Privacy Policy

At Citizens Advice Nottingham & District, we collect and use your personal information to help solve your problems, improve our services and tackle wider issues in society that affect people’s lives. 

This privacy policy explains how we use your information and what your rights are. We handle and store your personal information in line with data protection law and our confidentiality policy. The following sections tell you more about how we use your information in more detail. 

Our network 

Citizens Advice is a membership organisation made up of the national Citizens Advice charity and many Citizens Advice across England and Wales, including Citizens Advice Nottingham & District. Citizens Advice Nottingham & District is an independent charity and a member of the national Citizens Advice charity. 

All members of the Citizens Advice network are responsible for keeping your personal information safe and making sure data protection law is followed.  

Members of the network also run some jointly designed services and use some of the same systems to process your personal data. In these instances we are joint data controllers for these activities. 

Jointly controlled data 

All offices in the Citizens Advice network use some joint systems to carry out our activities. These include joint case management systems, telephony platforms and more.  

Staff from a different local Citizens Advice can only access your personal information in a joint system if they have a good reason. For example when: 

• you go to a different office to seek advice 

• more than one office is working together in partnership 

• they need to investigate a complaint or incident 

We have rules and controls in place to stop people accessing or using your information when they shouldn’t. 

Tell an adviser if you’re worried about your details being on a national system. We’ll work with you to take extra steps to protect your information – for example by recording your problem without using your name. 

National Citizens Advice has a privacy notice available on their website that covers general advice and nationally managed systems, including our case management systems. This policy covers the processing we carry out in our office. 

How we use your data for advice 

This section covers how we use your data to provide you with advice. 

For general advice and nationally funded advice programmes please see the national Citizens Advice privacy notice. 

How we collect your information 

• sign a paper permissions and consent form 

• tick a box online 

• give agreement over the telephone – if you call our advice line  

What information we collect 

We’ll only ask for information that’s relevant to your problem. Depending on what you want help with, this might include: 

• your name and contact details – so we can keep in touch with you about your case 

• personal information – for example about family, work, or financial circumstances, or if you’re vulnerable or at risk of harm 

• details about services you get that are causing you problems – like energy or post 

• details of items or services you’ve bought and traders you’ve dealt with 

• information like your gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation 

We occasionally ask for details about someone else like a neighbour or your partner so we can deal with an enquiry. We’ll only do this if we have a legitimate interest in the information, or we need it to protect someone’s life. 

If you don’t want to give us certain information, you don’t have to. For example, if you want to stay anonymous we’ll only record information about your problem and make sure you’re not identified. 

What we use your information for 

The main reason we ask for your information is to help solve your problem. We only access your information for other reasons if we really need to. Data protection law lets us do this as long as we have a legitimate interest. For example we have a legitimate interest to access your data: 

• for training and quality purposes 

• to investigate complaints 

• to get feedback from you about our services 

• to help us improve our services 

All advisers and staff accessing data have had data protection training to make sure your information is handled sensitively and securely. 

Our confidentiality policy 

At Citizens Advice we have a confidentiality policy which states that anything you tell us as part of advice will not be shared outside of the Citizens Advice network unless you provide your permission for us to do so. 

There are some exceptions to this such as needing to share: 

• to prevent an immediate risk of harm to an individual 

• in select circumstances if it is in the best interests of the client 

• where we are compelled to do so by law (eg a court order or meeting statutory disclosures) 

• where there is an overriding public interest such as to prevent harm against someone or to investigate a crime 

• to defend against a complaint or legal claim 

• to protect our name and reputation for example to provide our side of a story reported in the press 

Who we share your information with 

If you receive debt advice or information, we share information with our debt advice partner, Leicester Community Advice and Law Centre. We share your information with them securely for quality purposes. We also share the partial postcode (otherwise anonymised) of people who approach us for debt advice to map the need for debt advice in the local area. 

Our lawful basis for using your information 

We rely on the following provisions within the UK GDPR legislation to process your data: 

• Legitimate interests 

• Public Task 

• Legal obligation 

• Consent 

• Vital interests  

• Establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims 

• Substantial public interest (statutory) 

• Substantial public interest (confidential counselling, advice or support) 

• Archiving, research and statistics 

• Explicit Consent 

How we use your data for research, feedback and statistics 

This section covers how we use your data to carry out our research, feedback and statistical work.. 

National Citizens Advice covers their use of data for this purpose in their privacy notice. 

How we collect your information 

We carry out research and statistics using data from a number of sources including: 

• Client case data – we use client case information to carry out research and produce statistical information 

• Surveys and questionnaires – we carry out specific questionnaires and surveys to get data on specific topics 

• Focus groups and studies – we invite key stakeholders to take part in studies and discussions 

We will only contact you directly about research and feedback if you have given your permission for us to do so. 

What information we collect 

We use a wide range of information which can include: 

• Information about the issues you sought advice or guidance about 

• Your demographic information such as what area of the country you live in, your age or any minoritised groups you identify with 

• Your opinions about our service or themes relevant to them such as benefits or housing 

What we use your information for 

We use our research and statistics to inform our campaigns and to improve our service. This includes work to promote equity, diversity and inclusion within our service and society as a whole.  We will not use any of this data in a way that identifies you or to make a decision about you as part of our research unless you give us your permission to do so. 

Sometimes we like to include real client stories in our campaigns, if we want to use your story in a way that you can be identified we will only do so with your permission. 

Who we share your information with 

We will not share directly identifiable information about you outside of Citizens Advice unless: 

• we employ a third party to carry out research on our behalf; or 

• you give your permission for us to do so  

We may from time to time share data sets with de-identified data with trusted partners to allow them to do their own research. For example we may share data sets with identifiers such as names, addresses, contact details removed with a trusted third party such as a university to help them do research which is in the public interest. 

Our lawful basis for using your information 

• Legitimate interests 

• Archiving, research and statistics 

How we use your data for fundraising and donations 

This section covers how we use your data to carry out our fundraising activities. 

National Citizens Advice covers their use of data for fundraising in their privacy notice. 

How we use your data when applying to work or volunteer 

How we collect your information 

We collect information about you through your job or volunteer application form.  

Depending on the role we may also collect information through a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. You will be informed if such a check will be required for the role at application stage. 

What information we collect 

We’ll collect personal information such as name, address, telephone number and email address, previous job history and experience, qualifications, and any support needs you may have. 

We’ll also ask for diversity information like your gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation. You don’t have to tell us this. 

Where it’s needed for the role, we might contact the DBS for a criminal record check. Once the DBS check is completed and you’ve received your certificate, we’d expect you to share this information with us as part of the background check process. 

We may also ask for: 

• references for your previous and current work 

• proof of your right to work in the UK, like a valid UK passport or visa 

• your national insurance number and P45 

• your bank details, so we can pay you 

• details of your student loan if you’re paying one back 

What we use your information for 

The main reasons we ask for your personal information are to: 

• send you job alerts if you sign up for them 

• check you’ve got the right skills for a role when you apply 

• arrange an interview 

• contact you to tell you the result of your application 

• do checks when we make an offer, for example contacting your references or checking your right to work in the UK 

• send you an offer letter or contract 

We’ll treat any diversity information you give us as strictly confidential. We’ll anonymise this information and only use it to look at trends. This means we won’t look at your information individually or compare it to other people and we won’t use it as part of the recruitment selection process. 

Who we share your information with 

If you accept an offer to work for us we’ll: 

• get your permission to share your information with your references 

• share your contact information with our occupational health provider, pension provider and payroll provider 

We won’t usually share your personal information with anyone else in a way that could identify you. In some rare situations we have to share your information, for example if: 

• we’re investigating a safeguarding issue 

• the police ask for the information to help them investigate a crime 

• a court orders us to share the information 

Our lawful basis for using your information 

• Legitimate interests 

• Contract 

• Legal obligation 

• Employment, social security and social protection 

How long we keep your data for 

National Citizens Advice is responsible for managing any data in joint client case records. For more information please see their privacy notice. 

Third party processors 

Third party processors are other organisations that carry out data processing on our behalf. Third party processors don’t use data for their own purposes and we have agreements in line with data protection law. 

Your data protection rights 

You have rights in relation to your personal data that we hold. Your rights include being able to request: 

• Access to copies of your data 

• Corrections are made to inaccurate data 

• Deletion of your personal data 

• Object to how we use your personal data 

These rights are not absolute and may not apply in every circumstance. For more information about your rights you can visit the ICO website. 

To make a data protection rights request you can do so by asking an adviser or by emailing data.rights@citizensadvicenottingham.org.uk 

Raising a concern about how we use your information 

If you are concerned about how we have handled your personal information please contact us at data.rights@citizensadvicenottingham.org.uk . 

You can also contact the national charity if you are unhappy with how we have used your personal data or wish to raise a concern about how Citizens Advice Nottingham & District has handled your personal data. To do so you can email us at DPO@citizensadvice.org.uk 

Contacting the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) 

You can also raise your concern with the Information Commissioner’s Office which regulates data protection law in the UK if you are unhappy with how we have used your personal information. They will normally expect you to have made a complaint to us directly in the first instance. 

• Visit the ICO website. 

• Address: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF 

• Helpline number: 0303 123 1113 

This policy was last updated in March 2025.