Last updated: 30/09/26

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The British Inherited Cardiovascular Conditions Society (BICCS) is committed to protecting your personal information and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how BICCS collects, uses, stores and protects personal data when you use our website, become a member, register for or attend our courses, conferences and events, or otherwise interact with us.

 

For the purposes of UK data protection law, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, BICCS is the data controller of the personal information we process.

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Data controller:
British Inherited Cardiovascular Conditions Society (BICCS)
HCP Clifton House
Four Elms Road
Cardiff
CF24 1LE

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Contact: enquiries@biccs.org.uk

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1. Information we collect​

Depending on how you interact with BICCS, we may collect and process the following types of personal information:

• Name and contact details, such as postal address, email address and telephone number.

• Membership information and details provided when joining or renewing membership.

• Professional information, such as your role, organisation and professional interests.

• Information provided when registering for courses, conferences, meetings and other BICCS events.

• Payment and transaction information where you purchase a membership, course, conference place or other service. Payment card details may be processed directly by our payment service providers rather than being retained by BICCS.

• Information provided when you contact us or make an enquiry.

• Information relating to your communication preferences and subscriptions.

• Information provided through surveys, competitions or other activities on our website.

• Technical information about your use of our website, including IP address, browser type, device information and information about how you use our website.

• Information collected through cookies and similar technologies, as described in our cookie information.

We only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. 

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2. How we use your personal information

We may use your personal information to:

• Process and administer BICCS memberships.

• Provide services to members.

• Process registrations for courses, conferences, meetings and other events.

• Communicate with you about your membership, registrations, bookings and other services you have requested.

• Send membership communications, announcements, updates and information relevant to the field of cardiology.

• Send information about BICCS courses, conferences, education and events where you have consented to receive such communications or where another lawful basis permits us to do so.

• Administer surveys, competitions and other activities.

• Process payments and maintain appropriate financial and administrative records.

• Respond to enquiries and provide customer service.

• Maintain and improve our website and services.

• Understand how people use our website and improve its functionality and content.

• Meet our legal, regulatory and professional obligations.

• Prevent, detect and investigate fraud, crime or other unlawful activity where appropriate.

• Protect the security and integrity of our website, systems and information.

• Carry out other activities where we have a lawful basis to do so.

We will not use your personal information for a new purpose that is incompatible with the purpose for which it was originally collected without providing appropriate information and, where required, obtaining your consent.

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3. Lawful bases for processing

Under UK data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for processing personal information. Depending on the circumstances, BICCS may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases.

 

Consent

We may rely on your consent where you have actively agreed that we may use your personal information for a particular purpose.

For example, you may choose to receive marketing and other communications about BICCS courses, conferences, education and events.

Where we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. You can do this by contacting us at enquiries@biccs.org.uk or by using the unsubscribe mechanism provided in relevant communications.

Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before you withdrew your consent.

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Legitimate interests

We may process personal information where this is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and interests.

Our legitimate interests may include:

• Administering and managing BICCS membership.

• Communicating with members about BICCS activities and services.

• Providing and improving our courses, conferences, education and events.

• Maintaining and improving our website and services.

• Managing our organisation and maintaining appropriate business and administrative records.

• Protecting the security of our systems and preventing misuse.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we will consider whether the processing is necessary and proportionate and whether your interests or fundamental rights override those interests.

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Contract

We may process your personal information where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, for example when administering a membership, registration or booking.

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Legal obligation

We may process your personal information where this is necessary for us to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation.

This may include maintaining financial records, complying with legal requirements and responding to lawful requests from regulators or law enforcement agencies.

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4. Marketing and BICCS communications

BICCS may send members communications relating to their membership, including announcements, updates, topical news relevant to cardiology, Society news, guidance, membership benefits, forthcoming BICCS courses and conferences, educational resources and messages from the BICCS President.

Where appropriate, we may also send information about BICCS courses, conferences, education and events where you have opted in to receive these communications.

From time to time, BICCS events or educational activities may include sponsored symposia or other activities supported by pharmaceutical, medical technology or healthcare companies.

Where such communications are sent as marketing communications, we will provide an appropriate mechanism for you to manage your communication preferences or unsubscribe.

You may opt out of marketing communications at any time by contacting enquiries@biccs.org.uk or using the unsubscribe option provided in the communication.

Please note that opting out of marketing communications does not necessarily mean that we will stop sending essential service or administrative communications, such as information relating to your membership, bookings, payments or other services you have requested.

 

5. Who we share your personal information with

BICCS does not sell or rent your personal information.

We may share personal information where this is necessary to provide our services, administer our organisation, comply with legal obligations or otherwise carry out the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

This may include sharing information with:

• Service providers who provide website, hosting, IT, email, membership, registration, payment, accounting or other administrative services on our behalf.

• Event and conference service providers where necessary to administer an event.

• Professional advisers, such as accountants, auditors or legal advisers, where appropriate.

• Regulators, government bodies or law enforcement agencies where we are legally required or permitted to do so.

• Other organisations where you have given us permission to share your information or where another lawful basis permits us to do so.

Where third parties process personal information on our behalf, we will take appropriate steps to ensure that your information is handled securely and in accordance with applicable data protection law.

 

6. International transfers

BICCS is based in the United Kingdom. Some of the organisations we use to provide website, communications, membership, event or other services may process personal information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred outside the UK and UK data protection law requires safeguards to be put in place, BICCS will take appropriate steps to ensure that the transfer is lawful and that appropriate safeguards are used.

These safeguards may include an adequacy regulation or appropriate contractual safeguards, where applicable.

The ICO's current guidance confirms that organisations should identify whether a transfer is a restricted transfer and, where applicable, use an appropriate legal safeguard. 

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7. How long we keep your information

We will retain personal information only for as long as it is reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet legal, accounting, regulatory or reporting requirements.

The length of time we retain information will depend on the type of information and the purpose for which it is being used.

When determining retention periods, we consider factors including:

• Whether the information is still required to provide a service to you.

• Whether we have an ongoing relationship with you.

• Legal, accounting or regulatory requirements.

• Whether we need the information to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

• Whether the information is required for legitimate organisational purposes.

When personal information is no longer required, we will securely delete it or anonymise it where appropriate.​

 

8. Website usage, cookies and log files

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies.

Cookies are small text files stored on your device which can be used for purposes such as remembering preferences, enabling website functionality and understanding how visitors use our website.

Some cookies may be necessary for the website to operate. Other cookies, such as analytics or similar non-essential cookies, may require your consent.

We may also collect technical information such as IP addresses, browser type, operating system and information about how visitors use the website. This information may be used to administer, secure and improve the website and to understand general patterns of website usage.

 

9. Security

BICCS takes appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure.

Where appropriate, information transmitted through our website is protected using encryption and secure connections.

However, no method of transmitting or storing information electronically can be guaranteed to be completely secure. While we take reasonable steps to protect your personal information, you should be aware that transmission of information over the internet is undertaken at your own risk.

 

10. Your rights

Under UK data protection law, you may have a number of rights in relation to your personal information, depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis on which we process it.

These may include the right to:

• Request access to the personal information we hold about you.

• Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.

• Ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.

• Ask us to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.

• Object to processing where we are relying on legitimate interests or another applicable lawful basis.

• Ask for your personal information to be transferred to you or another organisation in certain circumstances.

• Withdraw consent where we rely on consent as our lawful basis for processing.

These rights are not absolute and certain exemptions or conditions may apply.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us at: enquiries@biccs.org.uk

We will normally acknowledge your request promptly and will respond within the time period required by applicable data protection law.

 

11. Keeping your information accurate

We take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information we hold is accurate and up to date.

If your information changes, or you believe information we hold about you is inaccurate or incomplete, please contact us at enquiries@biccs.org.uk so that we can update our records.

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12. Third-party websites

Our website may contain links to websites operated by third parties. This Privacy Policy applies only to information collected and processed by BICCS. We are not responsible for the privacy practices, content or security of third-party websites. We recommend that you review the privacy information provided by any third-party website before providing your personal information to it.

 

13. Complaints

If you have concerns about how BICCS has used your personal information, please contact us first at: enquiries@biccs.org.uk

You also have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent supervisory authority for data protection. Information about making a complaint is available from the ICO website: www.ico.org.uk

 

14. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our activities, services, technology, legal requirements or data protection practices. Any changes will be published on this page, together with the date on which the policy was last updated.

We will provide additional information where required if we introduce a new use of personal information that requires individuals to be informed.

 

15. Contact us

If you have any questions, comments or requests about this Privacy Policy or how BICCS processes personal information, please contact:

British Inherited Cardiovascular Conditions Society (BICCS)
HCP Clifton House
Four Elms Road
Cardiff
CF24 1LE

Email: enquiries@biccs.org.uk