Privacy and Cookie Policy

1. Our responsibilities

When processing personal data, The Business Network acts as a data controller under UK GDPR and DPA 2018 (as amended by DUAA 2025).

We are registered as a company in England and Wales under number 08299566 and are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) under registration number ZA937434.

We are responsible for ensuring:

• lawful processing,
• transparent communication,
• data accuracy,
• proportionate retention, and
• appropriate data security.

We also maintain proportionate records of our processing activities in line with DUAA 2025’s strengthened accountability requirements.

2. Your responsibilities

We ask that you:

• read this Privacy & Cookie Policy carefully;
• review any membership terms or event-specific privacy information; and
• only provide personal information about others (such as colleagues or guests) where you are authorised to do so.

By providing data about others, you confirm you have informed them where appropriate.

3. Contact details

Data Controller:
The Business Network 

Registered office:
The Business Network 
481 Chester Road
Manchester
M16 9HF

Email (general enquiries): info@business-network.co.uk
Telephone: 0161 823 1384

Data Protection Officer (DPO):
CSRB Limited
Email: dpo@csrb.co.uk

4. The information we collect

Depending on your interactions, we may collect:

• Contact details – name, job title, email, phone number, business name, postal address.
• Membership & event data – membership category, region, attendance, booking details, dietary or accessibility requirements (if provided).
• Business & professional details – organisation size, sector, networking interests, profile information for the members’ directory.
• Financial information – limited information necessary for invoicing and payment processing.
• Marketing preferences – your communication choices.
• Technical / website data – IP address, browser details, device information, pages visited, usage metrics, cookie preferences and analytics data.

You are not legally required to provide most of this information, but we may not be able to provide certain services if you choose not to.

5. Special category data

We do not routinely request or store special category data.

Where you voluntarily provide information such as allergies, accessibility needs or similar, we rely on:

• explicit consent (Article 9(2)(a));
• vital interests in emergencies; or
• health and safety / equalities requirements where appropriate.

We do not use special category data for marketing.

6. Children’s data

Our services are not aimed at children. We do not proactively collect data about individuals under 18. Any such information provided for event attendance is processed minimally and with the authority of the adult making the booking.

7. How we gather information
8. Directly from you

When you:

• join as a member,
• book an event,
• complete forms,
• contact us, or
• subscribe to communications.

2. Indirectly

From:

• professional referrers or introducers,
• other members,
• publicly available sources (e.g., websites, directories), and
• technology (cookies and analytics).

8. How we use your information

We use personal data to:

Provide membership and event services

• process applications and renewals,
• manage bookings,
• communicate event details,
• follow up after events.

Lawful basis: Contract (Article 6(1)(b)). 

Facilitate professional networking

• prepare attendee lists,
• share limited details with other attendees,
• make professional introductions.

Lawful basis: Legitimate Interests (Article 6(1)(f)).

Maintain and improve our operations

• manage accounts, records and internal administration,
• enhance event delivery and website performance.

Lawful basis: Legitimate Interests (Article 6(1)(f)).

Marketing

• send updates about events, services and opportunities.

Lawful basis:

• Consent (Article 6(1)(a)), or
• Legitimate Interests and the PECR soft opt-in for similar services to existing or recent members/attendees.

Legal and regulatory compliance

• meet company, tax, and data protection obligations,
• respond to lawful requests.

Lawful basis: Legal Obligation (Article 6(1)(c)).

9. Lawful bases explained

For clarity:

• Contract – necessary to perform our obligations to you.
• Consent – freely given, specific and withdrawable at any time.
• Legitimate Interests – necessary for our professional networking model, balanced against your rights.
• Legal Obligation – needed for compliance with UK law.

We keep legitimate interest assessments where appropriate.

10. Sharing personal information

We may share data with:

1. Event venues and providers

For attendee lists, dietary requirements, access needs.

2. Other attendees

For introductions and post-event follow-ups.

3. Professional advisers

Accountants, auditors, legal advisers.

4. IT and cloud providers

CRM, email, hosting and event platforms.

We only share what is necessary and never sell your data. 

11. International transfers

If any service provider processes data outside the UK, we ensure appropriate safeguards:

• adequacy decisions,
• UK IDTA,
• UK Addendum to SCCs,
• transfer risk assessments.

12. Links to other websites

External websites have their own privacy notices. We are not responsible for their practices.

13. Social media

If you interact with us on LinkedIn, Facebook/Meta, Instagram or X, your data is also processed by those platforms under their own policies.

14. Cookies

Our website uses:

• Essential cookies – required for core functionality.
• Non-essential cookies – analytics, preferences, marketing (used only with consent).

You can manage your preferences at any time via our cookie management tool.

A detailed list of cookies is available through the “Manage Cookies” function on our site.

15. Data security

We follow proportionate technical and organisational measures including:

• secure systems and access controls,
• encryption where appropriate,
• policies for information security and data protection,
• secure document destruction,
• regular system updates and backups.

We act promptly in the event of any data breach and notify affected parties where required.

16. Your rights

You have the rights to:

• be informed,
• access,
• rectification,
• erasure,
• restrict processing,
• portability,
• object to processing,
• object to direct marketing, and
• rights relating to automated decision-making.

To exercise these, contact our DPO at dpo@csrb.co.uk.

We may need to verify your identity before responding.

If a request is complex, DUAA 2025 permits reasonable extensions to the response timeframe. You will be informed if that applies.

17. Data retention

We retain data only for as long as necessary for the purposes outlined, including:

• membership history,
• event administration,
• accounting and tax requirements,
• regulatory or legal obligations.

Typical retention:

• Membership and account data – 6–7 years after the relationship ends.
• Event data – shorter periods, with special category data (e.g., dietary info) removed as soon as it is no longer needed.

We maintain suppression lists to ensure individuals who opt out of marketing are not inadvertently contacted.

18. Changes to this Privacy and Cookie Policy

Updated: May 2026

We may update this policy periodically. Significant changes will be communicated via email or website notice.

19. Questions and complaints

For questions or to exercise your rights, contact:

Data Protection Officer
CSRB Limited
Email: dpo@csrb.co.uk

If you remain dissatisfied, you can contact the UK regulator:

Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
Wycliffe House, Water Lane
Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113
https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

Our Policy on Video Conferencing Communications

Introduction

Business Network is successful through enabling members to meet face to face. As a legacy of coronavirus and COVID-19, video conferencing may be used to enable ‘virtual’ face to face meetings.

Our members, by definition, are people who value face to face interaction and find it is beneficial to their organisation.

Many established video conferencing tools have significant costs of usage which act as a barrier to some members, consequently it is not practical to limit usage to high-cost and proven technologies.

Risk Assessment

We believe we should help our members to remain in touch during the coronavirus crisis. We should aim to do this in a way that most closely resembles the face to face get meetings they usually benefit from.

We assess the risks to our organisation of not embracing video conferencing at this time are great.

We believe that by embracing video conferencing we can continue to help our members benefit from their membership.

We understand the risks posed by using immature technologies, but we also recognise the risks of setting the barriers to access unreachably high.

We also understand the potential risks of users exposing personal data inadvertently when using new technologies.

Risk Treatment

We will encourage members to use video conferencing technologies that suit their circumstances.

We will not use or cease to use video conferencing tools if they are shown to compromise information security or personal data and privacy requirements. We will make efforts to be aware of information in this area as it becomes available and respond with urgency if required.

We will inform our members of the risks posed by exposing information unintentionally and aim to educate them about good practice where appropriate.

Decision

Given the risks posed and the treatments we have implemented, we believe the benefits of using video conferencing technologies more widely outweigh the risks posed.

Consequently we decide to make use of these technologies more widely, while ensuring our risk treatment programme is put in place.

Business Network are unable to vouch for the adequacy of the security provisions of Video Conferencing providers., nevertheless the personal data exposed is small, participants have the right not to engage if they are concerned. We make them aware of the risks before they join the video conference. We believe the residual risks to personal data are outweighed by the benefits of using the service.

There have been some suggestions that Zoom Inc. may be retaining or using personal data in ways that would not be expected. However, Zoom is approved for use by MOD personnel, though not for secure communications. Zoom Inc. are members of the recently struck down Privacy Shield scheme. We are therefore continuing to keep the matter under continual review until the planned new guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is available.

IMPORTANT – During any Video Conferencing event your name may be available to other participants, and please be aware of the background in any video, including your family.

Refund Policy

Please note that to be eligible for a full refund for your event booking cancellations must be notified 48 hours prior to the lunch i.e. for a lunch on a Wednesday the cancellation would need to be received by us via email by 12.00 noon on the Monday before the lunch. The refund will then be made via Worldpay or by BACs. 

Because Benefits of Membership are made available to new Members immediately on receipt of a completed Membership Application Form, refunds of membership payments will not be offered. Hosts may, in certain circumstances, offer extensions to a membership term if they feel it appropriate, however, this is discretionary, and the extension will not exceed three months.

Terms and Conditions

Any Documents & Materials that are made available to download from this website are the copyrighted work of Partners, Mr. R Bennett and Mrs. H Bennett (T/A The Business Network) or have been licensed to us. Reproduction is prohibited other than in accordance with this copyright notice, which forms part of our terms and conditions. Disclosure or dissemination of this material outside of The Business Network would be in violation of copyright laws and is prohibited. 

Permission to use Documents (such as Manuals, Tool Kits and Forms) from this website is granted, provided that (1) all copyright notices appears in all copies (2) use of such Documents from this website is for the education and instruction of individual Business Network Members and/or Business Network Hosts and will not be copied or posted on any network computer or broadcast in any media, and (3) no modifications of any Documents are made. Use for any other purpose is expressly prohibited by law and may result in severe civil and criminal penalties. Violators will be prosecuted to the maximum extent possible. 

Documents specified above do not include the design or layout of this website or any other Business Network owned, operated, licensed or controlled site. Elements of The Business Network websites are protected by trade dress, trademark, unfair competition, and other laws and may not be copied or imitated in whole or in part. No logo, graphic, sound or image from any Business Network website may be copied or re-transmitted unless expressly permitted in writing by The Partners. 

The content of the pages of this website is for your general information and use only. It is subject to change without notice. Neither we nor any third parties provide any warranty or guarantee as to the accuracy, timeliness,
performance, completeness or suitability of the information and materials found or offered on this website for any particular purpose. You acknowledge that such information and materials may contain inaccuracies or errors and we expressly exclude liability for any such inaccuracies or errors to the fullest extent permitted by law. Your use of any information or materials on this website is entirely at your own risk, for which we shall not be liable. It shall be your own responsibility to ensure that any products, services or information available through this website meet your specific requirements. 

Your use of this website and any dispute arising out of such use of the website is subject to English Law.