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This policy explains how we collect, use, store, share and protect personal information when you use our website, support services and community forum.
Next Chapter Scotland is the data controller for the personal information described in this policy.
Contact details:
- Name: Next Chapter Scotland
- Website: www.nextchapterscotland.org.uk
- Email: info@nextchapterscotland.org.uk
We currently collect and process information including:
- Personal identifiers, contact details and characteristics
- Personal history information where relevant to support services
- Employee, contractor and volunteer information (including payment details where required)
- Website and usage data
- Financial/accounting information
- Information about suppliers, customers and other stakeholders
- Forum account and community interaction data (posts, comments, reports, moderation actions)
Most personal information is provided directly by you, including when you request support, contact us, complete forms, transact with us, volunteer/work with us, or use our website/forum.
We use this information to respond to queries, deliver services, administer our operations, keep users safe, moderate the forum, and meet legal, safeguarding and governance obligations.
We use proportionate moderation and safeguarding measures to help keep the community safe.
This includes processing reports, moderation decisions and related records where necessary to prevent harm, enforce forum rules and meet legal obligations.
Where relevant, we apply age-appropriate safety measures in line with applicable legal requirements, including where children and young people may access services.
Depending on context, we rely on one or more of: consent, legitimate interests, performance of a contract, compliance with legal obligations, and protection of vital interests (for example, serious risk of harm).
You can withdraw consent at any time where consent is the legal basis by contacting info@nextchapterscotland.org.uk.
To keep the forum safe, we process data related to reports, moderation decisions and account restrictions.
This may include report reasons, links to reported content, moderator decisions and decision timestamps.
Username-only bans are not effective on their own.
We may enforce account-level restrictions (including email/account level where appropriate) when serious or repeated harm occurs.
Our general approach is to keep information confidential.
However, we may share information without consent where necessary to protect people from serious harm, safeguard children/young people/vulnerable people, prevent serious crime, or comply with legal or regulatory obligations.
Where appropriate and safe, we will normally tell the person concerned if confidentiality must be broken.
We may also use anonymised information for case studies and service improvement.
Your information is stored securely and retained only as long as necessary.
Current target retention periods:
- Forum accounts: removed after 5 years of inactivity, including deletion of associated forum email data
- Helpline and advocacy emails/forms: retained for 8 months from last contact
- Personnel and finance records: retained in line with legal and accounting requirements
- Moderation records: retained for a defined period to support safety, appeals and accountability, then deleted or anonymised
When you use our website, we may collect log data such as IP address, browser information, pages visited, dates/times and usage statistics.
We use cookies and similar technologies to run core functions, understand usage and improve user experience.
You can control cookies through browser settings and our cookie controls.
We may use third-party providers to help deliver, host, maintain and improve our services.
Where providers process personal information on our behalf, they are expected to process it only for agreed purposes and with appropriate security and confidentiality controls.
At the time of writing, the website chatbot is provided by SherlockAI.org (via Nornir Ltd).
We publish provider information and links so users can review third-party privacy terms where chatbot services are used.
Provider privacy policy: https://www.sherlockai.org/privacy-policy
Our services may contain links to external websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party sites and recommend reviewing their privacy policies.
Our services are designed to be delivered safely with safeguarding controls.
If we become aware that personal information from a child has been provided in circumstances that require action, we will take appropriate safeguarding and data protection steps, including deletion where appropriate.
Parents or guardians can contact us at info@nextchapterscotland.org.uk.
Some service providers may process data outside the UK. Where this happens, we apply appropriate safeguards required by UK data protection law.
Under data protection law, you have rights including:
Your right of access - You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information.
Your right to rectification - You have the right to ask us to rectify personal information you think it is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete.
Your right to erasure - You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to restriction of processing - You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to object to processing - You have the the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to data portability - You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances.
You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you.
Please contact us at info@nextchapterscotland.org.uk if you wish to make a request.
To make a request, contact info@nextchapterscotland.org.uk.
We use commercially reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information.
No internet transmission or electronic storage method is completely secure, but we continuously work to reduce risk.
If you have concerns about our use of personal information, contact us first at info@nextchapterscotland.org.uk.
You can also complain to the ICO:
- Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
- Helpline: 0303 123 1113
- Website: https://www.ico.org.uk
We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will be published on our website with the updated date.
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