Privacy Policy

Last updated: February 2026

1. Who We Are

Autistic Parents UK (“we”, “us”, or “our”) is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) registered in England and Wales (Charity No:1198909).
Our registered address is: Office 1, Izabella House, 24-26 Regent Place, Birmingham B1 3NJ.

We are the data controller for the personal information we collect and process through our website and other interactions.

If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your data, please contact:
Email: info@autisticparentsuk.org

Postal address: Office 1, Izabella House, 24-26 Regent Place, Birmingham B1 3NJ.

2. What Information We Collect

We may collect and process the following types of personal data:

Contact information: such as your name, email address, phone number, and postal address.
Referral information: if you complete our peer support referral form, we may ask for details such as your age, gender, location, and information about your circumstances or support needs.
Disability or health information: where relevant to your referral or to ensure we can offer you appropriate support and accessibility, we may collect information about your disability, health, or access requirements.
Communication data: information you send us by email, through contact forms, or other messages.
Technical data: such as IP addresses, browser type, operating system, and details of how you use our website. This may be collected automatically through cookies, log files, and web beacons.

3. How We Use Your Information

We only use your personal data where the law allows us to. This includes:

To respond to enquiries and messages sent via our website or email.
To process and manage peer support referrals.
To provide suitable and accessible support to individuals using our services.
To monitor and report on the impact and outcomes of our charitable work.
To comply with legal or regulatory obligations.
To improve our website and user experience.
To send Newsletters that you have asked us to send you.

4. Peer Support Referral Information

When you submit a peer support referral form, we collect personal information so we can review your referral and provide the appropriate support.

Your referral information is securely stored and shared only with our peer support team if we successfully match you to a Peer Supporter.
A member of the team may contact you using the details you provide or refer you to one of our trained peer supporters.
We store this information in third-party software or cloud services (such as secure CRM or case management systems) that help us deliver our services and track the outcomes of our charitable work.
These third-party providers are carefully selected and comply with UK data protection laws.

5. Email and Website Contact

When you contact us via email,through our website or social media:

A member of our admin team will have access to the information you provide.
These messages are stored on our website and in our email/social media inboxes for six months after your first contact.
If we do not anticipate a further response, we will delete your message sooner.

6. Cookies, Log Files and Web Beacons

Like most websites, we use cookies and similar technologies to help our site function effectively and to understand how visitors use it.

Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. They help us:

Remember your preferences and settings.
Improve how our website performs.
Collect anonymised statistics about how people use our site (for example, via Google Analytics).

You can choose to accept or reject cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can modify your settings to decline them if you prefer. Doing so may limit some parts of our website from working properly.

Log Files

Our servers automatically collect information in log files when you visit the site.
This data may include:

Your IP address
Browser type and version
Referring/exit pages
Date and time of your visit
Pages viewed and time spent on each page

We use this information to monitor website performance, detect issues, and ensure the security of our systems. This data is not used to personally identify you.

Web Beacons

Some pages or emails may contain small electronic images known as web beacons (or “pixel tags”). These allow us to count visits or understand how people interact with our content.
They are used only for analytical purposes and do not store any personal data on your device.

7. Legal Basis for Processing

We process personal data under the following lawful bases (as defined in the UK GDPR):

Consent – where you have given us clear permission to process your information.
Legitimate interests – where processing is necessary for us to deliver and improve our charitable services.
Legal obligation – where we are required to process data by law (e.g. safeguarding or reporting).
Public task – where we carry out activities in the public interest as a registered charity.

Processing Special Category Data

When we collect or process information about your disability or health, we do so under one or more of the following conditions (Article 9 UK GDPR):

Explicit consent – where you have clearly agreed for us to use this information.
Substantial public interest – where processing is necessary for the delivery of charitable or support services.
Provision of health or social care – where data is needed to provide appropriate assistance or support.

We only collect this type of information when it is relevant and necessary to support your referral or engagement with our services.

8. Data Sharing and Transfers

We do not sell or rent your data.
We may share information with:

Our peer support team and trained volunteers.
Trusted third-party service providers (such as cloud storage, email, or analytics services).
Regulators or authorities where required by law.

All third-party processors are required to keep your data secure and to process it only according to our instructions.

9. Data Retention

We only keep your information for as long as necessary:

Referral data (including health/disability info): retained for up to 3 Years after your last engagement with our peer support service. This may be longer if the project has been externally funded.
General enquiries: retained for up to 6 months after first contact unless ongoing correspondence continues.
Statistical and anonymised data: may be kept indefinitely for reporting and impact evaluation.

10. Your Data Rights

You have the following rights under the UK GDPR:

The right to access your data.
The right to correct inaccurate data.
The right to request deletion of your data.
The right to restrict or object to processing.
The right to withdraw consent at any time (where applicable).
The right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):
www.ico.org.uk / 0303 123 1113.

11. How We Keep Your Data Safe

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your information, including encryption, password protection, and access controls.
Only authorised staff and volunteers have access to personal information, and all are trained in data protection.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be available on our website with the date of last update shown at the top.