you, on payment of a statutory fee which is currently £10. Before we agree to this, you must provide with sufficient evidence of your identity and sufficient details of the information you wish to see to enable us to locate it. If you would like to see a copy of the information we hold about you, please email our Data Protection Officer info@visitcountydurham.org

Your right to be removed from our mailing lists. Instructions on how to stop further mailings will usually be contained in any direct marketing material we send you. Otherwise please contact our marketing communications department – marketing@visitcountydurham.org
Your right to correct any errors in information we hold about you, and to change or correct any details you have already given us. Please inform us about changes to your details so that we can keep our records accurate and up to date – marketing@visitcountydurham.org
Your right to data portability – allowing you to obtain and reuse your personal data for your own purposes across different services – marketing@visitcountydurham.org

Any complaints about our handling of personal information can be sent to our marketing communications team in the first instance – marketing@visitcountydurham.org
If your complaint relates to the handling of your personal information by an organisation with which we share information, then please let us know that. We aim to respond to your complaint within 20 days of receiving it. You have a right of appeal in relation to any decision we make, which we will tell you about when we respond to your complaint. We will always review our policy and procedure in line with any justified complaints.

How to find out more

Data Protection Officer – If you want to know more about what information we have about you, or the way we use your information, you can contact our Data Protection Officer.

Data Protection Register – When we ask you for information, we will comply with the law, including the Data Protection Act 1998. We are a data controller for the purposes of that Act. Our entry in the register of data controllers is Z8473392. In brief, our register entry describes:

The personal information processed by us or on our behalf and the category or categories of individuals to which they relate the purpose or purposes for which personal information is processed the recipients to whom we intend to disclose personal information, and any countries or territories outside the European Economic Area to which we transfer personal information.
Information Commissioner – For independent advice about freedom of information, data protection, privacy and data-sharing issues, you can contact the Information Commissioner at:

Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Tel: 01625 545745
Fax: 01625 524510
e-mail: mail@ico.gsi.gov.uk
Website: ico.org.uk