Data protection

How we comply with the Data Protection Act

The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) strikes a balance between the rights of individuals and the interests of organisations that have a legitimate  business case for holding and using personal information.

The Design Council complies with the eight Data Protection Act principles, which state that the data must be:

  • Fairly and lawfully processed
  • Adequate, relevant and not excessive
  • Processed in accordance with the individual's rights
  • Processed for a specific purpose
  • Accurate
  • Secure
  • Kept only as long as is necessary
  • Must not be transferred to countries without adequate protection

How to find out what information we hold about you and how to ask us to correct any mistakes

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 allows you to rightfully request the information that the Design Council holds about you, and we will do so in accordance with the Data Protection Act. To request information or if any details we hold about you are incorrect, contact us at info@designcouncil.org.uk

Agreements we have with other organisations for sharing information

The Design Council will not share personally identifiable information with any third party without your express consent.

Circumstances where we can pass on your personal information without telling you

In accordance with the Data Protection Act we can pass on information we hold about you without your consent to third party organisations to prevent and detect crime, to produce anonymised statistics, or where we are required to do so by a relevant authority.

Our instructions to staff on how to collect, use and delete your personal information

Within each direct marketing campaign, the Design Council encourages you to formally opt-in to communications and also asks if you agree to the Design Council passing your contact details to third parties. However, there are some contacts whose details were not collected on an opt-in basis. We will continue to use our existing lists of contacts that haven’t yet opted-in, because:

  1. They compiled with existing legislation when your details were collected
  2. We have contacted you within the last 12 months
  3. You have been given the option to, but haven’t opted-out


For each piece of communication that is mailed or emailed, an opt-out clause is always included.

Only staff that have had bespoke training and are registered users of the database are permitted to use it. All requests for unsubscribes are classified on the database as ‘Do Not Mail’ and removed from mailing lists within 28 days of receiving the request. You can unsubscribe by emailing info@designcouncil.org.uk or by sending a request in writing to our freepost address, or by telephone (020 7420 5200). 

How we check the information we hold is accurate and up to date

Quarterly & annual data cleansing programmes are held to ensure that your contact details are correct. Data subjects that have not been contacted within one year, and that are not owned by a team at the Design Council, are deleted from the database.

How to make a complaint about how we hold or use your information

Contact Helen Jacobs Finance & Resources Director, the nominated Data Controller for the Design Council or Sarah-Jane Davies Communications Planning Manager at info@designcouncil.org.uk. or by sending a request in writing to our freepost address, or by telephone (020 7420 5200).

If you would like to make a more general complaint to the Design Council, please see our complaints procedure.

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