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Privacy Notice

Your personal data


Winchester Diocesan Board of Finance (WDBF) is committed to protecting your personal data. Personal data is any information relating to an identified or identifiable person.

For information about what to expect when the Safeguarding Team collect your personal information please read our Safeguarding Privacy Notice.

Safeguarding Privacy Notice Download

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. The processing of personal data is governed by the General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”).

Who are we?

Winchester Diocesan Board of Finance is the data controller (contact details below).This means it decides how your personal data is processed and for what purposes.

The Diocese of Winchester is the operational name of the Winchester Diocesan Board of Finance, a registered charitable business by guarantee.


How do we process your personal data?


Winchester Diocesan Board of Finance complies with its obligations under the “GDPR” by keeping 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 personal data.

The staff at the Diocesan office need to be able to get in touch with the key people in parishes and deaneries across the Diocese to help us provide a proper service to you.

The services and daily legitimate activities we offer/undertake include:

  • ministry and mission support (including the filling of vacancies);
  • financial advice and support
  • legal advice relating to trusts and other matters
  • work relating to pastoral reorganisation and the Church Representation Rules;
  • advice relating to church buildings, their development and maintenance;
  • work relating to parsonages and other housing and property management;
  • provision of safeguarding training and advice;
  • educational work both in our church schools, academies and beyond;
  • publication of the Diocesan newsletter and all the news and guidance on our website

In addition, we are legally required to consult with key office holders such as clergy, PCC Secretaries, PCC Treasurers and Churchwardens on matters affecting the Diocese.


What is the legal basis for processing your personal data?


  • Explicit consent of the data subject so that we can keep you informed about news, events, activities and services and process your gift aid donations and keep you informed about diocesan events.
  • Processing is necessary for carrying out obligations under employment, social security or social protection law, or a collective agreement
  • Processing is carried out by a not-for-profit body with a political, philosophical, religious or trade union aim provided:
    • relates only to members or former members (or those who have regular contact with it in connection with those purposes)
    • there is no disclosure to a third party without consent expect as set out in “sharing your personal data” below or unless there is a legal basis to do so without consent.

Sharing your personal data


Your personal data will be treated as strictly confidential. Information might be shared with individuals or organisations including: members and their families, employees, prospective employers, other church bodies (e.g. the Archbishops Council), other such recipients where it is necessary to share data to discharge Diocesan obligations or as set out in Annex A at the bottom of the page.


How long do we keep your personal data?


We keep your personal data for no longer than reasonably necessary in accordance with the data retention guidance set out in the guide:

“Save or Delete : The Care of Diocesan Records” which is available from the Church of England website.

Some personal information will be retained to ensure compliance with our legal safeguarding requirements. We will only share your data with third parties outside the diocese with your consent.

Your rights and your personal data


Unless subject to an exemption under the GDPR, you have the following rights with respect to your personal data: –

  • The right to request a copy of your personal data which the Diocese holds about you;
  • The right to request that the Diocese corrects any personal data if it is found to be inaccurate or out of date;
  • The right to request your personal data is erased where it is no longer necessary for the Diocese to retain such data;
  • The right to withdraw your consent to the processing at any time
  • The right to request that the data controller provide the data subject with his/her personal data and where possible, to transmit that data directly to another data controller- known as the right to data portability.
  • 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)
  • The right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioners Office.

Further processing


If we wish to use your personal data for a new purpose, not covered by this Data Protection Notice, then we will provide you with a new notice explaining this new use prior to commencing the processing and setting out the relevant purposes and processing conditions. Where and whenever necessary, we will seek your prior consent to the new processing.



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


Annex A

Third parties with whom data may be shared


The Diocesan Database “DioSys” is a shared resource between:

  • The office of the Bishops of Winchester, Southampton and Basingstoke
  • The Archdeacon of Winchester
  • The Archdeacon of Bournemouth
  • The Chancellor for the Diocese of Winchester
  • The Deputy Chancellor for the Diocese of Winchester
  • The Diocesan Board of Education
  • The Diocesan Board of Finance
  • The office of the Diocesan Registrar
  • The clergy and DCC / PCC officers within the Diocese
  • CommuniGator – their privacy notice can be found here.
  • Transputec IT Support

The contact details of Petitioners and/or applicants on individual applications will be shared, through the Online Faculty System (OFS):

  • The Archdeacon of Bournemouth
  • The Archdeacon of Winchester
  • The Chancellor for the Diocese of Winchester
  • The Deputy Chancellor for the Diocese of Winchester
  • The office of the Diocesan Registrar Statutory Consultees (The Church Buildings Council, Historic England, national Amenity Societies and local authorities)
  • to facilitate the consideration of applications for either a Faculty or a Matter not requiring a Faculty under the Faculty Jurisdiction Rules

Clergy contact details will be provided:

  • Periodically to Crockford’s Clerical Directory
  • When necessary, by the Diocesan Estates and Housing Team to its representatives for the purpose of undertaking works of repair / Diocesan clergy housing and the letting of Diocesan properties
  • To the relevant local authority (in respect of Council Tax) and utility companies (in respect of supplies of energy to the property)
  • In compliance with our legal responsibilities

For the Bishop of Winchester Office Privacy Policy please download below.

Privacy Policy for the Bishop of Winchester's office: Download

[1] Details about retention periods can currently be found in the Record Management Guides located on the Church of England website at: – https://www.churchofengland.org/more/libraries-and-archives/records-management-guides