Privacy and Cookies

We are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.

This page explains when and why we collect personal information and how we endeavour to repay the trust you have shown in sharing your personal data with us. It applies to you if you’re a visitor, member, donor, applicant, employee, volunteer, business contact or if you visit our website, email, call or write to us.

Who are ‘we’?

In this policy, whenever you see the words ‘we,’ ‘us’ or ‘our’, it refers to Black Country Living Museum Trust Group (BCLM). The group consists of Black Country Living Museum Trust, a registered charity (no. 504481) and limited company (no. 01226321) and Black Country Living Museum Enterprises Limited, a limited company (no. 3026731).
BCLM is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office under the Data Protection Act 1998, and our Data Protection Register number is: Z7620282.

We are also registered with the Fundraising Regulator and are committed to abiding by the Code of Fundraising Practice and to the Fundraising Promise.

What information do we collect about you?

When you interact with us:

We collect the personal data that you give when you interact with us, for example booking a ticket, joining as a member, making an online purchase, completing visitor surveys or communicating with us. If you do not provide us with the requested personal information we may not be able to properly perform our contract with you, for example we may not be able to issue you an UnChained Annual Pass when purchasing a full-priced ticket.

The information will be retained for contractual and legitimate business interest reasons and comprises:
• Personal details (name, date of birth/age, gender, email, address, telephone number and where necessary family and spouse/partner details and ethnicity)
• Financial information (payment information such as credit or debit card or direct debit details, and whether donations are gift-aided)
• Interaction history (ticket history, attendance history)
• Details of correspondence sent to you, or received from you and your opinions and attitudes about BCLM

When you get involved with us:

We collect details of how you get involved with us, whether that’s by volunteering with us, working for us, through a school, college or university placement scheme, donating to our museum collection or helping with our fundraising and marketing campaigns and activities. This information will be retained for legitimate business interest reasons.
Volunteer and employee applications involve additional information, such as references, qualifications, bank details (where applicable), and equal opportunities information; some of which is optional.

If you make a financial donation, we’ll keep records of how much you give and anything relevant that you may tell us.
If you donate an item to our collection, we keep a record of your details and relevant information against the item donated.

What do we do with your information?

When we ask you to provide personal information we will let you know why we are asking and direct you toward this policy.

If you have interacted with us (e.g., as a visitor or Member):
We will send you essential communications needed to fulfil our contractual obligations (e.g., ticket details, direct debit confirmations).
We will send marketing and/or fundraising communications only if you have explicitly agreed to receive them via your preferred channels.

We may monitor communication effectiveness (e.g., email tracking) in anonymised form. You can opt out of communications at any time.

For donors, we use information to acknowledge gifts and keep appropriate records.
For job applicants and employees, information is used for the recruitment process and employment obligations only.

How do we keep your information up-to-date?

We encourage you to inform us of any changes to your details. We may update information from credible alternative sources (e.g., for Gift Aid purposes). We may also use formal agreements with third parties to undertake data cleansing.

Who might we share your information with?

We do not sell personal data. We share it only with approved data processors acting on our instructions (e.g., mailing agencies, secure hosting, payroll providers) or when legally required (e.g., by a court). Where suppliers operate outside the EEA, we ensure adequate data protection measures are in place.

How do we keep your information secure?

Data is held securely in systems such as CRM and only accessible by those who need it. External companies processing data on our behalf undergo checks and are bound by contract.

How long do we keep your information for?

We only keep data for as long as is necessary for the purpose it was collected. Retention periods vary by data type and legal requirements (e.g., Gift Aid records).

How can you access, correct, or delete your information?

You can request details of personal data we hold (a Subject Access Request) by providing proof of identity. You can also request correction or deletion unless there are legitimate legal reasons to retain it.

Other important information

Children’s data:

Some services aimed at children require collection of relevant information (e.g., emergency contact details). We ask for parental or guardian permission before collecting personal data from those under 16 and do not send them marketing or fundraising communications.

CCTV:

We use CCTV equipment to provide a safer, more secure environment for visitors and staff and to prevent vandalism and theft. It is used for:

• The prevention, investigation and detection of crime.

• The apprehension and prosecution of offenders (including use of images as evidence in criminal proceedings).

• Safeguarding public, members and staff safety.

• Monitoring the security of our premises.

Access to the CCTV recorded footage is limited to designated staff and other authorised personnel (including police) with a legitimate reason to view and/or otherwise use the captured footage, including the provision of evidence in support of prosecution of criminal or illegal behaviour. Authorisation to review any footage will be given to relevant parties on a case by case basis which will be determined at the discretion of the Museum Director or a Deputy Chief Executive in accordance with applicable data protection legislation.

As the recording system records digital images, any CCTV images that are held on the hard drive of a PC or server are deleted and overwritten on a recycling basis and, in any event, are not held for more than 30 days.

However, where a law enforcement agency is investigating a crime or information is required for an insurance claim, images may need to be retained for a longer period. Further details governing the use of CCTV can be found in our CCTV Policy.

We also operate body-worn video surveillance, recording video and audio content. Like our use of CCTV, we operate this based on legitimate interests of crime prevention and public safety, including that of our own colleagues. We appreciate that the selective audio recording of conversations with visitors in this way may be of concern to some, but we collect this additional data, some of which may be classed as special category data, only where deemed necessary for reasons of substantial public interest, namely preventing or detecting unlawful acts and protecting the public (both visitors and colleagues). This data is securely stored and processed in line with other CCTV footage.

Body-worn cameras will always be clearly visible on those wearing them, with those colleagues also clearly displaying a notice on their person to warn that audio and video recording may be in operation. This is in addition to clear signage at entrances to the Museum.

Museum photography & videography:

If you’re a visitor to the Museum we may ask you to participate in Museum photography and/or videography. If you’re happy to do so, we will ask you to sign a model release form permitting us to use the image/film in Museum marketing activity including on the Museum’s website, on its social media channels, in its leaflets and posters. For visitors under 16 years of age, we will ask a parent or guardian to sign the model release form.

When we ask you to provide your personal information on the model release form, we will let you know why we are asking, and how we will use your data, by directing you towards this policy.

If there is photography and/or videography taking place at the Museum in which a visitor might be inadvertently and unidentifiably photographed and/or filmed, we will make the photography and/or videography known at the point of admissions and direct to this notice.

Links to third party websites:

Our privacy policy does not govern external sites linked from our website; you should review their privacy practices separately.

Use of ‘cookies’:

We use cookies to help improve our website, including enabling transactions and understanding site use. Full details are in the separate cookies policy.

Social media:

We use social media to broadcast news and events; this policy covers how we use data collected from those pages but not the platform’s own data practices.

Changes to our privacy notice

We regularly review our privacy notice and update it as needed; changes apply once posted. This notice was last updated in October 2025.

How to contact us

You can contact the Information Governance Officer at Black Country Living Museum Trust, Tipton Road, Dudley, West Midlands DY1 4SQ, or by emailing [email protected].