Guidance

Volunteer as a coastguard rescue officer privacy notice

Updated 4 May 2023

This privacy notice describes how we collect and use personal information about you when you apply to be a coastguard rescue officer. The data controller is the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). This notice sets out how your data will be used and your rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. The personal information we collect

HM Coastguard area staff will use the information you submit to assess your application to be a coastguard rescue officer.

The data collected will include:

• first name
• last name
• email address
• mobile phone number
• location
• gender

2. Purpose

The purposes for which we are processing your personal data are to:

• ensure that we are able to contact you regarding your submission
• assess whether you meet the requirements to be a volunteer
• assess whether your location is sufficiently close to a volunteer station

3. Legal basis

It is necessary for the MCA to collect these data to conduct volunteer recruitment and for the MCA to carry out its public function in search and rescue to ensure that volunteers are suitable to deliver coastguard services. No sensitive data will be held beyond the enrolment campaign.

4. Recipients

Personal information will not be shared with third parties, unless required or permitted to do so by law. Data are primarily shared for the purposes described above and for research and statistical purposes, with data-sharing agreements in place for any personal data to ensure the data shared complies with data protection legislation.

5. Retention

Your data will be held for the duration of the recruitment campaign. The data of unsuccessful applicants will not be stored. Successful applicant data will be stored as part of their onboarding process.

We will securely store the information in the UK. We do not routinely transfer data overseas but if this is necessary, we will ensure that we have the appropriate safeguards in place.

6. Automated decision making

We will not use automated decision making or profiling using any individual’s personal data.

7. Your rights

The UK GDPR sets out a number of rights that individuals have over their personal data. These rights allow you to request copies of your personal data and, in certain circumstances, to object to it being used for a certain purpose, or to have it deleted or modified. To find out more please see our personal information charter.

If you want to review, verify, correct or request erasure of your personal information, object to the processing of your personal data, or request that we transfer a copy of your personal information to another party, please contact the Data Protection Manager at: DataProtectionManager@mcga.gov.uk.

8. Complaints

If you think that your personal data have been misused or mishandled, you may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), who is an independent regulator by emailing casework@ico.org.uk. Any complaint to the Information Commissioner is without prejudice to your right to seek redress through the courts. Please visit the ICO’s site for more information about your rights with regard to your data.

9. Contact details

We have appointed a data protection manager (DPM) to oversee compliance with this privacy notice. If you have any questions about this privacy notice or how we handle your personal information, please contact the Agency data protection manager (DPM) at: DataProtectionManager@mcga.gov.uk.

10. Changes to this privacy notice

We reserve the right to update this privacy notice at any time.