Personal information charter

Our personal information charter sets out the standards you can expect when the Department for International Development collect, hold, or use your personal information.

This information page was withdrawn on

The Department for International Development (DFID) was replaced by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) in September 2020. This DFID page is no longer current. Instead, see FCDO Personal Information charter.

We follow all applicable UK and EU data protection laws in how we process your personal information.

What is personal data?

Personal information (data) is any information from which an individual (also known as a ‘data subject’) can be identified. A data subject is someone who can be recognised, directly or indirectly, from information such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier, or data relating to their physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural, or social identity. These types of identifying information are known as ‘personal data’.

Your rights

When DFID collects, holds, uses or processes your personal information, you have a right to be told:

  • what we are using your personal data for
  • why we are legally allowed to process your data (this is also known as the ‘lawful basis’ for processing)
  • who we will share your personal data with
  • how long we will keep your personal data for
  • whether your information will be transferred or accessed outside the UK or EU, and what legal protection it will have
  • who our Data Protection Officer is
  • about any of your rights, including the right to access your information or to object to it being processed
  • about the right you have to make a complaint to the Information Commissioners Office, if you feel that your personal information has been mishandled

You are also entitled to have your personal data:

  • protected and kept secure
  • kept accurate and up to date
  • not used for purposes which are incompatible with those for which it was collected
  • kept only for as long as it is needed for the purpose for which it was collected

Privacy Notice

DFID is a “data controller”, which means that we hold and use personal information about you. We determine how and why personal information is processed.

Our privacy notice gives further information about how DFID handle your personal information.

Our privacy notice explains how DFID use your personal information when you contact us. It also provides details on how to make a data protection request for your personal information (also known as a Subject Access Request – SAR).

Independent Advice on Privacy and Data Protection

If you would like independent advice on privacy, data protection or data sharing, please contact the Information Commissioners Office (ICO).

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Website: https://ico.org.uk

Email: casework@ico.org.uk

Contact form: ICO contact form

Telephone: 0303 1231113

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