The Privacy of your personal information and AHDB
At the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) we take the privacy and security of your personal information very seriously.
We will never sell your data to third parties and we will treat the sensitive business information you provide as 'commercial in confidence'.
How we use your information and take care of it is explained here.
Who we are and how to contact us:
Your information will be held by AHDB, we are a statutory UK levy board and you can find out more about us at www.ahdb.org.uk.
If you have a query, you can contact the levy team at E: levy@ahdb.org.uk or
T: 024 7669 2051.
Alternatively, you can write to the Data Protection Officer (DPO), AHDB, Middlemarch Business Park, Coventry, CV3 4PE or
at E: data.protection@ahdb.org.uk.
What personal information we collect and why:
The personal information we collect will be your title, first name, surname, complete mailing address, telephone number, mobile number and email address
to enable AHDB to fulfil the statutory functions given to us by Parliament.
As such, our lawful basis for processing your information is called 'public task'.
How we will use your information:
We will use your personal information for levy collection and verification purposes, and to enable AHDB to carry out research on behalf of the industry,
to invite you to participate in research and to contact you about how your levy is being spent and ways in which you can engage with and benefit from the
knowledge exchange programme.
We will supplement the information you provide where deemed necessary with data from the Defra group and or the devolved administrations including
Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate, Welsh Government Rural Payments Wales as well as from the public domain, third parties,
satellite and other field scanning technologies, to help combat levy avoidance and to assist with profiling.
We will also produce aggregated and anonymised reports to enable the industry to make better trading and business planning decisions.
How we will keep your information safe:
We will ensure there are appropriate technical controls in place to protect your personal information.
For example, we use encryption and we store data within AHDB's secure network and cloud environment.
Both of these are independently audited.
Where we use third-party suppliers or partners to collect or process personal information we put a contract or data sharing agreement
in place that sets out our expectations and requirements, especially regarding how they manage the personal data and fully comply with
all applicable UK Data Protection legislation.
What third parties will be involved:
At times, AHDB uses reputable third-party suppliers to help process requests and provide you with information.
For example, sending you the latest factsheets on research results.
AHDB requires all such third parties to treat your personal information as fully confidential.
We will never sell your personal information to third parties and we will not release your personal information to any company outside of AHDB
for their mailing or marketing purposes.
If required, for regulatory or animal/plant health purposes, we will share your information with the Chemicals Regulation Division (CRD),
Health & Safety Executive (HSE), Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA), Food Standards Agency (FSA), the Rural Payments Agency (RPA), the Environment Agency,
the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) or its equivalents in the devolved administrations or their appointed agents to
enable them to assess risk and to contact you.
Third-country transfers:
AHDB's own systems and storage are within the European Economic Area (EEA).
Some of our suppliers or partners process personal information on our behalf outside the EEA, where a recognised data security protocol is in
place between the EU/UK and the third country (eg the EU-US Privacy Shield).
A contract or data sharing agreement is always put in place, setting out our requirements regarding the handling of personal information.
How long we will keep your data:
We will retain your personal information for no longer than necessary for the purpose it was obtained, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.
Your Rights:
By law you have certain rights over your personal data that we hold – see www.ico.org.uk for guidance on your rights.
You have the right to ask us to correct any errors, the right to ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you,
and the right to object (based on your specific situation) to AHDB’s processing or profiling for a public task.
To enquire about exercising any of these rights please contact the Data Protection Officer using the details given at the top of this section.
We may need to verify your identity before implementing your request.
