Last updated 15th May 2024.
1. Who we are?
Horsham Churches Together is a community-based membership and networking organisation, with affiliation to Christian churches and congregations in Horsham town and surrounding villages. You can contact us by email at or through the website contact form at www.horshamct.org.uk. Alternatively, you can write to us as Horsham Churches Together, c/o Horsham Matters, 1 Redkiln Close, Horsham, West Sussex, RH13 5QL, United Kingdom.
2. What is personal data?
Personal data relates to you – a natural person living (‘data subject’) who can be identified from that data. Identification can be by the information alone or in conjunction with any other information in the data controller’s possession or likely to come into such possession. The processing of personal data is governed by the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (the UK GDPR).
Horsham Churches Together is a data controller for the personal data we process about you. This means we decide how your personal data is processed and for what purposes. Horsham Churches Together complies with its obligations under the UK GDPR by keeping personal data up to date, by storing and destroying it securely, by only collecting and storing data for the purpose stated, by protecting personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure to third parties and by ensuring that appropriate technical measures are in place to protect personal data.
3. What types of personal data do we collect?
We may collect and process the following types of personal data that you provide:
For subscribers of our mailing lists:
- Name and contact details, including email address
- Subscriber preferences
- Records of consent
For Forum Representatives and Executives:
- Name and contact details, including email address
- Name of church represented
- Records of meetings, including attendance and minutes
For church leaders and organisation contacts:
- Name and contact details, including email address and telephone number
- Your role within the church or organisation
For volunteers, workers and Executive Members:
- Your name and contact details, including email address and telephone number
- Church affiliation
- Verification of safeguarding status within your church
- Emergency contact details
- Banking details for authorised expenses
We also collect:
- Messages, emails and website form submissions
- Website user information, including IP address, cookies and analytical information.
- Photographs and video recordings
- Records of health and safety incidents
Personal data revealing or inferring religious belief is classified as special category data under UK GDPR. We collect this special category data where explicit consent is given or where processing is carried out as the legitimate activities of Horsham Churches Together as a not-for-profit body.
4. How do we process your personal data?
We may process and use your personal data for any of the following purposes:
- To inform you of news, events, activities connected with Horsham Churches Together
- To forward selected information from churches, charities, and other relevant organisations
- To administer relationships with churches members and organisations associated with Horsham Churches Together
- To organise the Forum of the Horsham Churches Together, including Forum representatives and Forum meetings
- To manage workers and volunteers for Horsham Churches Together
- To respond to communication received through email, telephone, website contact forms and other communication channels
- To comply with relevant legal obligations, such as health and safety and safeguarding.
- To provide the Horsham Churches Together website
- To protect us from spam and fraud
5. What is the legal basis for processing your personal data?
Our lawful basis for processing your personal data is:
- The legitimate interest of organising the membership, events and activities of Horsham Churches Together
- Your explicit consent for specific purposes, such as mailing lists and cookies.
- Compliance with legal obligations
6. Where do we collect your personal information?
We collect your personal information from:
- Yourself
- Churches and organisations you formally represent
- Publicly available sources (such as church websites)
7. Do we use cookies on the website?
Cookies used on Horsham Churches Together website are detailed in our cookie notice at www.horshamct.org.uk/cookie-notice.
8. How long do we keep your personal data?
We retain your personal data for as long as is required for the purpose for which it was collected and in accordance with legal requirements. In addition, personal data may be securely archived with restricted access (and other appropriate safeguards) where there is a need to continue to retain it. This includes the minutes of the Forum and Executive meetings, which are permanently retained.
9. Is your personal data shared with third parties?
Your personal data will be treated as strictly confidential, and we do not share your data with third parties outside of Horsham Churches Together without your consent (unless required by law). However, we do use data processors who are contractually obliged to process your data in strict accordance with our data protection policy and UK GDPR. Current data processors include:
- Mailchimp – email tool, with international data transfers protected by the UK Extension to the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and Standard Contractual Clauses.
- Microsoft – Microsoft 365 productivity software and UK-based cloud storage.
- Kualo – website hosting, email hosting and UK-based cloud services.
- Akismet – spam protection for website comments and forms, with international data transfers protected by Standard Contractual Clauses.
For workers and volunteers, your personal data may be shared on an ‘as needs’ basis to allow appropriate contact for Horsham Churches Together events and activities.
10. What are your legal rights?
Under data protection law, you have legal 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 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 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 and will request formal identification to confirm your identity before releasing any data.
Please contact us at if you wish to make a request.
11. What if this privacy notice changes?
If we wish to use your personal data for a new purpose, not covered by this Data Protection Notice, then we will provide you with a new privacy notice explaining this new use before commencing the processing and setting out the relevant purposes and processing conditions.
If we wish to use your personal data for a new purpose, not covered by this Data Protection Notice, then we will provide you with a new privacy notice explaining this new use prior to commencing the processing and setting out the relevant purposes and processing conditions. Where consent is the legal basis for data processing, you have the right to withdraw consent at any time.
12. How do I make a complaint?
If you have any concerns about our use of your personal information or would like to make a complaint, please email the Horsham Churches Together Data Protection Officer at .
You can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office if you are unhappy with how we have used your data. You can call their helpline on 0303 123 1113, visit www.ico.org.uk or write to the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.