This initiative is committed to handling personal information fairly, transparently, and responsibly, in accordance with applicable UK data protection law, including the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

This page is intended to explain what information may be collected, why it may be used, and what rights individuals may have in relation to that information.

Who This Notice Applies To

This notice applies to people who:

• visit the website
• make contact by email or contact form
• express interest in taking part in the initiative
• submit recordings, photographs, blogs, vlogs, written material, or other contributions
• appear in material that is voluntarily shared with the initiative

Age and Participation

This initiative is intended for individuals aged 16 and over.

Individuals under 18 should involve a parent, guardian, or responsible adult before taking part, submitting material, or appearing in footage.

The initiative is not directed at children under 16. Content involving children should not be submitted unless appropriate consent has been obtained from a parent or guardian.

Who Is Responsible for the Data

Counted In Your Name is responsible for personal data collected through this website, contact forms, email correspondence and participation-related communications.

Counted In Your Name is a self-funded public education and participation initiative.

Contact for privacy and data matters:

Email: contact@countedinyourname.org

What Information May Be Collected

Depending on how someone interacts with the initiative, the following kinds of information may be collected:

• name
• email address
• message or enquiry content
• location or local authority area, where voluntarily provided
• submitted photos, audio, video, blog posts, or vlog material
• social media handles or contact details, where voluntarily provided
• technical website data, such as IP address, browser type, or basic access logs, collected by hosting, analytics, or security services

If submitted recordings or images show identifiable individuals, that material may constitute personal data.

How Information May Be Collected

Information may be collected:

• when someone sends a message through a contact form or by email
• when someone registers interest in taking part
• when someone submits media, written content, or supporting material
• when someone communicates directly about participation or public engagement activity
• through routine technical operation of the website and hosting platform

Why Information May Be Used

Personal information may be used for the following purposes:

• responding to enquiries and correspondence
• organising participation in the initiative
• reviewing and managing submitted material
• publishing or sharing submitted material where appropriate permission has been given, or where another lawful basis and any additional legal condition required for the information clearly applies
• maintaining records of participation, submissions, and communications
• operating, protecting, and improving the website
• complying with legal obligations or safeguarding concerns

Special Category Data

Some information receives additional protection under UK data protection law because of its sensitive nature. This is known as special category data.

Material voluntarily submitted to the initiative may sometimes reveal information about a person’s political opinions, racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, or physical or mental health. Information about disability may also amount to health data depending on what is disclosed.

The initiative does not require participants to disclose special category information in order to take part. Participants are encouraged to avoid including sensitive information unless they actively wish to share it and understand the proposed use.

Where special category data is processed, an ordinary lawful basis under Article 6 of the UK GDPR is not sufficient by itself. The initiative must identify both:

• an appropriate lawful basis for the processing under Article 6 of the UK GDPR
• a separate condition permitting the processing of special category data under Article 9 of the UK GDPR

Where a participant voluntarily provides special category information specifically for public-facing publication, explicit consent under Article 9(2)(a) may be used where that is the appropriate condition.

Explicit consent is more than simply submitting material. Where it is relied upon, the individual should receive clear information about the particular sensitive information involved, the purpose for which it will be used, and the fact that it may be published. Consent must be freely given, specific, informed, unambiguous, and expressly confirmed.

Where practical, consent for special category information will be distinguished from more general consent to participate or submit ordinary material. Records should be kept of the explicit consent relied upon.

Other Article 9 conditions may apply in particular circumstances, but they will only be relied upon where their legal requirements are actually met.

If no valid Article 9 condition applies, special category information will not be intentionally used or published merely because it has been supplied.

Lawful Basis

The lawful basis depends on the particular activity and the purpose for which information is being used.

Personal information may be processed on one or more of the following Article 6 lawful bases:

• Consent → where an individual has freely agreed to a specified use of their personal information, including where appropriate for voluntary media or publication activity
• Legitimate interests → where necessary to operate the initiative, respond to enquiries, manage participation, protect the website, or carry out proportionate administrative activity, provided those interests are not overridden by the individual’s rights and interests
• Legal obligation → where processing, disclosure, or retention is necessary to comply with an applicable legal requirement

Where the information is special category data, one of these Article 6 bases must be accompanied by a separate Article 9 condition. Legitimate interests alone, for example, does not authorise the processing of special category data.

Where consent is relied upon, it may be withdrawn at any time. Withdrawal does not make earlier processing unlawful, but processing that depends solely on that consent should not continue after withdrawal unless another lawful basis or legal requirement applies.

Where explicit consent is relied upon for special category data, the same right to withdraw applies.

Blogs, Vlogs, Photos, Audio and Video Submissions

If you choose to send blogs, vlogs, recordings, images, or other material, that material may be reviewed, stored, edited, and used in connection with the initiative.

This may include:

• display on the website
• use in edited videos or public-facing material
• publication to raise awareness of the initiative
• archiving as part of the initiative record

By submitting content, you confirm that:

• you are entitled to share the material
• you understand it may be used as described above
• you accept that it may be edited for clarity, length, or presentation

Submission does not guarantee publication.

Where submitted material contains special category information, submission by itself should not be treated as explicit consent to publish that sensitive information. Any Article 9 condition relied upon must be considered separately.

Reasonable requests for removal will be considered, but complete removal may not always be possible once content has been published or shared publicly, particularly where copies have been made or redistributed by third parties.

If other identifiable individuals appear in your material, you should ensure they are aware of and comfortable with being recorded or shared.

Recording the Journey

Participants may choose to record their involvement using phones or other devices.

Participation is voluntary, and individuals may decide:

• whether to appear on camera
• whether to speak or remain anonymous
• how much of their journey to record

The process itself is central to the initiative, and participation does not require personal disclosure.

Publication and Public Visibility

Some material may be made publicly available through the website or related media.

Before voluntarily submitted personal material is published, consideration should be given to the purpose of publication, the lawful basis being relied upon and, where relevant, whether special category information is present.

Once content has been published or shared publicly, complete removal may not always be possible, particularly where it has been viewed, copied, archived, or redistributed by others.

Where consent is withdrawn, the initiative will consider what further processing it controls and what material can reasonably be removed, while recognising that it may not be possible to retrieve copies already independently held or redistributed by others.

Sharing with Third Parties

Personal information may be shared where necessary with service providers used to operate the website, such as:

• hosting providers
• email services
• analytics services
• storage or security services

Service providers should only receive the information reasonably necessary for the relevant service and should be subject to appropriate data protection arrangements where required.

Information may also be disclosed:

• where required by law
• to respond to valid legal requests
• where necessary in connection with safeguarding or the protection of legal rights
• where necessary to protect the security or integrity of the initiative or website

Reasonable technical and organisational steps will be taken to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. No online system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

International Transfers

Some service providers used for website hosting, email, analytics, storage, security, or related technical services may process personal information outside the United Kingdom.

Where sending personal information outside the UK amounts to a restricted transfer under UK data protection law, the transfer will only be made where an appropriate legal mechanism is available.

Depending on the destination and the circumstances, this may include:

• a transfer covered by UK adequacy regulations
• an appropriate safeguard recognised under UK GDPR, such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses
• another lawful safeguard or applicable exception permitted by UK data protection law

Where an appropriate safeguard requires a transfer risk assessment or equivalent data protection assessment, that assessment should be completed before relying on the safeguard.

The purpose is to ensure that personal information continues to receive an appropriate level of protection when it is processed outside the UK.

How Long Information May Be Kept

Personal information should not be kept longer than necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, subject to any legal or safeguarding reason that requires longer retention.

Typical retention periods may include:

• contact enquiries: up to 12 months
• participation-related communication: up to 24 months
• unpublished submitted material: normally reviewed and deleted within 12 months unless there is a reason to keep it longer
• published material: retained while relevant to the initiative and subject to the rights and lawful bases described in this notice
• technical logs: according to applicable hosting, security, or service-provider retention settings

Retention periods may be reviewed where the purpose for holding information changes or where applicable law requires a different period.

Your Rights

Depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis being used, individuals may have rights including:

• the right to be informed
• the right of access
• the right to rectification
• the right to erasure
• the right to restrict processing
• the right to object
• the right to data portability, where applicable
• the right to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent

These rights are not absolute in every circumstance and may depend on the legal basis and purpose of the processing.

To exercise a privacy or data protection right, contact:

Email: contact@countedinyourname.org

How to Raise a Concern

If you have concerns about how your information has been handled, you can contact the initiative using:

Email: contact@countedinyourname.org

You also have the right to raise a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK regulator for data protection.

Information Commissioner’s Office — Data Protection Complaints →

Cookies, Analytics and Website Technology

This website uses technical services required for functions such as hosting, security, performance and delivery.

Some storage or access technologies may be strictly necessary for the operation or security of the website. Other technologies, including analytics technologies, are subject to additional rules under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003, commonly referred to as PECR.

The website uses Google Analytics to understand general website use, such as page visits and traffic patterns. This information is used to understand whether public education material is being reached and how the website is being used and improved.

Counted In Your Name does not use Google Analytics for the purpose of personally identifying individual visitors. However, analytics services can involve the processing of technical information and the storing of or access to information on a visitor’s device, depending on how the service is configured.

Following changes made by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, PECR includes a statistical-purposes exception that may allow certain storage or access technologies to be used without prior consent where the legal conditions are met.

The exception is limited. Where it is relied upon, the sole purpose of the storage or access must be to collect statistical information about how the website or service is used with a view to making improvements. Visitors must also be given clear and comprehensive information about that purpose and a simple and free means of objecting.

Browser settings may provide additional control over cookies and similar technologies, but browser settings alone are not treated as sufficient to satisfy the objection requirement where the statistical-purposes exception is relied upon.

Where the statistical-purposes exception and its required objection mechanism are not being used, non-essential analytics storage or access that requires consent will only be activated where the required consent has been obtained.

Any objection to analytics made through an applicable site-level control should be respected so that the relevant statistical storage or access stops unless the visitor later changes that preference.

Children

This initiative is not designed for children under 16.

If content involving children is ever considered for use, additional care should be taken and the appropriate data protection, safeguarding and consent requirements should be considered before publication.

Changes to This Page

This page may be updated from time to time to reflect changes in the initiative, website, service providers, or applicable data protection requirements.

Last updated: 27-09-2026