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Legal and Privacy


INTRODUCTION

 

At Samaritans, privacy is at the heart of what we do.

The purpose of this statement is to be clear and transparent about how Central London Samaritans uses your personal information if you interact with or take part in our Facing the Future service, which offers support to people bereaved by suicide. We are committed to protecting your privacy and the personal information that we hold. We will do our best to use your personal information in accordance with data protection law, and not do anything with your information that you wouldn’t reasonably expect.


For other ways Central London Samaritans uses personal information (for instance for people using services other than Facing the Future, or for people who donate to the branch or apply to volunteer), please refer to the Central London Samaritans Privacy Statement: https://www.samaritans.org/branches/central-london/central-london-samaritans-privacy-statement/

 

Central London Samaritans is an independent charity, separate from Samaritans Central Charity but with a specific agreement to work together to provide services. As such, there are cases where Central London Samaritans comes into contact with, shares and processes personal data with/for Samaritans Central Charity, whose Privacy Statement is here:

https://www.samaritans.org/privacy-statement/

 

 

Changes to this Privacy Statement

As the Facing the Future service changes, we may need to alter this Privacy Statement. Please check this page occasionally to see if we have included any updates or changes, and that you are happy with them.

 

Please contact the Facing the Future service if you have any queries about this Statement.


Email: ftf@cls.org.uk

Mail: Facing the Future, Central London Samaritans, 46 Marshall Street,

London W1F 9BF

 


1. HOW WE USE PERSONAL INFORMATION FOR FACING THE FUTURE

 

This is the personal information we collect at each stage, and why we collect it:

  • Registration of interest – we will ask for information via the online registration form: https://www.facingthefuturegroups.org/RegistrationPage
  • Phone call with one of our volunteers – a volunteer will contact you by phone using the details you provided in the registration form (this may be several weeks after you submitted the form). This call is to explain what to expect from the Facing the Future group and work out with you whether a group is right for you at this time. The volunteer will talk through possible dates for a group you could join. You will also be asked if there is any additional information you would like the group facilitators to be aware of before the group starts.
  • Confirmation and joining instructions – we’ll email you a few weeks before the start of your group with the Zoom link, access details, the names of your group facilitators and an emergency phone number.
  • Last minute questions or concerns – please use the emergency phone number if you’re uncertain about anything or have a problem (SMS is usually best). Alternatively, email us at ftf@cls.org.uk and someone will either email or phone you back.
  • Group sessions – any information discussed in the group sessions is confidential to the group apart from in exceptional circumstances if we feel you or someone else is in danger (see the section below on Safeguarding).
  • Facilitator supervision sessions – as part of our commitment to maintaining the highest standards, facilitators will undertake three supervision sessions with a senior Facing the Future volunteer where they can debrief and raise any concerns they may have. Whilst the facilitator may discuss the group and some potential challenges, personal data of the participants is not discussed or recorded.
  • Course feedback – after the last group session, participants will be sent a feedback questionnaire to help us continue to improve the service.

 


1.1 Safeguarding

 When we are worried about your safety or that you are being hurt either by your own actions or by someone else, we want to help you find the best way to keep yourself safe.

 

We’ll do this by listening and by talking to you about what you want to do. Most of the time whatever you tell us will stay between you and the Facing the Future service. In some circumstances, if you asked us to and told us your location, we might pass on information to access emergency help for you.

 

If you share information with us which identifies a child or adult at risk (an adult with additional health or care needs), who is suffering or has suffered abuse or harm, we may, after discussion with you, contact other relevant services.


We take your confidentiality very seriously and will only consider speaking to someone else if we are really worried about what you have told us or we have a legal obligation to pass on information.

 

Please see our Safeguarding Policy for further information: https://www.samaritans.org/about-samaritans/our-organisation/our-safeguarding-policy/

 

 

1.2 Sharing your information

 Central London Samaritans will never share information outside of Samaritans, except in the following situations:

 

  • We receive a call about acts of terrorism or bomb warnings
  • We receive a court order requiring us to share information
  • We are working in partnership with another organisation and you have given consent for your information to be shared
  • You directly ask us to pass on information about you to someone else
  • We are concerned that you are not able to make a decision for yourself (please see our Safeguarding Policy for further information: https://www.samaritans.org/about-samaritans/our-organisation/our-safeguarding-policy/)
  • You threaten the safety of our volunteers
  • You misuse or compromise the delivery of our service, for example by making it difficult for other people to get through.


 

2.  HOW WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION SAFE

 We use various technical and organisational measures to keep your data safe. Electronic data and databases are stored on secure computer systems and we control who has access to information, using both physical and electronic means.

 

We use ‘cloud-based’ applications provided by external suppliers to collect, store and handle some types of personal information. These suppliers may be based outside of the UK or the European Economic Area (EEA). Where this is the case, we ask suppliers to provide evidence that they have the appropriate measures in place to ensure that your personal information is kept safe, and we have taken steps to protect that data which is subject to transfer outside the UK and the EEA.

 

We will always seek to ensure that appropriate or suitable safeguards are in place to protect your personal information and that storage of your personal information in in compliance with applicable data protection laws. Our volunteers receive training and are provided with guidance that they are required to follow when handling personal information.

 

Although we do our best to keep your information safe, the transmission of information over the internet is never completely secure, so please bear this in mind when you share information with us via our website.

 

 

2.1 How long we keep information for

 We will only use personal information you send us for the purposes for which you provide it, as outlined below in “How we use your data”. We will only hold your information for as long as necessary for the Facing the Future service and will not pass it on to third parties. All data and communications with you will be deleted after the group ends.

 

 

2.2 Keeping your information up to date

 Please contact us if your personal details have changed:


Email: ftf@cls.org.uk

Mail: Facing the Future, Central London Samaritans, 46 Marshall Street,

London W1F 9BF

 

 

3.  YOUR RIGHTS

 The data protection laws give you certain rights over your personal information and how we use it. These include:

  • the right of access to a copy of the information that we hold about you;
  • the right to ask us to correct inaccurate information that we hold about you;
  • the right, in certain circumstances, to object to specific uses of your data; and
  • the right, in certain circumstances, to request the information that we hold about you to be deleted.
  • the right, in certain circumstances not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling.

 

Please contact us if you wish to exercise any of these rights: 

Email: ftf@cls.org.uk

Mail: Facing the Future, Central London Samaritans, 46 Marshall Street,

London W1F 9BF

 

If your request relates to information held by Samaritans Central Charity, please contact:

Email: dataprotection@samaritans.org

Mail: Legal and Governance team, Samaritans, The Upper Mill, Kingston Road, Ewell, Surrey, KT17 2AF

 

 

3.1 Making a complaint

 If you require further information about the way your personal data will be used, or if you are unhappy with the way we have handled your personal data and wish to contact us please submit your concerns to the Facing the Future service at ftf@cls.org.uk or to Samaritans Central Charity by emailing dataprotection@samaritans.org

 

You also have the right to lodge a complaint to the relevant regulator about how we use your personal data, further details below:

 

The Information Commissioner’s Office – United Kingdom

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Website: https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/raising-concerns/

 

Jersey Office of the Information Commissioner

Telephone: +44 (0) 1534 716530

Email: enquiries@jerseyoic.org

2nd Floor, 5 Castle Street, St. Helier, Jersey, JE2 3BT
Facing the Future is a service provided by Samaritans, set up to provide support for those bereaved by suicide.
Samaritans, Incorporated in England and Wales, a Company limited by guarantee (Registered Number 757372), and a Registered Charity (Number 219432), having its Registered Office at The Upper Mill, Kingston Road, Ewell, Surrey, KT17 2AF, and a Registered Charity in Scotland (Registered Number SC040604).