Vineyard Churches UK and Ireland (VCUKI) is a Charitable Company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales under Company No. 4839046. Charity Registration No. 1099748.

Here at Vineyard Churches UK and Ireland we take your privacy seriously. This notice sets out the basis on which any personal information we collect from you, or that you provide to us, will be processed.

1) What Information Do We Hold?

We collect different types of information depending on your relationship with us.

a) Information you give us

When you fill in forms on our websites, use our App, register for events (like DTI or the Leaders’ Gathering), apply for a college course, or correspond with us, you may provide:

• Identity Data: Name, date of birth, marital status, gender, photograph.
• Contact Data: Postal address, email address, phone numbers.
• Financial Data: Bank details, credit card information (for donations or payments).
• Profile Data: The church you attend, your role, and feedback/survey responses.

b) Special Category (Sensitive) Data

In specific circumstances, we may collect “special category” data. We only do this with your explicit consent or where necessary for our specific charitable activities (such as safeguarding or pastoral support):

• Health Data: Dietary requirements, medical conditions, or allergies (e.g., for event attendees or residential students).
• Religious Beliefs & Lifestyle: Details about your personal faith journey, church affiliation, or specific pastoral needs (e.g., for coaching, college applications, or safeguarding).
• Criminal Record Data: DBS checks for staff, volunteers, and Licensed Senior Pastors.

c) Information we collect automatically

When you visit our site, we may automatically collect technical information (IP address, browser type) and information about your visit (pages viewed, response times).

2) How Will We Use Your Information?

We use your data to:

• Administer our website and internal operations.
• Process applications for the Vineyard Training or Coaching Programmes.
• Manage event bookings (e.g., DTI, Leaders’ Gatherings) and ensure your safety (including dietary/medical needs).
• Process donations and Gift Aid.
• Maintain accurate records of employees, volunteers, and Licensed Senior Pastors.
• Comply with legal obligations regarding Safeguarding and Health & Safety.
• Send you news and updates (where you have consented).

3) Where Do We Store Your Personal Data?

We will only process your personal data where we have a legal basis to do so:

• Consent: For marketing newsletters or when you provide sensitive health/pastoral data for a specific purpose.
• Contract: To fulfil a service, you have requested (e.g., attending a paid event or college course).
• Legal Obligation: Where we are required by law to keep records (e.g., Gift Aid records for HMRC, Safeguarding records, Health & Safety logs).
• Legitimate Interests: To effectively run VCUKI as a church movement, maintain our archives, and support our network of churches.

4) What Is Our Legal Basis For Processing Your Data?

We are committed to holding your personal information securely.

• We may store your information on secure servers, in paper form, or both.
• Paper files containing personal information are kept in locked storage.
• Digital devices are password-protected and encrypted where possible.
• If data is transferred outside the UK, we ensure strict security measures and compliance with UK data protection legislation are in place.

5) How Long Do We Hold Your Data?

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

Below is a summary of our retention periods for key categories of data, based on our internal retention policy:

Category	Type of Record	Retention Period
Finance & Tax	Donations, Gift Aid, Accounts, VAT records	6 years from the end of the financial/tax year.
Events & Conferencing	Booking information (DTI, Gatherings)	6 years (Financial info). Non-financial contact info is often anonymised or deleted after 1–2 years.
Safeguarding	Records of concerns/disclosures (Adults & Children)	Child records – until the individual is age 25 (7 years after school leaving age). Adult records – until the individual has reached retirement age, or 10 years (Whicher is longer). Permanently if required by specific inquiry.
College & Training	Student details, applications, and coursework	1 year after graduation for most details. Specific summary data (e.g., graduation records) may be archived permanently for historical validation.
HR & Volunteers	Employee files, contracts, payroll	6 years after employment ceases. Some pension/medical records may be kept longer (up to 40 years for hazardous substance monitoring).
Coaching	Coaching notes and contact details	3 years (contact info) to 7 years (notes) after the programme completes.
Health & Safety	Accident books and medical records	3 years after the date of entry (Accident books) or 40 years (Health surveillance).
General	Public complaints / Legal records	10 years from the date of the complaint/record.
Archive	Historic records of the movement (e.g., leadership lists)	Duration of the Organisation (Permanent).

For a complete list of retention periods for specific documents, please contact us.

6) Your Rights

Under UK legislation you have the right to:

• Request access to the data we hold about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Request deletion of your personal data (except where we are required to hold it by law, e.g., for tax or safeguarding reasons).
• Withdraw consent at any time where we are relying on consent to process your data.

To exercise any of these rights, please email us at [email protected].

7) Contact

If you have any questions, comments, or requests regarding this privacy policy, please contact us at:

Vineyard Churches UK and Ireland

Unit 8, K3 Business Park

200 Clough Road

Hull, HU5 1SW

Email: [email protected]