Information - Organisational

Data Protection

Data Protection is very important to all voluntary sector organisations.  The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) applies to anyone holding information about living individuals in electronic format and in some cases on paper.  They must follow the eight data protection principles of good information handing.  These are:

Personal information must be:

  1. Fairly and lawfully processed
  2. Processed for specified purposes
  3. Adequate, relevant and not excessive
  4. Accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date
  5. Not kept for longer than is necessary
  6. Processed in line with the rights of the individual
  7. Kept secure
  8. Not transferred to countries outside the European Economic Area unless there is adequate protection for the information.

An MVA briefing "Data Protection - A Very Brief Introduction" is available to download below:

Another document which may be of interest is "Document Retention - A Quick Guide" - this is intended as a quick guide only of some of the main areas where document retention times are important.

The most important source of information on Data Protection is the Information Commissioner's Office www.ico.gov.uk.  It holds extensive information on the holding of information by organisations and also on the rights of the individual.

Another document "Sources of Information - Data Protection" will be shortly added to this web page.

The document will be in two sections:

  • Publications
  • Organisations, services and websites

Some of the publications are available to view in the MVA Resource room and can be viewed by arrangement.

Note:  all the information on this website applies to organisations based in and/or operating in Scotland.

In addition, the Information Officer holds e-mail lists for a number of subjects, and produces occasional e-briefings, in particular the "Midlothian Info" e-briefing. Further details of the e-mail lists, copies of previous e-briefings, as well as other publications, are available on the Publications section of this website.   If you would like to be added to any of the e-mail lists, please complete the online form from that section.

Disclaimer:  the opinions expressed in any of the publications or websites mentioned are not necessarily the opinion of MVA and we cannot accept any responsibility for viruses or the integrity of downloads.

In addition, whilst we believe that the information on the website was accurate when it was written, it is up to you to check the current accuracy of the information.

If you experience problems downloading any documents, or unable to find the information you are looking for, or if you would like some help, please contact MVA's Information Officer, Margaret Nisbet, who will do her best to help you.