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Museums privacy notice

Who is the Data Controller for this processing?

We are the Data Controller for this processing.

The personal information we have collected from you will be shared with fraud prevention agencies who will use it to prevent fraud and money-laundering and to verify your identity. If fraud is detected, you could be refused certain services, finance, or employment.

What services are covered by this privacy notice?

Museum MODES system

  • to record the details of disposals from and gifts, purchases and loans to our collections
  • to manage details of makers or creators of items in our collections
  • to enable us to lend items to other institutions or researchers
  • to ensure we comply with the copyright legislations when providing copies of items in our collections
  • to undertake object conservation and/or scientific analysis (for outside agencies)

Museum financial donations

  • to allow corporate partners or individual givers to make financial donations
  • to keep you up to date with specific projects
  • to alert you to new opportunities e.g. corporate sponsorship/corporate partnerships

Museum questionnaires

To carry out questionnaires, evaluations forms or surveys to continue to improve and develop our services in-line with service user’s expectations.

Museum volunteers

  • to understand more about your skills and experiences
  • to find a suitable volunteer role that matches your background, experience and skills
  • to collect data, that would allow us to assist you in the case of a medical emergency

Museum projects

  • for targeted informal learning and audience development projects with partner organisations and individuals
  • to keep you up to date with projects and alert you to new opportunities

Museum venues

  • allow you to book or hire one of our venues
  • keep you up to date with your booking
  • allow you to book a group/society visit at one of our venues
  • allow you to book an event

Museum event volunteers

  • contact you to alert you to new opportunities for events
  • volunteer at one of our events
  • keep you up to date with upcoming projects

Museum exhibitions

  • museum exhibitions involving guest curators, loans and local artists
  • keep in touch regarding specific projects and alert you to new opportunities
  • contact you to arrange return of items and exhibition follow-up

Museum school trips

  • to enable you to book a school trip or visit at one of our museums
  • keep in touch regarding specific projects and alert you to new opportunities

Museum general enquiries

  • respond to your enquiry in relation to museum collections, events, activity and provide specialist museum advice
  • keep in touch with you regarding specific projects and alert you to new opportunities

Hope streets project

  • to enable young people to participate in the Hope Streets Project
  • to ensure the project is representative of young people within the local authority and we are meeting all of their access requirements
  • to collect and process data to ensure we are following CWAC Policies and Procedures on youth engagement. This will involve sharing personal data by recording information on the EVOVLE System, managed by Edsential.
  • to continue the funding for this project by anonymising and sharing the data collected with Curious Minds, the project’s funder

Museum friends, trusts and societies

Respond and consult with Lion Salt Works Trust, Friends of Weaver Hall, Grosvenor Museum Society and the Stretton Watermill supporters group.

Museum retailers

To enable us to process payments for services, art work sold and products for re-sale at our museum shops.

Museum mailing list

  • send you promotional material including the Museums Exhibitions and Events brochure, invite you to invitation-only events
  • keep you up to date with any upcoming projects and alert you to new opportunities

Museum images

To hold consent forms for promotional images of our service users to keep our image bank up-to-date.

What personal information do we hold?

We only collect and use the minimum amount of personal information required when delivering a service to you. Wherever possible we use non-identifiable personal information.

The service may use some or all of the personal information provided:

  • your name, telephone number(s), postal address and email address
  • race and ethic origin
  • any relevant medical conditions
  • your emergency contact details
  • financial details
  • visual images, personal appearance and behaviour
  • employment and education details.
  • details about your lifestyle or social circumstances
  • the IP address that you accessed any of our online services from

We get most of this information from you, but we may also get some of this data from friends, trusts and societies.

How do we use your personal information?

We use your information to:

  • deliver the service, or handle your query
  • plan and improve the services we offer
  • plan and improve the promotion of the services we offer
  • keep you safe whilst you are participating in activities with us
  • detect and prevent crime or fraud
  • research, however this would be in anonymised form unless we ask for your consent to use your personal information for this purpose
  • evidence positive outcomes to central government funding agencies

Who else might we share your personal information with?

Sometimes we may need to share your information, but we will only do so where it is necessary or required by law or with your consent. We will only share the minimum information for each circumstance.

We may sometimes need to share some of your information with other organisations which will change depending on the nature of the project.

What is the legal basis for our use of your personal information?

Most of the personal information we process is provided to us directly by you, under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the lawful bases we rely on for using your personal information are:

  • you gave us your consent (GDPR Article 6 (a) - You are able to remove your consent at any time by contacting MuseumEnquiries@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
  • we have a contractual obligation with you (GDPR Article 6 (b)
  • we need it to perform a public task (GDPR Article 6 (e)
  • we have a legitimate interest (GDPR Article 6 (f)

The legislation we rely on when using your personal information to meet our legal obligations or public tasks includes but is not limited to the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964

Where will we store your information?

Your information will be securely stored on our network and in our museums:

  • Weaver Hall Museum & Workhouse
  • Stretton Watermill
  • Lion Salt Works
  • Grosvenor Museum

How long will we keep your personal information?

We will only use your personal information whilst delivering the service to you and to deal with any questions or complaints that we may receive about this, unless the law requires us to keep it for a longer period. In practice, this means that your information will be kept until superseded then deleted or permanently and offered to the curator based on good practice then archived.

If we need to use your information for research or reports, your information will be anonymised and any information taken from notes (hand written or typed) during any consultation sessions will be securely destroyed. The information will continue to be used in a summarised and anonymised form in any research reports or papers that are published. The anonymised information in the papers may be of historic interest and may be held in public archives indefinitely.

Your rights

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 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 information in certain circumstances
  • your right to object to processing - you have the right to object to the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances
  • your right to data portability - you have the right to ask that we transfer the 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.

To make a request follow the instructions on our Data protection for you page.

How to complain if you are unhappy about how your data is used

You can complain directly to our Data Protection team online or by post:

  • By post: Data Protection Officer, The Portal, Wellington Road, Ellesmere Port, CH65 0BA
Contact the DPO

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office using the following details:

  • By post: The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
  • Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) website

Will my personal information be accessible outside the UK?

Your information is stored within the UK, but the transfer of personal information outside of the UK could become necessary.

This would only take place if permitted by law, where there are appropriate safeguards in place to protect the personal information.