Privacy notice

2. IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND WHO WE ARE

Purpose of this privacy notice

This privacy notice aims to give you information on how the Port of London Authority collects and processes your personal data, including any data you may provide.

It is important that you read this privacy notice together with any other privacy notice or fair processing notice we may provide on specific occasions when we are collecting or processing personal data about you so that you are fully aware of how and why we are using your data. This privacy notice supplements other notices and privacy policies and is not intended to override them. 

This notice explains how the Port of London Authority processes personal data. The PLA has one wholly owned subsidiary company, Estuary Services Limited, which provides pilot boarding and landing and related services to the PLA, Peel Ports and other customers. Where Estuary Services Limited processes personal data as a separate or joint controller, the applicable privacy information will identify the relevant controller and explain its role.

4. THE DATA WE MAY COLLECT ABOUT YOU

Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data where the identity has been removed (anonymous data).

We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about you which we have grouped together as follows:

• Identity Data includes first name, maiden name, last name, username or similar identifier, marital status, title, date of birth and gender.
• Contact Data includes billing address, delivery address, email address and telephone numbers.
• Financial Data includes bank account and payment card details.
• Transaction Data includes details about payments to and from you and other details of products and services related to relevant transactions.
• Technical Data includes internet protocol (IP) address, your login data, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform, and other technology on the devices you use to access this website. 
• Profile Data includes your username and password, your interests, preferences, feedback and survey responses. 
• Usage Data includes information about how you use our website, products and services. 
• Marketing and Communications Data includes your preferences in receiving marketing from us and our third parties and your communication preferences.

We may also collect, use and share Aggregated Data such as statistical or demographic data for any purpose.  Aggregated Data could be derived from your personal data but is not considered personal data in law as this data will not directly or indirectly reveal your identity. For example, we may aggregate your Usage Data to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific website feature. However, if we combine or connect Aggregated Data with your personal data so that it can directly or indirectly identify you, we treat the combined data as personal data which will be used in accordance with this privacy notice.

We process special category personal data only where it is necessary for a specified purpose and where an additional condition under applicable data protection legislation is satisfied. This may include health information required for safety, employment, accessibility, legal claims or incident management purposes, and other sensitive information received in connection with our statutory functions. The categories processed and applicable safeguards depend on the relevant activity. 

We may also process personal data relating to suspected or proven criminal offences, investigations, enforcement action, prosecutions, convictions, penalties and related security measures. Where we process such information for a law-enforcement purpose as a competent authority, Part 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018 applies. Other processing of criminal-offence data is carried out in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

If you fail to provide personal data

Where we need to collect personal data by law, or under the terms of the agreement we have with you, and you fail to provide that data when requested, we may not be able to perform the agreement we have or are trying to enter into with you (for example, to provide you with goods or services or to licence works). In this case, we may have to cancel the agreement you have with us but we will notify you if this is the case at the time.

6. HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL DATA

We share your personal data within the PLA. This may involve transferring your data outside the European Economic Area.   Whenever we transfer your personal data out of the EEA, we ensure a similar degree of protection is afforded to it by ensuring at least one of the following safeguards is implemented:  

We will only transfer your personal data to countries that have been deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for personal data by the European Commission. 

We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data in the following circumstances:

• Where we need to perform the agreement we are about to enter into or have entered into with you.
• Where we need to carry out a task in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in us.
• Where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests.
• Where we need to comply with a legal obligation.

To find out more information about the lawful bases upon which we will rely on to process your personal data, please refer to the Glossary below.

Purposes for which we will use your personal data

We have set out below, in a table format, a description of all the ways we plan to use your personal data, and which of the legal bases we rely on to do so. We have also identified what our legitimate interests are where appropriate.

Note that we may process your personal data for more than one lawful ground depending on the specific purpose for which we are using your data. Please contact us if you need details about the specific legal ground we are relying on to process your personal data where more than one ground has been set out in the table below.

Regulatory, investigation and law-enforcement functions

The PLA is a statutory port and conservancy authority. As part of its statutory functions, it may monitor compliance with legislation, byelaws, general and special directions, harbour directions, licences, consents and other regulatory requirements. It may also investigate suspected contraventions, take enforcement action and commence or conduct criminal proceedings.

When exercising these functions, we may process personal data for purposes including:

• receiving, recording and assessing reports, complaints and allegations;
• identifying persons, vessels, vehicles, premises, works or activities connected with a suspected contravention or offence;
• preventing, investigating and detecting suspected offences;
• gathering, securing, preserving, analysing and disclosing evidence;
• interviewing suspects, witnesses, complainants and other persons;
• obtaining witness statements, expert evidence and legal advice;
• making decisions about warnings, cautions, licence action, civil enforcement or prosecution;
• commencing, conducting, defending or supporting criminal, civil or regulatory proceedings;
• complying with disclosure obligations and court orders;
• executing or facilitating the execution of penalties, orders and other enforcement outcomes;
• recovering enforcement and prosecution costs where permitted by law;
• managing complaints, appeals, reviews and challenges relating to enforcement decisions; and
• sharing intelligence and information with other competent authorities where this is necessary, proportionate and lawful.

Personal data processed for these purposes may include:

• names, addresses, contact details, dates of birth and other identifying information;
• employment, business, vessel ownership, operational or professional information;
• vessel names, registration details, call signs, location and movement information;
• photographs, video and audio recordings;
• CCTV, body-worn video, radio, telephone and other communications;
• incident reports, inspection records, contemporaneous notes and witness statements;
• allegations, suspected offences, previous incidents and relevant enforcement history;
• interview records, admissions, representations and explanations;
• expert, technical and forensic evidence;
• court documents, hearing records, judgments, convictions, sentences, penalties and costs orders; and
• where necessary, special category or other sensitive personal data.

We may obtain this information directly from the individual concerned or from witnesses, complainants, employers, vessel owners and operators, agents, contractors, experts, publicly available sources, surveillance and monitoring systems, government departments, the police, coastguard and other regulators or public authorities.

Where the PLA is processing personal data as a competent authority for a law-enforcement purpose, the processing is governed by Part 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018. Such processing must be necessary for the performance of a task carried out for a law-enforcement purpose by a competent authority and must be based in law.

Where enforcement-related processing does not fall within Part 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018, we will process personal data under the applicable provisions of the UK GDPR and Part 2 of the Data Protection Act 2018. Depending on the circumstances, the applicable basis may include the performance of a task in the public interest or exercise of official authority, compliance with a legal obligation, or the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

Marketing 

We may use your Identity, Contact, Technical, Usage and Profile Data to form a view on what we think you may want or need, or what may be of interest to you. This is how we decide which products, services and offers may be relevant for you (we call this marketing).

You will receive marketing communications from us if you have requested information from us or entered into agreements with us and you have not opted out of receiving that marketing.

Third-party marketing 

We will get your express opt-in consent before we share your personal data with any third party for marketing purposes. 

Opting out

You can ask us to stop sending you marketing messages at any time by contacting us at [email protected]. Where a third party sends marketing in its own capacity, you should use the opt-out method specified in that third party’s communication.

Cookies

You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when websites set or access cookies. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this website may become inaccessible or not function properly. For more information about the cookies we use, please click on the following link  http://www.pla.co.uk/Privacy-and-Cookies-Policy   

Change of purpose 

We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If you wish to get an explanation as to how the processing for the new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please contact us [email protected].  

If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.

Please note that we may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent, in compliance with the above rules, where this is required or permitted by law.

8. INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS

We may transfer personal data outside the United Kingdom where this is necessary for the purposes described in this notice. Where United Kingdom data protection law requires safeguards for an international transfer, we will ensure that an applicable adequacy regulation, appropriate safeguard or statutory exception permits the transfer. Further information about the safeguards applying to a particular transfer is available by contacting us at [email protected].

10. DATA RETENTION

How long will you use my personal data for?

We will only retain your personal data for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or reporting requirements. We may retain your personal data for a longer period in the event of a complaint or if we reasonably believe there is a prospect of litigation in respect to our relationship with you, or directly or indirectly concerning you.

To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or other requirements.

In some circumstances you can ask us to delete your data: see your legal rights below for further information.

In some circumstances we will anonymise your personal data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes, in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.

12. GLOSSARY

LAWFUL BASIS

Legitimate Interest means the interest of our business in conducting and managing our business to enable us to give you the best service/product and the best and most secure experience. We make sure we consider and balance any potential impact on you (both positive and negative) and your rights before we process your personal data for our legitimate interests. We do not use your personal data for activities where our interests are overridden by the impact on you (unless we have your consent or are otherwise required or permitted to by law). You can obtain further information about how we assess our legitimate interests against any potential impact on you in respect of specific activities by contacting us at [email protected]. 

Performance of Agreement means processing your data where it is necessary for the performance of an agreement to which you are a party or to take steps at your request before entering into such an agreement.

Comply with a legal obligation means processing your personal data where it is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation that we are subject to. 

THIRD PARTIES

External Third Parties

Recipients may act as our processors, joint controllers or independent controllers, depending on the circumstances. Where a service provider processes personal data solely on our behalf, it may use that information only in accordance with our documented instructions, subject to any legal obligations applying to it. 

Other recipients may process personal data for their own lawful purposes and under their own responsibilities.

YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS

You have the right to:

Request access to your personal data (commonly known as a "data subject access request"). This enables you to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you and to check that we are lawfully processing it.

Request correction of the personal data that we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate data we hold about you corrected, though we may need to verify the accuracy of the new data you provide to us.

Request erasure of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal data where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your personal data where you have successfully exercised your right to object to processing (see below), where we may have processed your information unlawfully or where we are required to erase your personal data to comply with applicable law. Note, however, that we may not always be able to comply with your request for erasure for specific legal reasons which will be notified to you, if applicable, at the time of your request. 

Object to processing of your personal data where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground as you feel it impacts on your fundamental rights and freedoms. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal data for direct marketing purposes. In some cases, we may demonstrate that we have compelling legitimate grounds to process your information which override your rights and freedoms.

Request restriction of processing of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of your personal data in the following scenarios: 

• If you want us to establish the data's accuracy.
• Where our use of the data is unlawful but you do not want us to erase it.
• Where you need us to hold the data even if we no longer require it as you need it to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
• You have objected to our use of your data but we need to verify whether we have overriding legitimate grounds to use it. 

Request the transfer of your personal data to you or to a third party. We will provide to you, or a third party you have chosen, your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. Note that this right only applies to automated information which you initially provided consent for us to use or where we used the information to perform a contract with you. 

Withdraw consent at any time where we are relying on consent to process your personal data. However, this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw your consent. If you withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide certain products or services to you. We will advise you if this is the case at the time you withdraw your consent.