Updated Feb 2020
Privacy Notice and Data Retention Policy
As an MP, I am registered as a Data Controller with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). My office staff are data processors, working on my behalf. Under GDPR, you have rights over your personal data, full details of which can be found on the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) website ICO website.
I am the MP for Washington and Sunderland West Constituency. As your MP, I believe it is important that I and my office can keep in touch with constituents about my work, take up casework on their behalf, helping constituents where I am able to do so, and ask for constituents' views on issues.
As a Labour MP, I also have access to other information, which I or my office, or volunteers working with me, will use for campaigning purposes, or for communicating with Labour Party members. In respect of that information, the Labour Party is the data controller, and you should consult their privacy policy ( https://labour.org.uk/privacy-policy ) for details of what information they hold, why, and how they use and process that information.
This page explains briefly how I collect and use personal data, the legal basis for doing so, and provides information about your rights in respect of your personal data, for which I am a Registered Data Controller (RDC).
Data collection and use
The office of Sharon Hodgson MP will only collect and use personal information for the specific purpose for which it has been obtained.
I will undertake casework using personal information provided by, or on behalf of, a constituent. It may be necessary for me to share your information with third-party organisations. I will only do this where it is necessary and reasonable to do so, and I will share only the minimum amount of personal information necessary in order to help you. Please see the “who I share your information with” section below for further details.
If registering through my website (NationBuilder) or subscribing to my email updates through Mailchimp for instance, or by completing a form or survey sent to you by my office, you may be asked for personal information. In each case, I will ask for your explicit consent to use your information, and I will only use it for the purposes for which you provide it. You can update your preferences in Mailchimp at any time.
I may communicate by post, email, telephone or text message, about my work and to give you news on my campaigns and opportunities to get involved. Please be aware, that as an elected representative, I have a legal entitlement to the full electoral register for my constituency, which includes the full name and address of every registered elector, and I may write to you in connection with my activities as your MP.
If I do, I will only send emails, texts or contact you by telephone where you have provided explicit consent for me to do so. You may withdraw your consent or unsubscribe at any time from communications in any medium by contacting my office or by using the unsubscribe option that I will provide in my communications.
I will not use personal data for any automated decision making or profiling.
Who I share your information with:
If you have contacted me as your constituency MP requesting assistance with an issue against an organisation or Central Government body, when I take up casework on your behalf, it may be necessary for me to share the details you provide with third parties, such as government departments, local authorities and other public bodies. I will only share as much information as is necessary to take your case forward. If you have any questions or concerns about how information you provide as part of a casework request is used, please contact my office for more information. My office (on my behalf, as data processors) will process data responsibly and as practicably appropriate in order to help constituents. If we need to contact you for clarification of any authorisation required for communicating with a third party about you, or on behalf of another person you have contacted me about, my office will contact you. This means that your enquiry may be delayed until we have been able to establish such appropriate authorisation.
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 the Washington and Sunderland West constituency, it may be necessary for me to transfer personal information to countries or jurisdictions outside the EU – such as NationBuilder and Mailchimp, or Caseworker.MP software (Elected Technologies). 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.
Retention of personal data
I will only keep your personal information for as long as it is necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this policy. Information relating to casework will only be retained for as long as it is necessary to resolve or otherwise complete your request, although I may retain a minimum amount of information about closed cases, or contact details, in the event that you may contact me again for help. Ordinarily, unless you have particularly asked us not to do so, my office will destroy any information after 2 years, other than minimal contact details.
If you have consented to receive information about my work, I will only retain your personal information for so long as I am the MP for Washington and Sunderland West constituency, or you ask not to be contacted any further.
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 also 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. You can manage your own cookie settings in your own web browser settings.
Links to other websites:
This website contains links to other websites. I am not responsible for the content or privacy practices of these websites. Whilst reasonable consideration will have been taken to ensure the legitimacy of these links, your choice to click on such links is entirely your own.
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”)
You may opt out of receiving further communications from me in any medium at any time. All requests to unsubscribe will be dealt with promptly.
If you wish to exercise your rights in respect of your personal data or have any concerns about how your data is used, please contact my office on [email protected]
Alternatively, you have the right to raise any issues or concerns directly with the Information Commissioner’s Office.
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