Privacy Policy

I am the Member of Parliament for Walsall South Constituency. As your MP, it is important that I and my office can keep in touch with constituents about my work, take up casework on their behalf and ask for views on local issues.

As a Labour MP I also have access to other information which I or my office, or volunteers working with me, will use for campaigning purposes or for communicating with Labour Party members. In respect of that information, the Labour Party is the data controller, and you should consult their privacy policy () for details of what information they hold, why, and how they use and process that information.

This page explains how I collect and use personal data, the legal basis for doing so and provides information about your rights in respect of your personal data for which I am the data controller.

My responsible officer for data protection can be contacted at [email protected] or on 0207 219 2237.

Data collection and use
I will only collect and use personal information for the specific purpose for which it has been obtained.

I will undertake casework using personal information provided by or on behalf of a constituent. It may be necessary for me to share your information with third party organisations. I will only do where it is necessary and reasonable to do so, and I will share only the minimum amount of personal information necessary in order to advocate on your behalf. Please see the “who I share your information with” section for further details.

When registering with this website or by completing a form or survey sent to you by my office, you may be asked for personal information. In each case, I will ask for your explicit consent to use your information, and I will only use it for the purposes for which you provide it.

I may communicate by post, email, phone or text message about my work and to give you the latest news on my campaigns and opportunities to get involved. As your Member of Parliament I have a legal entitlement to the full electoral register for my constituency, which includes the full name and address of every registered elector and I may write to you in connection with my activities as an MP.

I will only send emails, texts or contact you by telephone where you have provided explicit consent for me to do so. You may withdraw your consent or unsubscribe at any time from communications in any medium by contacting my officer for data protection or by using the unsubscribe option I provide in all communications.

I will not use personal data for any automated decision making or profiling.

Who I share your information with:

When I take up casework on your behalf, it may be necessary for me to share the details you provide with government departments, local authorities and other public bodies. I will only share as much information as is necessary to take your case forward. If you have any questions or concerns about how information you provide as part of a casework request is used, please contact my officer for data protection for more information.

Other than in the circumstances above, I will not share personal information with other organisations without your explicit consent.

In order to communicate with you about my work as your Member of Parliament or as Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, it may be necessary for me to transfer personal information to countries or jurisdictions outside the EU. In each case, I will take steps to ensure that the suppliers I use comply with the General Data Protection Regulation or are subject to the Privacy Shield scheme agreed between the European Union and the United States.

Retention of personal data
I will only keep your personal information for as long as it is necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this policy. Information relating to casework will only be retained for as long as it is necessary to resolve or otherwise complete your request, and I will retain an amount of information about your case whilst I am a Member of Parliament in the event that you contact me again for help.

If you have consented to receive information about my work, I will only retain your personal information so long as I am your Member of Parliament, or you ask not to be contacted further.

I will regularly review the personal information I hold to ensure that its use is necessary and proportionate.

IP Addresses and Cookies
This site does not automatically capture or store personal information, other than logging the user’s IP Address or the location of your computer or network on the Internet, for systems administration and troubleshooting purposes. I also use IP addresses in the aggregate to track which pages people visit in order to improve the quality of the site.

A cookie is a tiny text file that is stored on your computer. Cookies may be used in order to tailor your experience on this site according to the preferences you have specified. Cookies on this website do not contain personally identifiable information, other than your IP address, which itself is only very rarely enough to identify you as an individual.

Links to other websites:

This website contains links to other websites. I am not responsible for the content or privacy practices of these websites.

Your rights:

You have a number of rights in relation to your personal information and the opportunity to choose how it is used. You can:

• Obtain copies of the personal information I hold about you (known as a “subject access request”)
• Request that I correct or update any personal information held about you
• Ask that we erase or restrict the way in which I use your information
• Request that personal information you have given your consent for me to use is provided in an electronic format so it can be transferred to another data controller (also known as “data portability”)

You may opt out of receiving further communications from me in any medium at any time. All requests to unsubscribe are dealt with promptly, and in all cases within 10 working days.

If you wish to exercise your rights in respect of your personal data or have any concerns about how your data is used, please contact the officer for data protection:

Paul Townsend
Office of Valerie Vaz MP
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA

Email: [email protected] Telephone: 020 7219 2237

Alternatively you have right to raise any issues or concerns directly with the Information Commissioner’s Office.