Recording of Investigative meetings privacy notice
Published 22 February 2022
Applies to England and Wales
© Crown copyright 2022
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The Charity Commission for England and Wales collects and processes personal information for the exercise of our public functions.
We are registered as a data controller with the Information Commissioner’s Office under registration number Z5640596.
This Privacy Notice explains how we process your personal data when an audio recording is made of the investigative meeting.
It is supplemented by our main privacy notice which provides further information and sets out some of your rights and entitlements in respect of that personal data.
Why we process your personal data
We process personal data in order to carry out our function as the independent regulator of Charities in England and Wales. Our objectives, functions and powers are set out in the Charities Acts 1992, 2006 and 2011.
Find out more about the Charity Commission for England and Wales.
Why we record investigative meetings
The purpose of an investigative meeting is to obtain relevant information to support our regulatory casework. We are required to record the meeting to keep an accurate account of matters discussed and information obtained.
It is used to inform the Commission’s findings and can be used as evidence in the event of a legal challenge.
During investigations we may ask individuals to attend an investigative meeting where personal data may be collected and which may be used as evidence to inform our findings, conclusions and/or support grounds for any regulatory action.
Find out more about Statutory inquiries into charities: guidance for charities (CC46)
The lawful basis for processing your personal data
We process personal data in a variety of different ways. The table sets out the legal basis we rely on for processing.
Who we may share your personal data with
We will hold all information securely and will use information collected during the investigative meeting for the purpose of the inquiry. The services of an external third party are used to transcribe the audio recording, making a verbatim and accurate record of matters discussed and information obtained. The written document and audio recording may also count as evidence of decision making in the event of a legal challenge and may be used to inform the Commission’s findings and conclusions.
- in certain circumstances the Commission may share, disclose, or publish sensitive or confidential information with other government departments, public authorities, regulators and judicial and quasi-bodies and for special categories of personal data only where it is necessary in the substantial public interest to do so; or
- where we are obliged to do so by law, for example in response to a FOIA or Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) request or a request made under the Charities Act, for example, to see the governing document or accounts for a charity
You can find out more information in our Personal Information Charter.
How long we will hold your personal data
We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.
To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.
Exercising your rights as a data subject
More information on what your rights as a data subject are and how we will respond to a request can be found in our Personal Information Charter
If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out in this privacy notice, please contact the Data Protection and Information Rights Team by emailing:
The UK supervisory authority for data protection is the Information Commissioner’s Office (‘the ICO’). You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), and more information can be found on the ICO website.