Privacy notice

Last updated: 15 October 2026

Who is responsible for your information?

Benjamin Dreweton is the data controller for personal information processed through the Countryside Stewardship Training Fund (CSTF). For privacy enquiries, contact info@cstf.org.uk.

CSTF is a standalone funding initiative.

What this notice covers

This notice explains what personal information the fund collects through this website, why it is collected, how it is used and stored, and the rights available to you under UK data protection law.

Information we collect

When you submit a funding application, we collect:

• your name, email address and, if you provide it, your telephone number;
• your qualification choice and details, including any different qualification you hold and any optional information about relevant experience or training;
• qualification evidence, which is required if you declare that you hold PDS2 or DSC2;
• your description of your countryside role, your reasons for seeking training and how you expect to use it;
• your declaration, and your separate, optional choice about receiving CSTF funding news.

When an application is received we also record its reference, the route it has been labelled with, whether it needs qualification review, its status, the dates it was submitted and updated, and notes added by the administrator. If funding is awarded, records of the award, confirmation to the provider and payment are created during administration.

When you use the contact form, we collect your name, email address, subject, message and, if you give one, your application reference.

Emails and correspondence

When an application or enquiry is saved, the website sends four operational emails: a receipt to the applicant, an alert about the new application to CSTF, an acknowledgement to the person who sent the enquiry, and an alert about the enquiry to CSTF. These are sent to administer your application or enquiry; they are not marketing and are separate from optional CSTF funding news.

Alerts to CSTF go to the info@cstf.org.uk inbox, which is a Google Workspace mailbox and is actively used. Relevant notifications, replies and other correspondence with CSTF are held in that mailbox. Evidence files are never attached to emails.

The website keeps an email-delivery log so that failed emails can be identified and resent. For each email it records the type of email, the application or enquiry it relates to, the number of attempts, the delivery status, the time it was sent and any error message. The log does not store recipient email addresses or the content of the message. The email-sending service keeps its own separate technical delivery records.

Why we use it, and our lawful basis

CSTF relies on legitimate interests to use your information for the following purposes:

• to assess your application against the published criteria for the funding round;
• to administer the funding round and any award, and to contact you about them;
• to reply to enquiries;
• to keep the website and records secure.

These legitimate interests are running the funding initiative fairly, administering awards, answering questions and protecting the website and its records. You can object to this processing at any time by contacting us.

Optional CSTF funding news is sent only with your consent. It is separate from your application declaration, does not affect any funding decision, and you may withdraw consent at any time.

How decisions are made

Your qualification answer selects which questions you are shown and labels your application for assessment by a person. Funding decisions are not made solely by automated processing.

Sharing your information

Successful applicants receive instructions to enrol directly with their participating training provider. CSTF shares the minimum information necessary to confirm and administer the funding award with that provider. Applicants provide their enrolment details directly to the provider, which handles them under its own privacy notice. CSTF does not share full application answers or qualification evidence with providers as part of this process.

Information is not sold, and is not shared for marketing by other organisations.

Services we use

The website is hosted by Lovable and delivered through Cloudflare’s global network. Applications, enquiries, qualification evidence and administrator sign-in are held in Lovable Cloud, which runs on Supabase; the main database is located in London. Password reset emails for the administrator are sent through the platform’s email service. These providers may process information, including technical logs, to run their services, and some processing may take place outside the UK. Transfer safeguards and backup locations are being verified.

Storage and security

Applications and enquiries are stored in a secured database. Evidence documents are held in private storage that is not publicly accessible, and can be opened only by the authorised administrator.

Retention

The periods below are CSTF’s proposed retention policy. They are not blanket legal requirements, and the review and deletion process that applies them is still being put in place. They apply to records on this website, related correspondence and relevant copies in the info@cstf.org.uk mailbox:

• Unsuccessful or withdrawn applications, evidence and related correspondence: three months after the final decision or withdrawal.
• Successful applicants’ qualification evidence and non-essential application details: three months after verification and final award confirmation, once no longer needed to administer the award.
• Minimum award, verification, payment and fulfilment records: six years after the award is completed or closed. This supports administering awards and handling relevant claims; it does not mean every application answer or evidence file is kept for that period.
• General enquiries and related correspondence: twelve months after resolution.
• Application email-delivery logs: twelve months after the last delivery attempt.
• Optional CSTF funding-news preferences: until you withdraw consent, with periodic reviews of inactive preferences.

Relevant records may be kept longer where a specific legal obligation, or an unresolved complaint, investigation or claim, requires it. In that case the reason is recorded, only the necessary information is kept, and the decision is reviewed regularly.

Deleting a record from the website does not automatically delete copies in the mailbox, technical logs held by service providers, or backups. Mailbox copies are removed separately, and provider logs and backups expire under those providers’ own arrangements.

Your rights

You have the right to ask for a copy of the personal information held about you, to ask for inaccurate information to be corrected, to ask for information to be erased, to ask for processing to be restricted, to object to processing, and in some cases to receive your information in a portable format. Some of these rights apply only in certain circumstances; for example, information may need to be kept to administer an award that has been made or to deal with a legal claim. We will explain if a request cannot be met in full.

To exercise your rights, contact info@cstf.org.uk. You can withdraw consent to CSTF funding news at any time in the same way; this does not affect your application or award.

You may also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint.

Contacting us

Privacy enquiries may be sent to the contact address given above. For general questions about the website, use the contact form.