Data Protection

The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple (the Inn) processes and stores personal information in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), Data Protection Act 2018 and the Inn’s Data Protection Policy. The full version of the Inn’s Data Protection Policy and detailed Privacy Notices can be viewed on the Inn’s Privacy Policies and Notices page https://www.middletemple.org.uk/about-us/data-protection/privacy-policies-and-notices  

How the Inn stores and uses your personal data

In summary, the Inn may store and use your data to administer your membership, for the processing of financial transactions and maintaining accounts, for the management of enquiries and complaints, to manage events or lodgings you have booked at the Inn, to manage tenancies or contracts you have with the Inn, to manage safety and security across the Inn, e.g. through the use of CCTV, and to produce summary information for statistical, regulatory and audit purposes. We may, with your permission, use your data to inform you about developments within or pertaining to the profession, inform you about and manage your involvement with services and events, including educational and membership services and events, inform you about premises to let and services that might be offered to manage the estate, and to manage your involvement with any committees you might join.

The information that the Inn holds is mainly provided by yourself, but may also be collected from other sources such as references or information already in the public domain. The information is held securely and is only accessed by Inn staff with appropriate permissions. Member data is kept and used for the duration of your membership and some information may be kept permanently by the Inn for historical purposes. Other data is kept in line with the Inn’s record retention policies.

Third Parties

Your information will not be distributed to third parties unless it is anonymised, you give us explicit consent to do so, we are required to do so under a statutory or legal obligation, or are permitted to do so by Data Protection legislation. Please see our Data Protection policy and Privacy Notices for further information.

Please note that as a result of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and data sharing protocol we have with the Bar Standards Board, we share member information with the Bar Standards Board for the stated purposes set out in the MoU data sharing protocol. For more information on how the Bar Standards Board uses your information, whether obtained from us or otherwise, please read their Privacy Statement. 

Accessing your personal data & queries

Under Data Protection legislation you have a right to change or access your information at any time. If you have any queries or want to see the personal data the Inn holds on you by making a Subject Access Request, please contact the Inn at the following email address: Data.protection@middletemple.org.uk or by writing to:

If it transpires that any information we hold is inaccurate or incorrect you should inform us immediately so that it can be amended.

Contacting you

We may need to contact you, by letter, telephone, e-mail or otherwise, in relation to the above purposes. It is your responsibility to update your information or notify the Inn of any changes to your personal details so that the information that the Inn holds is accurate and kept up to date. If you are a member, please update your details using the online membership system, or inform the Membership Department (members@middletemple.org.uk) of any change in your circumstances. If you have booked an event or room hire please contact events@middletemple.org.uk Otherwise, please use the Contact Us information here to direct you to the appropriate department.

You have the option to opt-out of any communication you sign up for at any time by contacting the Inn, by updating your communication preferences online, and by clicking opt-out links at the bottom of emails you receive.

CCTV

The Inn is the owner of public closed-circuit television (“CCTV”) systems that are installed on its premises. All images produced by the CCTV system remain the property of the Inn and are also subject to data protection regulations. The Inn’s CCTV policy can be viewed on the Inn’s Privacy Policies and Notices page https://www.middletemple.org.uk/about-us/data-protection/privacy-policies-and-notices

Photography at events

Please be aware that photography, audio and video recording may take place at our events. These may be used for promotional purposes by the Inn, including in printed publications, on our website, and on our social media accounts. If you would not like to be photographed or to have your images used, please alert a member of staff at the start of the event. We are unable to guarantee, however, that you will not be included in the background of photographs that are being taken. You can ask the Inn to stop using your images at any time using the contact details below.

COVID-19 Data Processing

This section will be reviewed and updated regularly, as the data that the Inn needs to collect may change during the course of the pandemic.

Staff and visitors to the Inn, including visitors to the Inn’s Library

Individuals visiting the Inn will be asked to sign in and sign out so that there is a record of who is on site at any given time. You will be asked to provide your contact details. The Inn is using legitimate interests as the lawful basis for collecting this information, as it is needed in order to ensure the safety and well-being of the Inn’s staff and visitors. This information will be made available to the NHS Test and Trace system if required (where an individual tests positive for COVID-19) and may be used by the Inn to contact you directly in the event of a positive COVID-19 case. This information may also be used in the event of an emergency in order to evacuate the building and for anonymised statistics to monitor the use of the building. The Inn will not use this information for any other purpose. In most cases the information will be collected using the visitor management solution “Sign In App” (https://signinapp.com/) and it will be kept securely on their UK-based cloud. Some visitors may be required to sign in using a paper sign in book. The data will be kept for at least 21 days in line with government COVID-19 guidance, and may be kept for up to, but no longer than, 2 months in order to produce anonymised usage statistics. The information will only be shared externally with Public Health England, or other legitimate public health authority.

v9, 29^th July 2021