Data Protection Policy


The St Austell Festival of Music and Speech is a performing arts organisation run entirely by volunteers and registered with the Charity Commission.  In our festival organisation we handle personal data regularly through paper entry forms, accompanist and volunteer details, information about sponsors and Friends of the Festival.

The Collection of Data

Data will be collected by specified personnel and it will be collected by consent or by other criteria laid down in Article 6 of GPDR. Only such data is collected as is required to process entry to classes in the Festival and for any other administrative functions of the Festival and every effort will be made to ensure that it is accurate. We do not ask for ‘sensitive personal data’ unless there is a legitimate reason for this – for example, where an entrant may need support to participate in a class, or where there is a legal requirement. The data of Festival volunteers and sponsors will be collected by the Chair Person,  the data of Friends of the Festival by the Friends Secretary and all data related to Festival entries will be collected by the Music and Spoken Word Entries Secretaries in liaison with the General Secretary. Access to this data will be restricted to those personnel who administer the festival. It will be stored on password controlled computers; when hard copies are sometimes used to ease administration, they will be kept in a secure place. 

Please note that we use the third-party RunMyFestival system to administer entries.  They hold the data on our behalf so please also refer to the RunMyFestival data protection policy and terms of use

Legal Basis

Personal data will not be collected and processed without your unconditional consent or where there is a legitimate interest.

Access to Your Data and Correction

Everyone has a right to know about what personal data we hold about them and, if they request it, to receive a hard copy of this information at any time. This information can be requested from the General Secretary ([email protected]) without charge. We want to make sure that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and up to date and you may ask to us to correct or remove any information you think is inaccurate. The syllabus or information about Festival events will not be sent to individuals unless they have given their consent. 

Retention of Data

How long the Festival retains data will vary according to the reason for its collection. Data concerning entrants will be kept for three years, but data concerning volunteers, accompanists and Friends of the Festival will be ongoing so long as they are associated with the festival. Financial data, as required by legislation, will be kept for seven years. 

Keeping Data Secure

All reasonable steps will be taken to ensure the security of data held. Data will be held on password protected computers and if any hard copies are made to ease administration, these will be kept in a secure place. Disposal of data will be carried out in a secure manner by shredding or incineration of printed material and by deletion of electronic data.  The festival will not pass collected data to any third party unless required to do so by law, but it should be noted that names (only) of competitors will appear in our Festival programmes and the names of class winners will be posted on the website and in the local press. Anyone not wishing a name to appear in any of these places, should make this clear at the time of entry. Any data breaches will be reported as soon as known, thoroughly investigated and, where necessary, reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office. Any complaints about the collection or use of personal data should be made to the General Secretary in the first instance, or ultimately to the Information Commissioner’s Office. 

General Secretary: Anne Keast, 6 Highfield Avenue, St Austell, Cornwall PL25 4SN Tel: 01726 61444

[email protected]  Website: www.staustellfestival.org