Privacy policy

This privacy notice tells you what to expect when the Buckinghamshire Business First Group collects personal information. When we refer to Buckinghamshire Business First Group we mean any of the three companies in the Group. Ngage Solutions Ltd and Ngage Business Services Ltd are wholly owned subsidiaries of Buckinghamshire Business First (BBF).

We are committed to protecting and respecting your data and complying with all relevant legislation. We deliver a range of projects and services and host several websites including this one. All the websites managed by the BBF group of companies are listed below.

This policy (together with any other documents referred to in it) sets out the basis on which any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, will be processed by us. Please read the following carefully to understand our views and practices regarding your personal data and how we will treat it.

The projects we deliver and the funders we work with may change. We will endeavour to update this Policy to reflect these new activities.

Information we may collect from you

We aim only to collect the data necessary for the delivery of the project or service you have requested from us or as required by our funders. We collect information from members of BBF, from individuals applying for a grant from us, from individuals and businesses receiving information or support from us – this is typically a business owner or manager but it also includes individuals looking to start a business and charities. We also collect data from stakeholders who help to fund, promote and deliver services such as grants and business support. In addition, we collect the data of consumers who have requested information or support from us, such as those people signing up to receive updates from the Visit Buckinghamshire website.

We have a separate Privacy Policy for job applicants. To view this please click here.

We may collect and process the following data about you:

  • Information that you give us voluntarily for example by filling in a form on one of our websites. This includes information provided at the time of registering to use our site, subscribing to our service, becoming a member, applying for a grant, applying for a Business Award, providing feedback, posting material or requesting further services (as appropriate). We may also ask you for information when you report a problem with our site.If you contact us, we may keep a record of that correspondence.
  • If we phone you or you phone us we will keep a record of this call.
  • If you make use of one of our services; for example if you attend one of our events or workshops we will keep a record of your attendance and any feedback that you supply.
  • Whenever you use any website, mobile application or other internet service, certain information gets created and logged automatically. The same is true of our website. Details of your visits to our websites, the articles you read, the pages you visit and the resources that you access are captured. This gives us valuable ‘analytics’ on the use of our services and allows us to provide you with relevant content based on what you have accessed before.
  • If you respond to one of our surveys we will keep a record of your responses.
  • If you read our email newsletters or browse our website we will collect information on the articles you read.
  • If you sign up to be involved in one of our projects or to apply for grant funding we may collect some specific information from you relating to your application for funding.
  • If you apply for a job with us we will keep a copy of your application and accompanying documents such as your CV. Please see our Privacy Policy specifically for job applicants.

Cookies

You can read more information about the Cookies in use on the Cookies page on each website – see the footer of each website for a link to the Cookies page for that site.

Where we store your personal data

We aim to protect the information we hold about you and to store it safely and securely. Where possible we use servers hosted in the EU. We endeavour to use reputable server hosting providers such as Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services and to keep our IT platforms updated.

Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password which enables you to access certain parts of one of our websites, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share a password with anyone and we would encourage you to use a complex password.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to our site; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.

Disclosure of your information

We may disclose your personal information to any member of our group of companies. We work with a number of partners that either share our strategic objective of improving the prosperity of the businesses in Buckinghamshire and supporting economic development more generally or provide funding to us. These partners include:

  • Buckinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership
  • Buckinghamshire Council
  • Milton Keynes Council
  • Government: Department for Business & Trade, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC),Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, Department for Work & Pensions (DWP), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Rural Payments Agency (RPA), Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), Department for Education (DfE), and Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA)
  • Organisations for whom we deliver services, including Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC)
  • Evaluators of our services

We may share your personal information with these partners – but only where it is necessary to do so for the delivery of a contract. We deliver a range of projects across the UK. If we are working with a partner to deliver these projects we may share information with this partner.

We may disclose your personal information to third parties:

  • In the event that we sell or buy any business or assets, in which case we may disclose your personal data to the prospective seller or buyer of such business or assets.
  • If we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation, or in order to enforce or apply our terms of use and other agreements; or to protect the rights, property, or safety of the BBF group of companies, our customers, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organisations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.

How we might use your information

We might use the information held about you in the following ways:

  • To ensure that content from our websites is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer.
  • To provide you with information, products or services that you request from us or which we feel may interest you (you may opt-out of receiving marketing communications from us – see note below).
  • To carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into between you and us.
  • To notify you about changes to our service.
  • To undertake research and analysis; for example to identify key economic points of interest.
  • To conduct surveys to better understand the needs of local businesses and the economic environment or to evaluate the services provided.
  • To alert partners and Stakeholders, including the Local Authorities in Buckinghamshire and Government departments, to the needs of the businesses in the area.
  • To ensure you receive payment for the services provided to us.
  • To carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into between us and our funders.
  • To match to other data sources, including public and commercially available datasets, for the purpose of monitoring and evaluating the ongoing impact of Growth Hubs.

We have a legitimate interest in using your data in this way and to provide information and to keep in contact with:

  • Members and prospective members
  • Grant applicants and recipients and potential grant applicants
  • Businesses supported or businesses who might benefit from our services
  • Stakeholders and partners who share our objectives to improve the economy

This is to allow us to fulfil our obligations to these business and to make businesses aware of the services available that might facilitate the growth of their business or businesses locally. The wider benefits to processing the data in this way include generating employment opportunities, the safeguarding of jobs locally and economic development.

Your rights

You have some options and rights in how we process your information. To exercise these rights please contact us at [email protected].

You have the right to access the information we hold about you. We will aim to share this with you as soon as possible and usually within 30 days of you asking us for it.

You have the right for your information to be corrected. You can update your business details including publishing/unpublishing your public profile on the BBF website by accessing the My Account section. Alternatively, please contact us using the email address above if you want your details updated. You also have the right for your information to be deleted – unless we are required to keep your data for the fulfilment of a contract.

You have the right to object to us processing your information. You can ask us to stop using your information, including when we use your information to send you marketing emails. If you opt out of receiving marketing messages from us, we may still send emails to you but these will form part of our normal business communications. We aim only to send you marketing communications if you've agreed to it, but if you'd rather we don't, you can unsubscribe at any time by emailing us or by using the Unsubscribe button at the bottom of every marketing email.

You have the right to transfer the information you provided to another organisation, where we hold this information with your consent or for the performance of a contract with you, where it's technically feasible. Please email [email protected] to request this.

You have the right to complain to the data regulator, The Information Commissioner. If you think that we haven't complied with the data protection laws, you have a right to lodge a complaint.

Changes to our privacy policy

Any changes we may make to our privacy policy in the future will be posted on this page. We will indicate when a change is made. We will share these changes via an email or our various newsletters.

Contact

Questions, comments and requests regarding this privacy policy are welcomed and should be addressed to Head of Operations at Buckinghamshire Business First, [email protected].

Websites managed by the BBF Group of Companies:

Our websites may contain links to and from other websites. If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies. Please check these policies before you submit any personal data to these websites.

Buckinghamshire Business Awards

To find out more about how we process data for the Buckinghamshire Business Awards please click here >