PRIVACY POLICY
Last updated: September 2026
Cockermouth Amateur Dramatic Society (“CADS”, “we”, “us” or “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information.
This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and protect it, how long we retain it, and the rights available to you.
CADS processes personal information in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (“UK GDPR”), the Data Protection Act 2018, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (“PECR”) and other applicable UK data protection legislation, as amended from time to time.
1. Who Is Responsible for Your Personal Information?
Cockermouth Amateur Dramatic Society is the data controller responsible for deciding how and why your personal information is used.
Questions about this Privacy Policy or the use of your personal information should be addressed to:
The Secretary
Cockermouth Amateur Dramatic Society
Williamsgate Farm
Redmain
Cockermouth
CA13 0QA
You may also contact us through the Contact page on the CADS website.
2. The Personal Information We May Collect
Depending on your relationship with CADS, we may collect and process:
- Your name, address, email address and telephone number.
- Your date of birth or age where this is relevant to participation, safeguarding, chaperoning or child-performance requirements.
- Membership, patron, volunteer, committee or production information.
- Details of productions, rehearsals, performances, auditions and other CADS activities in which you participate.
- Attendance and sign-in or sign-out records.
- Parent, guardian, carer and emergency-contact details.
- Information provided on membership, consent, health, accessibility or participation forms.
- Relevant health, medical, disability, allergy, accessibility or support information.
- Safeguarding, welfare, accident, incident, complaint or disciplinary information.
- Photographs, video recordings and audio recordings.
- Consent preferences relating to photography, video, publicity and communications.
- Financial and transaction records relating to membership fees, donations, tickets, expenses or other payments.
- Correspondence and other information supplied when you contact us.
- Information required for insurance, licensing, legal, regulatory or safeguarding purposes.
- Technical information generated when you visit our website, such as your IP address, browser type, device information and cookie data.
We only collect information that is reasonably necessary for CADS activities or for meeting our legal, safeguarding, insurance and administrative responsibilities.
3. Information About Children and Young People
CADS welcomes children and young people into appropriate productions and activities. We recognise that children’s personal information requires particular protection.
Where appropriate, we collect information about a child from their parent or guardian. We may also collect information directly from a child where this is appropriate to their age and understanding.
We explain the use of children’s information as clearly as possible and involve a parent or guardian where appropriate. The best interests, safety and welfare of the child are always treated as a primary consideration.
Information about a child may include:
- Their name, age and date of birth.
- Parent or guardian contact details.
- Emergency-contact information.
- Relevant health, medical, disability, allergy or support information.
- Attendance and collection records.
- Performance, licensing and chaperone records.
- Photograph and video consent preferences.
- Safeguarding or welfare information.
We do not use children’s personal information for automated profiling or automated decision-making.
4. How We Obtain Personal Information
We normally obtain personal information directly from you or, in the case of a child or young person, from their parent or guardian.
Information may be collected through:
- Membership and patron forms.
- Health, accessibility and emergency-contact forms.
- Photography and video consent forms.
- Audition, production and attendance records.
- Ticket purchases, donations and financial transactions.
- Emails, telephone calls and website enquiries.
- Safeguarding, accident, incident or complaint reports.
- CADS events, rehearsals and performances.
- Our website and its essential technical systems.
We may occasionally receive information from a parent, guardian, carer, committee member, production leader, chaperone, local authority or safeguarding agency where there is a legitimate and lawful reason for doing so.
5. How and Why We Use Personal Information
We may use personal information to:
- Manage CADS membership and patron records.
- Administer rehearsals, auditions, productions, performances and events.
- Communicate essential information to members, parents, guardians, volunteers and production personnel.
- Manage attendance, supervision, emergency contacts and collection arrangements.
- Protect the health, safety and welfare of members, volunteers, children, vulnerable adults and visitors.
- Provide appropriate accessibility, medical or other support.
- Meet safeguarding, chaperoning and child-performance requirements.
- Manage tickets, payments, donations, expenses and financial records.
- Arrange insurance and respond to accidents, incidents or claims.
- Investigate complaints, conduct concerns or alleged breaches of CADS policies.
- Promote CADS productions and activities where we have an appropriate lawful basis.
- Maintain an appropriate historical record of CADS and its productions.
- Operate, maintain and protect our website and communications systems.
- Comply with legal, regulatory, insurance and local-authority requirements.
6. Our Lawful Bases for Using Personal Information
Under UK data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for each use of personal information. Depending on the circumstances, CADS may rely on:
Contract: Where the information is necessary to administer membership, participation, a ticket purchase or another agreement with you.
Legal obligation: Where we must use or retain information to comply with safeguarding, child-performance, accounting, insurance or other legal requirements.
Legitimate interests: Where using the information is reasonably necessary to administer and protect the Society, organise productions and events, communicate with members, maintain appropriate records, promote CADS or protect the safety and welfare of participants. We will balance these interests against your rights and reasonable expectations.
Consent: Where you have freely given clear consent for a particular use, such as certain promotional communications or the publication of photographs and videos.
Vital interests: Where using or sharing information is necessary in an emergency to protect someone’s life or physical safety.
Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawing consent will not affect any lawful use of your information that took place before consent was withdrawn.
7. Health, Safeguarding and Other Sensitive Information
Information concerning physical or mental health, disability or certain other personal characteristics is treated as “special category data” under UK data protection law and receives additional protection.
CADS may process this information where:
- You have provided explicit consent.
- It is necessary to protect someone’s vital interests in an emergency.
- It is necessary for safeguarding children or individuals at risk.
- Another condition permitted by the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 applies.
Safeguarding information may include allegations, concerns or information relating to possible criminal conduct. Such information will only be recorded, used and disclosed where strictly necessary, proportionate and authorised by law.
Access to health, safeguarding and other sensitive information is restricted to people who genuinely need it to perform their role.
8. Photographs, Video and Publicity
CADS may take photographs or make video or audio recordings during rehearsals, performances and other Society activities.
These may be used for:
- Production programmes and posters.
- The CADS website.
- CADS social-media accounts.
- Press and media publicity.
- Funding or promotional material.
- Historical and archival purposes.
CADS will normally obtain appropriate consent before using identifiable photographs or recordings for publicity. For children and young people, consent will be obtained from the child and their parent or guardian as appropriate.
You may withdraw consent for future use by contacting CADS. We will take reasonable steps to stop further use where consent was our lawful basis. However, we may be unable to recall printed material that has already been distributed or material that has been copied or shared by others after lawful publication.
Photographs retained solely as part of the Society’s historical archive may be kept under our legitimate interests, subject to an assessment of the rights and interests of the people shown.
9. Emails, Text Messages and Marketing
CADS may use your email address or telephone number to send essential administrative messages about membership, rehearsals, productions, performances, safety, cancellations or other activities in which you are involved.
These administrative messages are not promotional marketing and may be necessary for your membership or participation.
We will only send promotional emails or text messages where we have consent or another lawful basis permitted by UK data protection law and PECR.
You may unsubscribe from promotional communications at any time by following any unsubscribe instructions provided or by contacting CADS. Stopping promotional communications will not prevent us from sending essential administrative or safety messages where these remain necessary.
10. Sharing Personal Information
CADS does not sell, rent or trade personal information. We do not provide personal information to other organisations for their independent marketing purposes.
Personal information may be shared internally with authorised committee members, directors, production leaders, chaperones or volunteers where they need the information to perform their CADS role.
Where necessary, limited information may also be shared with:
- Website, email, ticketing, payment, communications, cloud-storage or other service providers acting on our instructions.
- Venues, insurers, accountants, professional advisers or other organisations supporting CADS activities.
- Local authorities responsible for child-performance licensing or safeguarding.
- Medical professionals or emergency services where required.
- The Police, Children’s Services, Adult Social Care, the NSPCC or another safeguarding body.
- A court, regulator or other public authority where disclosure is required or permitted by law.
We only share the minimum information reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose. Service providers acting on our behalf must protect the information and must not use it for their own purposes.
11. International Transfers
Some website, email, cloud-storage, ticketing or communications providers may process information outside the United Kingdom.
Where this occurs, CADS will take reasonable steps to ensure that an appropriate UK data-transfer mechanism is in place. This may include UK adequacy regulations, the International Data Transfer Agreement, the UK Addendum to approved contractual clauses or another safeguard permitted by law.
12. How Long We Keep Personal Information
CADS will not retain identifiable personal information for longer than is reasonably necessary. Retention periods depend on the nature of the information, why it was collected and any legal, safeguarding, insurance or accounting requirements.
Our usual retention approach is:
- Membership and contact records: for the duration of membership and normally for up to two years afterwards.
- Production and attendance records: for as long as needed to administer the production and, where necessary, for up to six years afterwards for insurance or legal purposes.
- Emergency, health and accessibility information: reviewed after the relevant production or activity and normally deleted within six months unless continued retention is necessary for an incident, safeguarding matter, insurance claim or legal requirement.
- Child-performance, chaperone and licensing records: retained for the period required by law or by the relevant local authority.
- Financial and accounting records: normally retained for six years after the end of the relevant financial year.
- General enquiries and correspondence: normally retained for up to two years after the matter has been completed.
- Marketing preferences: retained until consent is withdrawn or the information is no longer required. We may retain a minimal suppression record to ensure that an unsubscribe request continues to be respected.
- Photographs and recordings: retained for as long as required for the stated purpose, valid consent or CADS’s legitimate historical and archival interests.
- Safeguarding, accident, complaint and disciplinary records: retained under a separate risk-based schedule reflecting safeguarding guidance, legal requirements, insurance needs and the seriousness of the matter.
Information that is no longer required will be securely deleted, destroyed or anonymised.
13. How We Protect Personal Information
CADS uses appropriate organisational and technical measures to protect personal information against accidental loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure.
These measures may include:
- Restricting access to those who genuinely need the information.
- Using password-protected accounts and devices.
- Keeping sensitive paper records securely.
- Using reputable service providers.
- Providing appropriate guidance to committee members and volunteers.
- Securely deleting or destroying information when it is no longer required.
- Taking additional precautions with children’s, health and safeguarding information.
If a personal-data breach occurs, CADS will assess the risk and take appropriate action. Where legally required, we will notify the Information Commissioner’s Office and affected individuals.
14. Website Cookies
Our website may use cookies or similar technologies that are necessary for it to function securely and correctly.
Where we use non-essential cookies, such as analytics, advertising or embedded-media cookies, these will not be placed unless you have provided any consent required by law.
Information about the cookies currently used should be provided through the website’s cookie banner or a separate Cookie Notice. You can change your cookie preferences at any time through the available cookie controls.
15. Your Data Protection Rights
Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:
- Ask for confirmation that we hold personal information about you.
- Request a copy of your personal information.
- Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
- Ask us to delete your information.
- Ask us to restrict how your information is used.
- Object to processing based on legitimate interests.
- Object to direct marketing at any time.
- Request the transfer of certain information in a portable format.
- Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.
- Complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal exceptions, particularly where information must be retained for safeguarding, legal, insurance or regulatory reasons.
To exercise a right, contact the CADS Secretary using the contact details in section 1. We may need to ask for reasonable proof of identity before releasing personal information.
16. Automated Decision-Making
CADS does not use personal information to make decisions based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects.
17. Complaints
If you have a concern about how CADS uses your personal information, please contact us first so that we can investigate and try to resolve the matter.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”), the UK regulator for data protection.
Further information is available at:
https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/data-protection-complaints/
18. Changes to This Privacy Policy
CADS will review this Privacy Policy regularly and update it when our activities, systems or legal obligations change.
The latest version will be published on the CADS website. Any significant changes will be brought to the attention of members where appropriate.