Privacy statement by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality

What is personal data?

Personal data is information that says something about you or could be linked or traced to you. You share personal data with the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality if you have contact with us or use our organisation's services. Examples of personal data include names, telephone numbers and email addresses, as well as your computer’s IP address and your citizen service number (BSN).  Any data, in other words, that can be linked to you.

The Ministry’s privacy principles

The Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality treats your data with care, and to this end has defined the following principles, which we always follow when processing personal data.

The Ministry processes personal data only…

…if there is a legal basis for doing so. For example, it may be necessary to use your data in order to meet a statutory requirement, to protect your vital interest or to perform a task in the public interest.

We put you at the centre of our policy

In the setup and management of our data processing and registration, the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality carefully weighs the interests of and privacy risks facing individuals. Personal data is retained for no longer than strictly necessary to achieve the purpose for which the data was collected.

Our ministry is transparent

The Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality will inform you promptly about the aims of and grounds for processing data. This information is also published on its websites.

Our ministry safeguards your rights

The Ministry makes sure your personal data is accurate and up to date. Any data we process can be accessed and, if necessary, rectified, unless this is prevented by statutory rules. Amending or erasing personal data, providing it is technically possible and necessary, is just as simple as providing the data.

We exercise caution when providing data to third parties

We exercise the utmost care and caution when it comes to providing personal data to third parties. No data is shared with external parties without first assessing the lawfulness of doing so.

We protect your data

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures when storing and processing data. Before collecting and entering data, the Ministry performs a careful analysis and takes measures to ensure the data is protected.

We clearly uphold our privacy principles

We are completely open about how we uphold these privacy principles. Regulators, politicians and members of the public can always request the Ministry to explain these principles and how we abide by them.

Retention periods

We retain your personal data for no longer than is necessary to fulfil the purpose for which it is processed, and we always act in accordance with the Public Records Act.

Social media/external platforms

When providing services online and via social media, the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality uses external platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn. It is important to note that the Ministry has no influence over how these platforms handle personal data. We recommend that you do not share any sensitive personal data via these platforms. Such data is not necessary for the functioning of the services we provide.

Data processing register

The Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality keeps a register of all the data processing it performs. For each instance of data processing, the register contains a short description of the type of data concerned, why the data was collected, what will be done with the data and who is responsible for processing it. This means you can check whether our use of your data is in line with the rules of the GDPR.

Data protection

When it comes to information security, including the protection of personal data, we observe national and international standards and guidelines. The Ministry complies with:

• information security management standards ISO 27001 and 27002;
• the Civil Service Information Security Baseline 2012 and 2017;
• the Opinions and Recommendations of the drafters  of the GDPR;
• the instructions issued by the Data Protection Authority.

Your rights

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is all about the rights of individuals:

• If you want to know what personal data we process, this is covered by article 15 of the GDPR.
• If you want to have your personal data rectified, this is covered by article 16 of the GDPR.
• If you want to have your personal data erased, this is covered by article 17 of the GDPR.
• If you want us to restrict the processing of your personal data, this is covered by article 18 of the GDPR.
• If you want to object to the processing of your personal data, this is covered by article 21 of the GDPR.

Data protection officer

The Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality has a data protection officer. If you have any questions you can email PbFG@minlnv.nl or send a letter to:

Data Protection Officer
Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality
Executive Office (Bureau Bestuursraad)
Postbus 20401
2500 EK Den Haag
The Netherlands