Privacy Policy

PRESTON GUILD LODGE No 4408
Privacy Notice
Overview
Being transparent and providing accessible information to our members about how we use their personal information is a key element of the Data Protection Act 2018 (the Act). The most common way to provide this information is in a privacy notice.

Purpose of processing personal information
The Act ensures that we comply with a series of data protection principles. These principles are there to protect you, and ensure that the Province, as the Data Controller, carries out the following :
• Process all personal information lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner.
• Collect personal information for a specified, explicit and legitimate purpose.
• Ensure that the personal information processed is adequate, relevant and limited to the purposes for which it was collected.
• Ensure the personal information is accurate and up-to-date.
• Keep your personal information for no longer than is necessary for the purpose(s) for which it was collected.
• Keep your personal information secure, using appropriate technical or organisational measures.

  1. Your personal data – what is it?
    Personal data relates to a living individual, who can be identified from that data. Identification can be by the information alone, or in conjunction with any other information in the data controller’s possession, or likely to come into such possession. For example – name, address, D.O.B. processed together could, in most cases, identify someone. The Act governs the processing of personal data.
  2. Who are we?
    Preston Guild Lodge No 4408 is the Data Controller (contact details below). This means the lodge decides how your personal data is processed and for what purposes.
  3. How do we process your personal data?
    Preston Guild Lodge complies with its obligations under the Act by keeping your personal data up-to-date; by storing and destroying it securely, by not collecting or retaining excessive amounts of data, by protecting personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access and disclosure, and by ensuring that appropriate technical measures are in place to protect your personal data.

We use your personal data for the following purposes: –
• To administer membership records.
• To fund-raise and promote the interests of the Masonic Charities.
• To manage our volunteers.
• To maintain our own accounts and records (including the processing of “relief” applications).
• To inform you of news, events, and activities taking place within the Preston Guild Lodge No 4408, the Province of West Lancashire and UGLE.
• To share your contact details with the Lodge Secretary, so they can keep you informed about news, events and activities that will be occurring in the Lodge and which may be of interest.
• To assess your Masonic application, whatever its nature.
• To determine your suitability to become a Freemason.
• To determine your suitability to remain a Freemason.
• To register you as a member of the UGLE.
• If you resign, or are excluded and/or expelled from UGLE, we will maintain records to prevent you from improperly re-applying for membership.
• Maintain records of your career in Freemasonry for archive and historical purposes.
• To record the progress of your career in Freemasonry.
To carry out Masonic disciplinary processes.

  1. What is the legal basis for processing your personal data?
    • Processing is necessary for carrying out legal obligations in relation to “relief” applicants.
    • The legitimate interests of Preston Guild Lodge No 4408 as a not-for-profit membership organisation, which includes sharing your information with Grand Lodge Publications Limited so you can receive a copy of Freemasonry Today, to inform you of news, events, and activities running within the Preston Guild Lodge No 4408, the Province of West Lancashire and UGLE, to share your contact details with the Lodge Secretary, so they can keep you informed about news, events and activities that will be occurring in the Lodge and which may be of interest.
    • The fulfilment of contractual obligations owed to you by the Lodge.
    • An exemption of the Data Protection Act for archive and historical purposes.
  2. Sharing your personal data
    Your personal data will be treated as strictly confidential and will only be shared with other members of the Lodge in order to carry out a service to other Lodge members or for purposes connected with the Lodge. We will only share your personal data with third parties outside of UGLE, the Provincial Office and the Lodge, with your explicit consent.

Masonic Charities
We will also share your personal data with Masonic Charities where you have consented. If you or your dependants apply to a Masonic charity, for relief or access to a Masonic care home, that charity will sometimes access UGLE’s database to check that you are (or were) a Mason before they accept that you are eligible for relief.

Freemasonry Today
Every subscribing member of a Lodge in the Province, who has a UK address registered with UGLE is entitled to receive a copy of the quarterly magazine, Freemasonry Today, which is published by Grand Lodge Publications Limited. UGLE ultimately controls this company. If you are entitled to receive a copy, then your name and address will be shared quarterly with Grand Lodge Publications Limited for the sole purpose of sending the magazine to you. If you have a visual impairment and request an audio version of Freemasonry Today, then with your consent, UGLE will share your name and address from time to time, with its chosen distributor of the audio versions. If you receive the audio version, then UGLE will share your name, address and subscribing status with the distributor, for the purpose of keeping the distributor’s records accurate and up-to-date.

  1. How long do we keep your personal data?
    Just to make it absolutely clear how much control you have over YOUR data, you may stop your data from being used by resigning from the United Grand Lodge of England with the following two exceptions :
    • If you resign, or are excluded and/or expelled from Freemasonry, personal data relating to your membership will normally be retained and processed by both UGLE and the Province for one hundred years, to prevent you improperly re-applying for membership.
    • Your data will be held indefinitely for archive and historical purposes. Your personal data is held by UGLE on a purpose-built, web-based system called Adelphi which is fully password protected. The Lodge or Province will only access this data for the purposes of masonic administration.
  2. Your personal data rights as a Freemason :
    You have the following rights with respect to your personal data, unless they have been subject to an exemption under the Act:
    • The right to request a copy of your personal data which Preston Guild Lodge No 4408 holds about you.
    • The right to request that Preston Guild Lodge No 4408 corrects any personal data, if it is found to be inaccurate or out-of-date.
    • The right to request that your personal data is erased, where it is no longer necessary for Preston Guild Lodge No 4408 to retain such data.
    • The right to withdraw your consent to the processing at any time.
    • The right to request that the Data Controller provides the data subject, with his personal data and where possible, to transmit that data directly to another data controller, (known as the right to data portability), (where applicable) [Only applies where the processing is based on consent, or is necessary for the performance of a contract with the data subject and in either case, the data controller processes the data by automated means]
    • The right, where there is a dispute in relation to the accuracy or processing of your personal data, to request a restriction is placed on further processing.
    • The right to object to the processing of personal data, (where applicable) [Only applies where processing is based on legitimate interests (or the performance of a task in the public interest/exercise of official authority), direct marketing and processing for the purposes of scientific/historical research and statistics]
    • The right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office.
  3. Further processing
    If the Lodge wish to use your personal data for a new purpose, not covered by this “Privacy Notice”, then you will be provided you with a new notice, explaining the new use prior to commencing the processing, including setting out the relevant purposes and processing conditions. Where and whenever necessary, we will seek your prior consent to the new processing.
  4. Withdrawal of consent
    You can withdraw or change your consent at any time, by contacting the Lodge Secretary at: Preston Guild Lodge No 4408, Preston Masonic Hall, Saul Street, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 2QU
  5. Freemasonry Today
    If you would prefer not to receive the magazine in hard copy, then please use the “remove from mailing list” option at: https://www.freemasonrytoday.com/contact-us. Please note that all processing of your personal data will cease once you have withdrawn consent.
  6. Contact Details
    To exercise all relevant rights, queries of complaints please, in the first instance, contact the Lodge Secretary at: Preston Guild Lodge No 4408, Preston Masonic Hall, Saul Street, Preston, PR1 2QU.

You can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office on 0303 123 1113 or via email at: https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/email or at the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire. SK9 5AF