Privacy Notice

Who we are and how you can contact us

HCC is the industry-led organisation responsible for the development, promotion and marketing of lamb, beef and pork from Wales.

We are active in developing many important markets at home and abroad. HCC works with retailers and foodservice operators, undertaking regular promotional programmes for Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef. We also act as the guardians of the PGI scheme

We undertake research, share information and support training relevant to each part of the supply chain, to ensure the Welsh red meat industry is in a position to improve quality, increase cost-effectiveness and add value to Welsh red meat products across the whole of our industry.

HCC is the controller for the personal information we process, unless otherwise stated.

Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales
Tŷ Rheidol,

Parc Merlin,

Aberystwyth

SY23 3FF

Telephone: 01970 625 050
Email: info@hybucig.cymru / dataprotectionofficer@hybucig.cymru   

This privacy notice explains what information we may collect about you and how we use it.

Why we collect personal information 

We collect and use personal information for the purpose of delivering the statutory functions bestowed on us by Welsh Government under the Red Meat Industry (Wales) Measure 2010. These statutory functions are to collect levies and to use the funds for the development, promotion and marketing of Welsh red meat 

Lawful basis for processing

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the lawful bases we rely on for processing this information are:

Consent: this is where you have given us permission to process personal information for a given purpose, for example, where you have requested to receive one of our newsletters. 

Public task: this is where processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in us. For example, as a statutory levy board processing personal information is necessary in the exercise of the official authority vested in HCC by the Welsh Government to impose a levy and to deliver the functions bestowed on it under the Red Meat Industry (Wales) Measure 2010. 

Legal obligation: This is where, in the course of our business, we have to process personal information in order to comply with the law, for example tax and employment laws or health and safety regulations.

Legitimate interest: this is where we have a legitimate interest as a business to process personal information, for example where we use our employees’ personal information in ways they would reasonably expect to keep them informed and to run the business

Contract: this is where we have to process personal information to meet contractual obligations, for example where we have contractual obligations with employees or suppliers.

Information we collect

Most of the personal information we collect is information that you’ve given us about you. This includes but is not limited to:

• Contact information like your name, title, address, telephone numbers and personal email addresses
• Marketing and communications data which includes your preferences in receiving marketing from us and your communication preferences 
• Any other information you give us about you when you contact us including via our website, e-mail, letter, phone call or social media
• Information provided for job applications, including date of birth, gender, marital status, employment history.

How we use information

Industry levy payers and stakeholders

We use the personal information we collect for the following:

• for statutory levy collection, verification and audit purposes
• to provide communications which we think will be of interest to you such as issues affecting the red meat industry, including research, projects, training and skills development opportunities, knowledge exchange and industry statistics 
• to inform you of industry events or meetings
• to carry out industry research

E-Newsletters / Market bulletin

If you sign up to receive any HCC E-newsletter we use Mailchimp to deliver the newsletter requested. Data processed by Mailchimp is hosted in the US. Mailchimp has issued assurance that they meet UK GDPR standards.

We will retain your information for as long as you request the service. You can unsubscribe from E-newsletters at any time.

Events

If you attend an event organised by HCC, we will need your personal data to record your attendance. This will include your name and contact details. We will use your contact details to send you information about attending the event and we may send you material from the event afterwards. 

We will keep your personal information for no more than one year after any event you attend. If we wish to use your personal data for any reason other than to organise the event then we will ask you about this as part of the booking process.

If we are taking photographs or videos at an event, signage will be displayed to inform you of this.

Competitions

If you take part in one of our competitions, we will only use the information you provide to administer the competition. We will retain the information until the competition has concluded.

If we also wish to use your information to send you relevant information and news we will ask your permission.

Surveys

We collect information using SurveyMonkey. The data collected via their service is hosted in the US. SurveyMonkey has issued assurance that they meet UK GDPR standards.

We will explain within the survey how long any personal information will be retained for.  

Cookies

We use a cookies tool on our website to gain consent for the optional cookies we use. Cookies that are necessary for functionality, security and accessibility are set and are not deleted by the tool.

You can read more about how we use cookies, and how to change your cookies preferences, in our Cookies policy.   

Visiting our office

If you visit our office, you will be asked to sign in at reception. We will keep sign in sheets for at most two weeks. 

Our office has CCTV cameras and you may be recorded as part of your visit. There are clear signs to indicate the presence of the cameras. These cameras are for security purposes only. We will keep CCTV footage for no more than 30 days.

Working Groups

As part of our work, we invite stakeholders to take part in various working groups. 

While you are a member of the group, we will contact you to arrange meetings, to send you papers for meetings or other information that is relevant to the purpose of the group. If we wish to use your personal data for any reason other than for the purpose of your membership of the group, then we will ask you about this first.

We will retain any contact information for the life of the group, or your part in it, plus three years. Minutes and other papers that mention you by name will be retained in accordance with criteria set out in our retention schedule and, as such, will be kept for as long as any associated documents.

Projects

As part of our work, we invite stakeholders to take part in research projects. We will use your information to facilitate your participation in the project. If it is necessary to share your information with another organisation as part of the project, we will inform you of this.

All information provided during the process will be retained in accordance with our retention schedule.

Job Applications

Information you provide during the recruitment process will only be used for the purpose of progressing your application, or to fulfil legal or regulatory requirements if necessary.

We will use the contact details you provide to us to contact you to progress your application. We will use other information you provide to us during the recruitment process to assess your suitability for the role you have applied for.

We will also ask you about your previous experience, qualifications and/or education and for details of referees who we may contact in the event that we make you a conditional job offer. During the recruitment process we will also ask you for answers to questions relevant to the role you have applied for. Our HR staff will have access to all of this information.

You will also be asked to provide equal opportunities information. This is not mandatory information – if you don’t provide it, it will not affect your application. It will not be made available to any staff outside our recruitment team in a way which can identify you. Any information that you do provide will be used only to produce and monitor equal opportunities statistics.

We may also collect health data and information on your criminal record. As this is considered ‘sensitive information’ it will require special protections.

If we make a conditional offer of employment, we will ask you for information so that we can carry out pre-employment checks. If we make a final offer of employment, we will also ask you for further information once you have accepted the offer such as bank details.

Third parties sometimes provide elements of our recruitment service for us. We have contracts in place with our third-party data processors. This means that they cannot do anything with your personal information unless we have instructed them to do it. They will not share your personal information with any organisation apart from us. They will hold it securely and retain it for the period we instruct.

Information provided by unsuccessful applicants during the recruitment process will be retained for no longer than twelve months.  

Scholarship / Meat Minds

If you apply for the HCC Scholarship or Meat Minds programme, information you provide will only be used to contact you for the purpose of progressing your application, and for communicating with those who are successful.

Third parties assist us with the interview and selection process for the Scholarship and for the mentoring element of the Meat Minds programme. Information shared is on a strictly confidential basis. They will not share your personal information with any organisation apart from us. They will hold it securely and retain it for the period we instruct.

Information provided during the process by unsuccessful applicants will be retained for no longer than twelve months. Information from successful applicants will be retained no longer than three years.  

PGI Scheme

HCC has legal responsibility to act as guardian of the Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef designations. To fulfil its responsibilities, HCC has implemented the PGI verification scheme for abattoirs and cutting plants.

We use the information that you give us in relation to the Scheme in order to provide you with information about the Scheme, carry out the administrative procedures required for the Scheme and provide details to the independent certification body so that they can arrange and carry out site inspections.

PGI information will be retained for up to ten years in accordance with our retention schedule. 

Webinars

If you are an attendee or presenter at one of our webinars, we will require your name and email address. Our purpose for collecting this information is so we can facilitate the webinar and provide wider access to its content.

We may record events and all presenters will have their image and audio captured in the recording. If you are an attendee, you may have the option of sharing your image and audio during the session. If you choose to do so, this will also be captured in the recording.

Some events will feature a moderated Q&A. If you choose to interact with the Q&A your comments may be published to others at the event and will also form part of the recording.

If an event is being recorded, we will always notify you in advance.

We use your email address to provide you with the event details. This will include information about any recording taking place. For recorded events we may email you a link to the recording once the event has concluded.

For some events we may publish the recording on our website, and social media channels so this is accessible to a wider audience. These include but are not limited to YouTube, Instagram, X, Linkedin and Facebook. If an event recording is to be published, we will always notify you before the event. We will keep your email address and any recording of the event for 12 months.

We may choose to contact you again after the event to obtain feedback on how well the webinar met your needs or related matters discussed during the event. You have the right to decline to participate. 

Complaints

There are a number of ways you can make a complaint to us. There may be personal information you provide to us in relation to the complaint but as a minimum we will need to ask for your name and contact details. HCC will use the information you provide to process your complaint according to our complaints policy.

Information for complaints investigated and resolved will be retained for three years after resolution. Complaints which are have been the subject of legal proceedings will be retained for ten years after resolution.

Freedom of Information

Should you make a request under the Freedom of Information Act, we will require your name and contact details in order to meet our legal obligations under the act to provide you with a response. We will only use this personal information to deal with your request and any matters which arise as a result of it.

We will keep your personal information, and all other information relating to your request, for three years from the date on which we responded to your request.

How we share information

We use third parties to provide elements of services for us with whom we have contracts in place. This means that they cannot do anything with your personal information unless we have instructed them to do it. They will not share your personal information with any organisation apart from us. They will hold it securely and retain it for the period we instruct. 

We will not share your information with any third parties for the purposes of direct marketing.

If it is necessary for us to transfer your personal information outside of the UK this will only be done in accordance with the UK GDPR. 

What we don’t do with your information

We never sell or share your information with other external organisations or individuals to use for their own purposes unless we seek your permission.

Protecting your information

We are committed to ensuring that your personal data is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place appropriate technical, physical and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect from you. 

To achieve this, we use encrypted secure technology to protect all personal information stored by us.  We operate up to date and regularly review policies for Data Protection, Password Policy, Information Security and Business Continuity (including Risk Assessments via the Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) process and individual risk assessments) to support our business processes and to ensure that all personnel are aware of the importance of data security.

Access to information is permitted on a need-to-know basis.  

HCC is certified under the Government-backed Cyber Essentials Plus assurance framework.

Your rights

Under data protection legislation, you have the right to:

• be informed of the personal data HCC holds about you and to access it
• require us to rectify inaccuracies in that data
• (in certain circumstances) object to or restrict processing
• (in certain circumstances) your data to be ‘erased’
• (in certain circumstances) data portability
•  lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) which is our independent regulator for data protection

Please address any such requests in writing to the HCC Data Protection Officer via email to dataprotectionofficer@hybucig.cymru or at the HCC postal address. If you are dissatisfied with our response you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

To learn more about your rights please visit the ICO website.

Changes to this privacy notice

We keep our privacy notice under review. We will post any Privacy Policy changes on this page. This privacy notice was last updated in July 2024.