Policies
Privacy, terms and accessibility
Membership terms
Version 1.0 · Effective 21 October 2026 · Review date 21 October 2027
Joining and eligibility
Membership is for single parents who agree to SPU’s terms and conduct rules. An account alone is not membership. Confirm your email, read and accept the membership terms, and complete payment. Paid access begins only when SPU verifies the payment and records your membership number, start date and paid-through date.
Price and payments
Membership is a monthly recurring membership. Your first month costs £2. After that, £4.99 is taken each month on the same date until you cancel. The introductory £2 month is available once per member. Before you pay you will see the amount payable today, the exact date of your first £4.99 payment and how to cancel, and you must expressly agree to recurring payments. There is no minimum commitment beyond the month you have paid for. Each verified payment extends your membership to the end of that paid month. If a payment fails, access continues only until your paid-through date and the payment provider may retry it. Test purchases do not create live membership.
Benefits and service limits
Membership gives access to member services that have actually opened, member resources and updates, campaign participation, and event or course benefits where specifically offered. Active paid members may request clinic support. Acceptance depends on service scope, capacity, conflicts and assessment. Membership is not unlimited legal advice, court representation, therapy or access to every paid course. Any separate charge for ongoing casework, court support or workplace representation must be explained and agreed before that service is booked.
Cancellation and refunds
You can request cancellation through your account or the public contact form. Cancelling stops future payments; your access continues until the end of the month you have already paid for. A refund may end paid benefits, but existing clinic correspondence remains accessible. Where the Consumer Contracts Regulations apply to a distance service contract, you generally have 14 days from making the contract to cancel. Starting a service during that period requires an express request; only legally permitted, proportionate charges may be retained. These terms do not waive statutory rights.
Suspension, termination and review
SPU may restrict access where necessary to address serious misconduct, safeguarding risks or misuse, following proportionate assessment. Decisions should give reasons, an appropriate opportunity to respond and a review route, except where doing so would create a safety or legal risk. Suspension is not a substitute for investigating a complaint. Existing case access must be preserved and ongoing support assessed by clinic staff rather than abandoned when membership ends.
Privacy notice
Version 1.0 · Effective 21 October 2026 · Review date 21 October 2027
Status and responsibility
This notice explains how Single Parents Union, based in Buckinghamshire, handles personal information for its account, membership and enquiry services. Do not submit unnecessary sensitive information. You may use the public privacy-rights request form without membership.
Information collected
Account services receive your email, authentication information and membership register details: full legal name, optional middle names and preferred name, date of birth, telephone, home address and any separate correspondence address, employment status and related occupation or workplace details, and safe contact preferences. A community display name is kept separate from your membership record. SPU stores membership status, dates, references, recorded payment status and SPU membership card fulfilment status. Age is calculated from date of birth when needed; date of birth is never used as a password or as sufficient proof of identity on its own. Hosted checkout collects payment details directly; SPU does not collect card details in its own form. Enquiry forms collect the information you enter, category, contact instructions, reference, status and time. Clinic records may concern family, employment, health or other sensitive issues. Initial intake must avoid identifying children unnecessarily. Staff actions on enquiry records are logged.
Purposes and lawful bases
Account and membership administration may rely on contract where necessary to deliver agreed services. Handling general enquiries, maintaining security and addressing complaints may rely on carefully assessed legitimate interests. Legal duties may require keeping some financial or safeguarding records. Marketing needs a separate, optional permission where required; joining or asking for help does not subscribe you. SPU must document the appropriate lawful basis for each activity, rather than treating a privacy acknowledgement as blanket consent.
Sensitive and criminal-offence information
A lawful basis under Article 6 is not enough for special-category information. SPU must identify and document an Article 9 condition and any applicable Data Protection Act 2018 requirements before processing it; legal-claims or safeguarding conditions apply only when their criteria are met. Criminal-offence information needs the appropriate statutory authority and safeguards. Initial volunteer applications must not request criminal-record disclosures or identity documents.
Access, providers and disclosures
Lovable Cloud supports accounts and records; built-in payments provides hosted payment collection. Authorised staff access is limited by role and multifactor verification. Home and correspondence addresses are restricted to authorised membership staff; where a member requests a safe alternative address arrangement, only those staff handle it. Postal card fulfilment uses the member’s approved correspondence address, and a mailing or print provider will be named here once one is engaged. Membership records are treated as confidential, and the data-protection basis and additional safeguards for information revealing trade union membership must be assessed and documented where applicable. General administrators and community moderators do not automatically receive clinic or safeguarding access. Information may be shared with a referral provider only with an appropriate basis and necessary safeguards, or with authorities where a lawful safeguarding or legal requirement justifies it.
Retention and your rights
SPU keeps records only for as long as they are needed for their purpose and deletes them securely. Payment or case obligations may prevent immediate deletion of every record. You may request access, correction, erasure, restriction, objection or portability where applicable, and withdraw optional consent without affecting prior lawful processing. Identity verification must be proportionate and requested after submission. Where applicable, requests are normally answered within one month; permitted extensions must be explained. You may complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.
Clinic and legal advice terms
Version 1.0 · Effective 21 October 2026 · Review date 21 October 2027
Eligibility and assessment
The Open Support Clinic provides legal advice, practical guidance and individual support exclusively to active paid members. A request is assessed against expertise, scope, capacity and conflicts. Sending a request or paying for membership does not guarantee acceptance. No emergency service or unconfirmed response time is promised.
Agreed relationship and scope
An adviser-client relationship and the scope of work begin only when SPU confirms acceptance, the responsible adviser, relevant status and agreed work in writing. SPU must disclose limitations, costs, communications and supervision before work is agreed. No solicitor qualification, regulatory authorisation, insurance or registration is asserted by these terms. Supervised students’ and volunteers’ advice must be approved by a legal supervisor before release.
Your responsibilities and deadlines
Give accurate, relevant information, disclose important dates and tell us promptly about changes. You remain responsible for meeting legal or workplace deadlines unless responsibility has expressly been agreed in writing. Do not assume a request pauses a limitation period, hearing or appeal deadline. Use an appropriate urgent professional service where waiting would put your rights at risk.
Confidentiality and contact
Clinic records are separate from community discussions and restricted to authorised clinic staff. We will use agreed safe contact methods. Necessary disclosures may be made where legally required or justified to prevent serious harm. Not all communications automatically attract legal professional privilege; that depends on the adviser, communication and applicable law. Staff notes are separate from applicant-visible correspondence.
McKenzie Friend and workplace support
McKenzie Friend support is offered under England and Wales rules: organising papers, preparation, note-taking, quiet advice and moral support. Court permission and local rules apply; the role does not automatically authorise speaking in court or conducting litigation. Enquiries in Scotland and Northern Ireland need local assessment. Workplace support can include preparation, evidence organisation, correspondence, accompaniment and representation where the representative is entitled or permitted to attend; attendance at every meeting is not guaranteed.
Referrals, ending support and complaints
We may refer a matter outside our scope, decline it or end support with appropriate explanation and next steps. Additional services or charges require prior agreement. Expired or cancelled membership does not erase existing correspondence and documents; ongoing cases are flagged for staff assessment. Use the public complaints procedure to raise concerns without needing active membership.
Website terms
Version 1.0 · Effective 21 October 2026 · Review date 21 October 2027
Using this site
SPU publishes guidance for single parents across the UK. Public articles are general guidance; individual legal advice is available through the assessed members-only clinic. Check the applicable UK nation and official source: law, services and benefits can differ between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Content, links and acceptable use
Material must not be used unlawfully, to harass others, to submit misleading requests or to attempt unauthorised access. Links to other organisations do not imply partnership or endorsement. External providers control their own terms and availability. SPU aims to correct errors but does not promise uninterrupted availability or that every article fits your individual circumstances.
Rights and responsibility
Respect copyright and personal privacy when using or sharing material. Do not publish confidential case information or identifying information about children. Nothing in these terms excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, or removes statutory consumer rights.
Complaints procedure
Version 1.0 · Effective 21 October 2026 · Review date 21 October 2027
What you can complain about
You may complain about SPU membership administration, services, advice processes, staff or volunteer conduct, community decisions, accessibility, bookings or privacy handling. Use the public complaint form; membership and login are not required. For immediate danger call 999; the complaints route is not an emergency response.
Making and acknowledging a complaint
Describe what happened, relevant dates and the resolution you would like. Provide a safe contact method and, where helpful, a membership or case reference. Do not include unnecessary identifying details about children. Secure supporting uploads remain unavailable until scanning is configured. Your form is recorded with a reference and the complaint will be acknowledged.
Responsibility and conflicts
A suitable person must acknowledge the complaint, assess risks and conflicts, and assign an investigator who is not the subject of the complaint. Allegations about a founder, lead or investigator require an appropriate alternative recipient.
Investigation and outcome
Review relevant records, invite an appropriate response, consider evidence fairly and keep the complainant informed using safe contact preferences. Explain findings, any remedy and actions that can be disclosed without breaching others’ privacy. Outcomes may include correction, apology, process changes, training or proportionate disciplinary consideration.
Review and records
A complainant may request a review and explain the disputed findings or new evidence. The reviewer should be independent of the original decision where possible. Records are confidential, restricted and retained under an approved schedule. Record stages are New, Acknowledged, Assigned, Investigating, Outcome issued, Review and Closed. Statutory or external complaint rights remain available.
Safeguarding children and adults at risk
Version 1.0 · Effective 21 October 2026 · Review date 21 October 2027
Scope and emergency action
Everyone working for SPU must take concerns about children and adults at risk seriously in face-to-face, online and member services. Harm can include abuse, neglect, exploitation, coercion or unsafe professional boundaries. If someone is in immediate danger call 999. For non-immediate concerns, local children’s or adult safeguarding services may be the appropriate route. SPU’s form is not continuously monitored and is not an emergency service.
Receiving a disclosure
Listen calmly, avoid leading questions and do not promise absolute secrecy. Explain that necessary information may need to be shared for safety. Record the person’s words accurately and only relevant facts, contact preferences, timing and immediate risks. Do not investigate abuse yourself or confront a suspected perpetrator.
Leads, referrals and national differences
SPU’s safeguarding lead is Leticia Rodrigues. Allegations about the lead or founders are handled through an independent alternative route. Assess immediate risk and seek local specialist advice; referral duties and statutory frameworks differ between UK nations. Do not assume England’s arrangements apply throughout the UK. Decisions, disclosures and reasons must be recorded securely.
Information sharing and records
Share the minimum necessary information with an appropriate lawful basis and sensitive-data condition. Explain disclosures where safe and appropriate. Keep safeguarding records restricted separately from general administration, clinic notes and community moderation; access must be auditable. Retention and deletion require an approved safeguarding schedule.
Safer working and allegations
Maintain professional boundaries, avoid private inappropriate contact, protect children’s identifiers and moderate unsafe online conduct. Recruitment needs role-appropriate references, lawful checks, training and supervision; initial applications must not collect identity documents or criminal disclosures. Allegations against workers or founders require independent handling, protective action and appropriate external referrals. Review policy and training after incidents and at least annually.
Community rules and moderation
Version 1.0 · Effective 21 October 2026 · Review date 21 October 2027
Respect and privacy
Treat other members with dignity. Discrimination, bullying, harassment, threats, exploitation and misleading impersonation are prohibited. Do not publish contact details, children’s identifying information, confidential case documents or information that would identify someone without permission.
Peer support and boundaries
Peer experience is not professional advice or clinical treatment. Do not pressure members to take legal, financial or medical action. Use official resources and the assessed clinic where individual advice is needed. No 24-hour monitoring is promised. Member-to-member private messaging is disabled initially.
Reports and moderation
Use reporting tools when the member community opens. Moderators may review reports, hide or remove unsafe material, lock discussions, issue warnings or restrict access proportionately, with reasons and an appropriate review route. Serious safeguarding concerns use the safeguarding process, not a public thread. Moderators do not automatically access clinic files. The community is not yet open for posting.
Events and course booking terms
Version 1.0 · Effective 21 October 2026 · Review date 21 October 2027
Real listings and eligibility
Only a published, configured event or course may accept a booking or payment. Listings must explain dates, time zone, format, eligibility, capacity, accessibility, price and cancellation conditions. A waiting-list place is not a confirmed booking. Private meeting links belong only to eligible booked attendees.
Cancellation and refunds
Free bookings should be cancelled when no longer needed so places can be released. Paid booking conditions and any statutory cancellation rights must be explained before payment; consumer rights cannot be waived through these terms. Where SPU cancels a paid service, explain refund or alternative arrangements and do not impose an alternative without required agreement. Different legal exceptions can apply to dated leisure activities and digital content; terms must match the actual service.
Courses, recordings and conduct
No tutor, accreditation or launch date is promised without confirmation. State whether recordings are offered, access duration and permitted personal use before enrolment. Recording participants needs appropriate information and a lawful basis; accessibility alternatives should be assessed. Events and courses are not yet configured for bookings.
Equality, diversity and inclusion
Version 1.0 · Effective 21 October 2026 · Review date 21 October 2027
Commitment
SPU aims to treat single mothers and single fathers, families and staff with dignity, including different ethnicities, disabilities, religions, ages, genders, sexual orientations and family circumstances. Challenge discrimination and stereotypes; use respectful, non-judgemental language.
Access and reasonable adjustments
Consider communication, language, disability and caring needs when planning support, recruitment, events and digital services. Discuss reasonable adjustments and alternative formats without asking for unnecessary health information. Equality law and public responsibilities differ in Northern Ireland; seek appropriate nation-specific advice.
Concerns and accountability
Report barriers through the public accessibility form and discriminatory conduct through complaints or safeguarding routes as appropriate. Review outcomes proportionately, protect confidentiality and record improvements. This policy does not claim verified compliance or replace individual legal rights.
Accessibility statement
Version 1.0 · Effective 21 October 2026 · Review date 21 October 2027
Current status
This site uses labelled form controls, keyboard-operable buttons and visible focus styles. These measures are not a claim of WCAG 2.2 AA conformance. A complete accessibility audit, including assistive-technology and payment-frame testing, has not yet been completed.
Known limitations
Third-party sign-in and hosted payment content may have separate accessibility behaviour. Secure document uploads, event bookings and course delivery are not yet available. Public content is reviewed for accessibility on an ongoing basis.
Reporting barriers
Use the public accessibility enquiry form to identify the affected page or service, describe the barrier and request an adjustment or alternative format. You do not need membership to contact us. No unconfirmed response target is promised; unresolved concerns may use the complaints procedure.