Family Mediator Privacy Policy

When you request a page, your browser makes a technical connection to the server delivering it. That connection involves information such as an IP address and the requested resource. Depending on the hosting configuration, technical records may also include timing, browser information, errors or security events. This notice does not claim that a particular logging configuration or retention period has been verified for every environment in which the website may be served.

Technical information can be relevant to delivering pages, investigating errors and protecting a service against misuse. The appropriate basis and retention depend on the actual processing. You can ask which organisation operates the relevant hosting service and what records are retained. Avoid putting personal case information into a page address or a URL query, where it could become part of technical records or browser history.

The page code uses local images and system fonts. It contains no advertising scripts, embedded social feeds, third-party analytics scripts or remote font requests. The menu runs in the browser to show and hide navigation. The page code does not set cookies or write information to local or session storage. These statements concern the supplied page code, rather than an unverified claim about every possible server or browser extension.

A browser may cache pages and images or retain a browsing history according to its settings. Shared-device users should consider who can access that information. Opening a full-size local image requests that image from the same website. Selecting a telephone link invokes your device's calling function; it is not a web form submission or a hidden appointment request.

An enquiry may involve a name, contact preference, a broad description of the issue and practical questions about an appointment. You can begin with general questions and limit the detail you provide. Ask why additional information is needed and how it would be used before sharing sensitive material. The website does not require a full relationship history or financial file to let you read about mediation.

Telephone services may generate records outside the website, including call history on your own device or information handled by a telephone provider. This notice does not claim that calls are or are not recorded. If recording or note-taking matters to your decision to speak, ask about the practice and the relevant privacy information before discussing personal details. Do not infer telephone-system behaviour from the absence of a website form.

Different purposes require an appropriate legal basis. Responding to a request about a possible service may involve steps requested before a contract. Delivering an agreed service may involve contractual necessity. Security and administration may involve legitimate interests where the relevant assessment supports them. A legal obligation may require particular records or disclosure. These are distinctions to explain for the actual processing, not a statement that every basis applies to every piece of information.

Consent is another possible basis in appropriate circumstances, but it should not be described as a universal justification. Where processing relies on consent, withdrawal affects future consent-based use and does not retrospectively make earlier lawful processing unlawful. Ask which basis applies to a particular use and how it affects your choices. The responsible organisation should provide the information relevant to your enquiry or service.

Family matters can involve health, allegations of abuse, financial circumstances and information about children. Some information requires additional legal conditions and care beyond an ordinary processing basis. Share only what is needed for the stage under discussion, and ask how sensitive material can be handled appropriately. An initial telephone enquiry is not a reason to disclose every document you hold.

If you mention another adult or a child, distinguish direct knowledge from assumptions. Your participation does not give unrestricted authority over someone else's information. Children should not be made responsible for supplying adult case details. Where information about them is relevant, consider the purpose and the minimum detail required. A later service may need more specific information about safeguarding, disclosure and records than a general enquiry.

Information may need to be handled by people providing the relevant service and by technical or administrative providers supporting it. The actual recipients depend on the arrangements used. Ask about those categories and the safeguards that apply before sharing material where the distinction matters. This notice does not publish an invented list of suppliers or claim that data is never disclosed outside a particular team.

Privacy and mediation confidentiality are not identical. Legal duties, safeguarding concerns or other defined circumstances may require disclosure. Equally, the fact that someone asks for information does not automatically entitle them to receive it. Ask how confidentiality, assessment information, joint discussion and financial disclosure are treated. Any international transfer should have an appropriate basis and safeguards where required; the location of every external system is not established by the page code.

Accurate information helps prevent misunderstandings. If an enquiry record contains an error, explain what needs correction and identify the relevant interaction as clearly as you can. A disagreement about an opinion may need to be recorded differently from correction of an incorrect date or contact detail. Avoid supplying excessive identity material before the appropriate verification method has been explained.

Records should be kept for a defined purpose and no longer than justified, taking account of relevant legal requirements and the need to handle concerns or claims. The applicable period depends on the type of record and service. Ask for the period or the criteria used to determine it. This notice does not invent a fixed deletion date or promise that every record disappears as soon as an enquiry ends.

Security also depends on practical choices. Use private devices and spaces where possible, and consider how notes or downloaded information are stored. No website can promise absolute security. Ask about an appropriate method before providing documents or highly sensitive information. The telephone number is a route to discuss that question, not a document-transfer facility.

Depending on the circumstances and legal basis, you may have rights to access personal information, correct inaccuracies, request erasure, restrict processing, object or receive certain information in a portable form. These rights have conditions and exceptions. A request for deletion does not necessarily override a legal retention requirement or another lawful reason to keep a particular record.

Call 0330 010 0028 and identify that you want to make a privacy or information-rights request. Ask how it can be recorded and how identity will be checked appropriately. A representative may need to establish authority. Requests should be handled within the applicable legal time limits; some complex requests may allow an extension under the relevant rules. The website does not replace those rules with a promised informal response time.

You can ask for an explanation of how information is used and raise a concern through the displayed telephone route. Explain whether the concern relates to browsing, a call or a later service, because the relevant records may differ. You also have the right to complain to the applicable data-protection supervisory authority. Raising a concern with the service does not remove that independent right.

The website code contains no automated decision-making or profiling feature. That is a statement about these pages, not a claim about every system that could be used in a later service. If the service or technical setup changes, the relevant privacy information should reflect the change. Revisit this notice when you need current information and request an explanation for processing that is not clear from the page.