BLS Stay Compliant

News and Information

Helen Clifton

Introducing our new Board

June 23, 2023
• News

BLS Stay Compliant Ltd has promoted two managers to board positions and appointed an additional non-executive director to support the continuous development of the business.

Katie Fairman – Sales and Marketing Director

BLS is pleased to announce the appointment of Katie Fairman as our new Sales and Marketing Director from 1st June 2023.

Katie will be responsible for the strategic leadership of the sales and marketing team within the business and will contribute to the business’s overall growth strategy to achieve further development of our ability to support clients with their data protection needs within the UK and across Europe.

Katie has extensive experience in the information governance field, with the last 10 years spent in senior management positions. She joined BLS in 2017, her responsibilities included being integral to the formulation of the growth strategy, managing the expansion of the sales team and development of their skills as well as playing a key role in liaising with clients.

Commenting on the new appointment, Managing Director, Gary Baker said, “We are delighted Katie has stepped up to Board level, she has a wealth of sales management experience and brings valuable knowledge to the leadership team. Katie’s customer experience skills and change management knowledge will deliver the very best solutions to our clients, she will ensure our expert bespoke services are created and managed with customer experience at the heart of them”.

Katie added, “I am thrilled to be a continued part of such a successful, progressive company at a very exciting time, I am looking forward to continuing working with the great team here.”

John Davison – Operations Director

We are also pleased to announce the promotion of John Davison into the role of Operations Director.

Having held various senior roles across the Education sector, John brings over 20 years’ experience as an accomplished manager with a strong background in information governance and managing risks.

John steps up from leading our information governance team and brings a wealth of data protection knowledge as well as a range of business and leadership skills, including the successful delivery of strategic information risk improvement projects to central and local Government departments.

As Operations Director, John will be instrumental in helping BLS streamline its operational and business processes to deliver seamless data protection support to our growing customer base. His appointment reflects our ambition to maintain our proven track record of providing excellent customer service whilst also meeting growing demand for our UK GDPR and FOI products and services.

John said of his appointment; “I am delighted to be joining the Board at BLS at such an excellent time of growth for the company. BLS are on a strong trajectory to provide the best information governance solutions and support for our clients and I am ready to take the expert and dedicated information governance team here to that next level of excellence in operational delivery.”

Managing Director Gary Baker commented: “We are delighted to welcome John to the BLS board, his appointment marks a stepped change in improving our capacity to meet the demands of the coming years; allowing us to focus on growth whilst continuing the excellent national reputation we have gained in all we do for our existing clients.”

Martyn Senior – Non-Executive Director

BLS has also announced the appointment of Martyn Senior as Non-Executive Director. His appointment will take effect from 1 June 2023.

Martyn is an experienced leader with an excellent track record spanning sales management and recruitment. He has a wealth of knowledge in business development and client growth and will be a key part of the company’s strategy development.

Managing Director Gary Baker said: “On behalf of the board, I am delighted to welcome Martyn to BLS. Martyn is an accomplished and transformative executive with broad experience in delivering great customer service. He will be a tremendous asset to the Board in supporting us to deliver revenue targets and ensuring high performance for our clients. The Board will also benefit from his strong management capability and experience across numerous sectors.”

Martyn said: “I am delighted to be joining the Board of BLS Stay Compliant Ltd. I believe it is a company with significant potential, through leveraging its portfolio of strong client support and its brand awareness and reputation across the UK. I look forward to working collaboratively with management and the Board to help drive BLS’s 3-year growth strategy, operations, sustainability, and staff value for the benefit of all clients.”

Martyn joins Charles Hartwell as a Non-Executive members of the Board.

Gary Baker – Managing Director

With the additional development of the Board, founder and previous BLS Stay Compliant Director, Gary Baker, moves into the role of Managing Director.

Gary said: “The expansion of BLS’s leadership team reflects our determination to deliver our 3-year growth strategy and our commitment to ensuring client outcomes continue to meet our customary high standards of client satisfaction and support.

Our continued interest from new clients across the public, private and charities sector has underlined the importance of effective leadership oversight to support our ability to grow effectively whilst maintaining our business stability.

Charles Hartwell – Non-Executive Director

Our new Board, with the continued support of Charles Hartwell as our steadfast and exceptional Non-Executive Director, will provide a highly complementary skillset, with extensive regulatory, supervisory and legal experience”.

Find out more about what BLS Stay Compliant can offer below.

Our expertise, on call, whenever you need it.

We are honoured to be trusted advisors for many of our clients who reach out to us with any query, large or small. Can we offer a helping hand?

What can we offer?

Data Security Protection Toolkit (DSPT) audit and assistance

The DSPT is a self-reporting tool that all organisations with access to NHS data must complete. The deadline for the next submission date is the same date as Caldicott Guardians should be in place – 30th June 2023.

At BLS Stay Compliant, we have years of experience in completing the DSPT and can guide your submission, provide a pre-submission audit and check your content follows the required framework.

Find out more about our DSPT guidance

Request a DSPT audit.

GDPR or Data Protection Audits

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has the power to – and regularly does – audit any organisation to test data protection compliance. Our experts can conduct a thorough audit of your legislation compliance and physical security, providing recommendations where necessary.

Find out more about our expert audit options.

Subject Access Request Management

Dealing with subject access requests can be a time-consuming and labour intensive task and is also time sensitive under data protection legislation.

BLS Stay Compliant can guide your organisation in responding to a SAR and can aid in setting up adequate practices should you receive one, including how to recognise a valid SAR.

More information on our subject access request offering.

Incident and Data Breach Management

No organisation is immune to a data breach and the consequences – and subsequent workload – can be extensive. BLS Stay Compliant are well versed in handling data breach incidents and can also help ensure measures are put in place to prevent future breaches.

If your organisation has suffered a data breach it is absolutely vital that you do not delay management.

Find out more about our data breach management service.

Physical Security Audits

A dedicated and intrusive examination of your physical security arrangements to identify and address weaknesses and vulnerability in the environment your data is stored and the effectiveness of your processes and security.

Find out more about our physical security reviews.

Policy writing and reviews

Many organisations are not aware of what policies are required to ensure they are compliant with data protection legislation, or if they are in place, when they were last updated.

Our policy writing and review service offers peace of mind that your policies are not only up to date, but you have a full suite in place for your requirements.

Find out more about policy writing and reviews.

Board Briefings/Senior Staff Training

If a data breach were to occur, it is often board members who are under scrutiny for their wider decisions which may have put data at risk. We can guide you and your staff on risk management and best practice, specific to your organisation.

Find out more about board briefings and senior staff training.

Information Sharing

Data breaches can happen if information is shared inappropriately, whether with the wrong person, at the wrong time, or simply the wrong information. Training and guidance can make this less likely to happen, protecting your organisation from a risk of a data breach and subsequent consequences.

Find out more about information sharing

Marketing and Data Protection

There are lots of myths around what and how much marketing can be carried out under the UK GDPR and other data protection legislation. We can provide you with the latest ICO guidance and training to support your income generation, marketing and fundraising teams.

Find out more about marketing support.

Freedom of Information Requests

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 provides ready access to the public, to most information held by public authorities. Find out how we can support your organisation in correctly identifying and responding to FOI requests and to better understand the legislation surrounding them.

Find out more about FOI request guidance.

Managed Service

Our expertise, on call, whenever you need it.

Our popular managed service offering is a 360 degree approach to your data protection – covering all of the above and more within a package that suits your budget and other resources.

We can act as your data protection officer, or other data protection related roles as required, or can simply act in the guidance position for any level of staff.

Find out more about our managed service.

Training

If your team requires training, our expert team run open courses, bookable via our website, either specifically for those new to the role and the legislation or additional advanced or refresher training for those who require further sessions.

Data protection training is imperative for any role – if staff are appropriately trained, any organisation is well on the way to compliance with data protection legislation. Training needs will vary according to size and type of organisation and BLS can conduct a training needs analysis on your behalf if required.

Our open courses are available to any member of any organisation. Each course runs online several times throughout the year and may be the answer to your data protection gap.

Alternatively, we can hold a bespoke course to fit you and ensure that all members of staff who have connection to the data you use, store and manage are appropriately trained at a time and place convenient to you. This is often useful for groups of organisations who may find it more beneficial to train their teams together.

See the links below to find out more on our training offerings, or to book an open course online.