Privacy Policy

Last updated: 3 September 2026

A New Beginning Cats and Kitten Rescue ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, and your rights over it.

A New Beginning Cats and Kitten Rescue is currently an unincorporated association working towards registration with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. We are the data controller for the personal data described below.

1. What personal data we collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:

If you enquire about adopting or fostering a cat:

Name, address, phone number, email address
Information about your household (other pets, children, housing type, garden/outdoor access)
Home-visit notes and photographs, where applicable
References you provide (e.g. previous vet, landlord)

If you volunteer with us:

Name, contact details, address
Emergency contact details
Relevant experience and, where the role requires it, DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check information
Vehicle and driving licence details, if the role involves transport

If you donate or fundraise for us:

Name, contact details
Payment information (processed securely by our payment provider — we do not store full card details)
Gift Aid declarations, including your taxpayer status, where applicable

If you contact us or sign up for updates:

Name, email address, and the content of your message
Newsletter/marketing preferences

If you browse our website:

IP address, browser type, device information
Cookies and analytics data

2. How we use your data and our legal basis

We will never sell your personal data.

3. Special category data

Where an adoption, fostering, or volunteering process requires us to ask about matters such as health (e.g. accessibility needs for a home visit) or a DBS check reveals safeguarding-relevant information, we treat this as special category data and only collect it with your explicit consent or where the law requires it, and we apply extra security to it.

4. Who we share your data with

We may share data with:

Our trustees and relevant volunteers, on a need-to-know basis
Veterinary practices, where relevant to a cat's care or an adopter's suitability
Payment processors (e.g. [PayPal / Stripe / other]) for donations
DBS, where a volunteer role requires a check
HMRC, for Gift Aid claims
The Charity Commission, once registered, where required by law
IT and website service providers who process data on our behalf under contract

We do not share your data with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

5. How long we keep your data

Adoption/fostering records: retained for the lifetime of the animal's placement plus 7 years, to support ongoing welfare queries
Unsuccessful applications: 12 months
Volunteer records: for the duration of the volunteering relationship plus 6 years (DBS certificate information itself is not retained beyond 6 months of a decision being made, in line with DBS Code of Practice)
Donor records: as required for Gift Aid and financial audit purposes (6 years from the end of the accounting period they relate to, per HMRC requirements)
Marketing consents: until you withdraw consent, reviewed every 2 years

6. Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

Access the personal data we hold about you
Have inaccurate data corrected
Ask us to delete your data, where applicable
Object to or restrict certain processing
Withdraw consent at any time (this won't affect processing already carried out)
Data portability, where relevant
Complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk if you're unhappy with how we've handled your data

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at anb4cats@gmail.com.

7. Cookies

Our website uses cookies. See our separate Cookie Policy, coming soon for full details and how to manage your preferences.

8. Children's data

We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13 without parental consent. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us so we can remove it.

9. Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top shows when it was last revised.