Celtic Knot is committed to high standards of confidentiality, equality, satisfaction and security. Our policies are summarised below, with links to the full policies.

A – Celtic Knot Confidentiality: Our Data Protection Statement

In order to provide you with our services, we may need to ask you for information, including “sensitive” information.

Your right to withhold information You do not need to provide us with any information if you do not want to, although we may be limited in the help we can give if you do not.

Any information you give us, or which someone else gives us on your behalf, will only be used as set out below.  A copy of our full confidentiality policy is available here. It sets out certain circumstances, including in relation to money laundering, terrorist activities and disclosures of abuse, in which we may breach confidentiality without your agreement.

• Within Celtic Knot The information will be used in order to provide you with our services. This includes our internal arrangements to provide support and supervision to our staff. 
• To carry out conflict of interests checks Solicitors working for Celtic Knot also work for Birmingham Law Centre. We are required to check that no conflict of interests arises between your interests and that of any other client we may be acting for. You therefore consent to us checking the records of both organisations to prevent such a conflict arising.
• With third parties The information you give us will only be used to contact other organisations on your behalf if you give us permission to do so. You are not giving us permission just by signing this statement. 
• With our suppliers We may use other organisations to supply goods and services for us. For example, we may use external organisations to supply administrative support. We may also use costing services, bookkeepers and accountants. These people need enough information about you, on a confidential basis, to supply the goods and services.
• With auditors of the quality of our work We are potentially subject to audit by regulators. The auditors are monitoring our work and undertake to keep your details confidential. 

B – Celtic Knot Equality: Our Anti-Discrimination Statement

Celtic Knot is committed to equality of opportunity as a provider of services, a purchaser of services and in its dealings with its staff. If you feel that we have been unfair because of your race, gender, sexual practice, disability, religion, age, your health, how you dress, your physical size or your preferred lifestyle, then we need to know.

Equally, Celtic Knot reserves the right to withhold or withdraw services from you if your behaviour towards others prompts a complaint against you under this policy, which is upheld.

Celtic Knot believes that a quality service can only be achieved where organisations are actively committed to being challenged on the shortfalls in their services and to bringing about change. Celtic Knot is proud of the rich diversity that our many communities bring to our daily experiences.

We are committed to complying with our legal duties under relevant legislation in relation to sex, race and disability discrimination, but our commitment goes beyond our duties under this legislation, and is not limited to those groups protected by this legislation. A copy of our full equality statement is available here.

C – Celtic Knot Satisfaction: How to comment or complain 

We welcome feedback about any aspect of our service. We use all feedback, positive or negative, to review our service and where appropriate provide you with redress. If you wish to complain, your complaint does not need to be in writing. However, it does need to be a formal expression of dissatisfaction with our service, so please be clear if you want to make a formal complaint.

The first  stage - informal resolution  You should normally try to resolve your complaint with the person handling your case. You will have been told who that is in writing at the beginning of your case. Whether or not that leads to a satisfactory solution, a record will be maintained of your concerns and our response. You will be informed in writing, enabling you to take the matter further if you wish.

The second  stage - formal investigation If you are still unhappy you should contact the Principal Solicitor/Social Worker, Allan Norman, who has ultimate responsibility within the firm for complaints. He will carry out an investigation, which may involve inviting representations from all concerned including yourself, and will compile and provide a report including conclusions and a proposed way forward. If he is the subject of the complaint, or if you remain dissatisfied, you may proceed to

The external stages - mediation and regulators You may take your complaint further in any of the following ways:

• By approaching the Birmingham Law Society which offers a free service to mediate disputes;
• By seeking an investigation by an independent social worker;
• By a complaint to the independent Legal Complaints Service, or in the case of a regulated social worker, to the General Social Care Council. 

Further information and contact details for the organisations are in our full complaints procedure which is available here.

D – Celtic Knot Security: How we protect your information 

We take the security of the information you provide to us seriously. We have policies in place to prevent unauthorised access to your information, whether you have provided this to us in hard copy or in electronic formats.

In addition to physical security measures for hard copy documents, we use both encryption and password identification mechanisms to protect information. However, not all systems of sending documents are equally secure. Generally, web access is the most secure system and the postal service the least secure. If you have particular security concerns, you are advised to discuss these with us.

A copy of our full IT security policy is available here.