Data protection: your Data Lead and the ICO fee

Open Settings, then Data protection under Data. Anyone with settings access can see the page, and only people with settings access can change it. Team Leaders and Members don't see it.

At the top, What the rules ask for lists four things: a Data Lead named, the ICO fee recorded and current, a data protection policy approved, and that policy shared with families. Each one shows In place, To do, Due soon or Overdue.

Under Data Lead, choose Someone on the Group's leadership team and pick the person from the list, or choose Someone outside the Group and enter their name and an email address they can receive mail at. Choose Not named yet if nobody has been asked.

The Data Lead helps the Trustee Board look after personal data. The Trustee Board stays responsible. The Data Lead is not the statutory Data Protection Officer, which is a different role. If you are not sure whether you need one, check with the ICO.

Under ICO data protection fee, choose We pay the fee and are registered, We checked and we are exempt, or Not checked yet. Check your position on the ICO's own pages first. The ICO says organisations that use personal information must pay the fee unless they are exempt, and its exemptions page lists the categories, including not-for-profit purposes.

If you pay the fee, enter the registration number from your ICO certificate and the date the fee is next due. Scout Suite doesn't pay the fee for you, and it doesn't know the amount the ICO charges, so check the current amount on the ICO's page.

The checklist's policy items are about the policy you write in Policies. Start a policy in the Data protection category, write it, and have a trustee approve it. Then choose Members so parents and members can read it in the Membership Portal, or Public so anyone with the link can read it.

Scout Suite doesn't write the policy for you. The policy page links to the Scouts and ICO guidance, and you should check the text against that guidance before a trustee approves it.

The Trustee Board should review data protection each year, and minute that it has done so. The checklist shows when the ICO fee is due, and the policy shows when it is next due for review, so one visit each year is enough.