THIS PRIVACY POLICY APPLIES TO MEMBERS OF THE SUFFOLK BEEKEEPERS’ ASSOCIATION. IT EXPLAINS HOW WE PROCESS PERSONAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU IN RELATION TO MEMBERSHIP OF OUR ASSOCIATION.
Introduction
The Ipswich & East Suffolk Beekeepers’ Association (IESBKA) is a registered charity and membership organisation for beekeepers in the local area. While IESBKA operates as an independent charity, it is affiliated as a branch of the Suffolk Beekeepers’ Association (SBKA) and this policy is aligned with the SBKA Privacy Policy to ensure consistent data protection.
Through our affiliation with the SBKA, our members are also part of The British Beekeepers’ Association (BBKA). IESBKA and SBKA act as agents for the collection of subscriptions and premiums for Bee Diseases Insurance Ltd. (BDI), and maintain professional relationships with Beecraft, BeeBase, and BeeConnected.
This Privacy Policy applies to all these activities. For the purposes of this statement, members—whether individuals, associate members, or other groups—are referred to as ‘members’. We maintain the highest standards of confidentiality regarding the personal information provided to us by our members. This Privacy Policy has been prepared to inform you of our policies and practices concerning the collection, processing, and security of your personal information which we use in relation to our activities within both IESBKA and the wider SBKA.
Personal information
For this Privacy Policy, personal information means any information we may hold about you, which is recorded in any form. In order to provide you with membership and other services we offer and to keep in touch with you about our activities. We have a contractual obligation to process your personal information and this Privacy Policy explains why and how we collect, use and store your personal information.
What type of personal information do we use?
All personal information is held in strict confidence and not revealed to anyone outside IESBKA or SBKA unless it is necessary in relation to your membership or is otherwise expressly or implicitly authorised by you or required by applicable law. The personal information we collect may include:
- Your full name and home address;
- Contact information, such as your home and mobile telephone numbers and e-mail addresses;
- Details of the numbers of beehives you manage;
- Details of any beekeeping qualifications you may hold;
- Details of any offices you may hold or have held in your local, regional or national beekeeping associations;
- Whether you have accepted or unsubscribed from our mailing lists or those of the BBKA or other bodies (BDI, Beecraft, BeeBase and BeeConnected).
- Any other personal information that you may voluntarily provide to us.
How do we use your personal information?
IESBKA and SBKA use personal information for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. Under no circumstances will we sell any of your personal information to another organisation for marketing. We may use your information for:
- Information: To provide you with details of our branch activities and those of the wider county association;
- BBKA: To enable BBKA to provide services, including the monthly magazine;
- Insurance (BDI): To fulfil our obligations under the insurance contract for which we act as agents;
- BDI & BeeBase: Information provided to the National Bee Unit (NBU) is used to update the voluntary register of beekeepers called “BeeBase”. This information is only made available provided that: a) the local association has consented to members being offered this facility; b) this consent has not been withdrawn; c) the individual member has given explicit consent for their data transfer; and d) the member’s consent has not been withdrawn.
- Legal Compliance: Any purpose required by applicable law or charity regulation.
Use of your information outside the United Kingdom
We may sometimes need to transfer your personal information to countries outside the UK where the level of protection may not be as comprehensive as it is within the UK. Where appropriate, we have procedures in place to ensure that your personal information is adequately protected.
Your Data Protection Rights
We will endeavour to ensure that any personal information provided by you and/or held by us is as accurate, current and complete as necessary for the purposes for which we use that information. Under data protection law, you have rights including:
- Your right of access - You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information.
- Your right to rectification - You have the right to ask us to correct personal information you think is inaccurate or complete information you think is incomplete.
- Your right to erasure - You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.
- Your right to restriction of processing - You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
- Your right to object to processing - You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you. To make a request, please use the contact details at the end of this policy. We may verify your identity to our satisfaction before doing so. There may be circumstances where access cannot be granted (e.g., where it would lead to the disclosure of another individual's personal information). In such cases, you will be notified of the reason.
Limiting collection, use, disclosure and retention of personal information SBKA may collect and store your personal information in many forms (hard/soft copy, electronically, facsimile, telephone conversations/recordings, etc.), but will only do so by lawful means and only for necessary purposes that have been disclosed to you.
Personal information collected in any form will only be retained so long as it is required:
a) for the purpose for which it was collected;
b) to be retained by law; or
c) to address any issues that may arise at a later date.
When your personal information is no longer required for these identified purposes, we use secure procedures to destroy, delete or erase the personal information.
Consent
By providing your personal information to IESBKA, you agree that we may collect, use and disclose it in accordance with this policy. You have the right to revoke your consent at any time, though this may affect our ability to provide certain membership benefits.
Storage and security
IESBKA and SBKA have taken steps to maintain physical, procedural and technical security.
- eReturn2: We use ‘eReturn2’ (BDI Ltd / Purely Solutions Ltd) as our prime method of storing and processing membership data. They act as a ‘Data Processor’ under contract.
- Local data: When data is downloaded to local computers for branch use (e.g., printing address labels or meeting registers), it is held on password-protected computers with anti-virus protection and deleted after processing.
Our website, Cookies and Social Media
This Privacy Policy includes activity in relation to our websites (www.iesbka.com and www.suffolkbeekeepers.co.uk). We use only strictly necessary cookies (e.g., for member logins). We do not use tracking or analytics cookies. This policy does not cover external social media or messaging services (e.g. Facebook/WhatsApp) managed by branch volunteers; use of these is at your discretion.
Accountability
IESBKA and SBKA take the protection of personal information seriously. In accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, the associations are registered as 'Data Controllers' (or covered by the SBKA registration as a branch entity) with the Information Commissioner.
The Data Protection Officer (DPO) for the association is Jackie McQueen.
Effective date of this Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy is in effect as of 1st November 2025.
Contact us
For questions or concerns regarding IESBKA membership data:
- By post: Mrs Jackie McQueen, 643 Foxhall Road, Ipswich IP3 8NE
- By e-mail: memsec.sbka@suffolkbeekeepers.co.uk
- By phone: 07847 688775