The new data protection rules which came into effect on 25 May 2018 are having a significant impact not just on businesses, but on charities and on public bodies including schools and parish councils.

GDPR and DPO

Accordio has the skills, knowledge and experience to help your organisation negotiate the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), understand your new responsibilities and remain on the right side of the law.

As they are public bodies, schools need to appoint a Data Protection Officer (DPO) to comply with the new rules. They also need to update their processes around collecting, storing and using data, although on a positive note, many are seeing this as an opportunity to boost efficiency while complying with the law. Parish councils and charities are not obliged to appoint a DPO, but someone still needs to be responsible for sticking to the rules, and the Chief Executive or Clerk is likely to have enough on his or her plate already.

Accordio can help in a variety of ways, from initial advice through to awareness training, information audits and even the provision of a low-cost, outsourced Data Protection Officer Service.

GDPR highlights the importance of data protection and emphasises the organisation’s accountability for the information it holds. Businesses, schools, charities and other bodies are now expected to put ‘privacy by design’ at the heart of their operation, with data privacy the default position

For Schools

GDPR is likely to prove a particular headache for schools that are already facing pressure on staffing (and would rather focus on teaching). With that in mind, while Accordio can also help businesses, charities and other public bodies, it has devised a bespoke package for schools.

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That package is designed to help support your school through the introduction of GDPR and beyond, at low cost and with guaranteed results.

As well as offering awareness training, Accordio can carry out an information audit to help you look closely at how your school collates, stores and uses information, who owns the information, who it comes from and who it is shared with.

For schools that are looking for the easiest possible way to stay within the rules while they focus on the day job, Accordio’s outsourced Data Protection Officer Service is the low-cost, flexible answer.

For a fraction of the cost of appointing your own DPO (even if you could find one – figures show the country has 37,000 fewer than it needs), Accordio will provide comprehensive support for a low annual fee, allowing the staff to focus on giving pupils the high quality education they deserve.

With prices starting at just £500 per year for the outsourced DPO service and just over £1,000 (both prices +VAT) for an extensive GDPR data audit, Accordio offers your school an affordable route to peace of mind.

For Parish Councils

The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) has confirmed that every one of its members, regardless of size or data use, needs to follow the GDPR rules – at an estimated cost of £3.5m a year.

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Accordio’s outsourcing model allows parish councils to stay within the rules for a fraction of the cost of appointing a DPO of their own.

We also understand the complexity of parish councils, which act as a corporate body on some issues but which also bring together individual councillors who deal with ward members on a different basis.

For a low annual fee, Accordio can take on the responsibility of advising the council on data protection issues and ensure it complies with all the requirements of the new legislation.

As a first step we will carry out a data audit that will look at how your authority collects, stores and uses personal data and recommend any changes that need to be made.

Step two is for you to relax and carry on with looking after your parish while we make sure you continue to meet your statutory responsibilities and provide any advice you need.

The data audit is available as a standalone service but is a requirement for councils that take advantage of Accordio’s outsourced Data Protection Officer Service, available for as little as a few hundred pounds per year.

For Charities

By definition, many charities deal with sensitive ‘special category’ data, and keeping that data safe and secure is a fundamental requirement. Health-related charities that work with referrals from the NHS have an even greater responsibility to comply with strict confidentiality rules.

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With GDPR having raised the bar considerably higher, Accordio’s outsourced Data Protection Officer Service is the way forward for charities that want to continue to focus on the great work they do without being bogged down in the requirements of the new legislation.

The other issue with charities is that some of them were established many years ago by hard-working, usually part-time, volulnteers, which means that the internal systems may not meet today’s requirements, let alone those that now apply. This could be the ideal time to revisit those systems and make sure the charity is not just operating within the legislation but fulfilling its vital community role as efficiently as possible.

Whether you need reassurance that your current arrangements are satisfactory, want to raise staff awareness or would like to explore ongoing support options, we can help. Contact Accordio today for a discussion.

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