Privacy Notice

3 Counties Accounts Training Services (3CATS)
Last updated: 29 September 2026

1. About this Privacy Notice

3 Counties Accounts Training Services (“3CATS”, “we”, “us” or “our”) is committed to protecting your personal information and respecting your privacy.

This Privacy Notice explains how we collect, use, store and share personal information when you:

  • enquire about our courses, examinations or services;

  • enrol or study with us;

  • undertake funded learning through us;

  • attend an examination or assessment at our centre;

  • access our online or distance-learning services;

  • attend an event or workshop;

  • communicate with us;

  • use our website;

  • complete a survey or provide feedback; or

  • otherwise interact with 3CATS.

We process personal information in accordance with applicable UK data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 and, where applicable, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR).

For the purposes of data protection law, 3 Counties Accounts Training Services is the data controller where we determine how and why personal information is processed.

For privacy or data protection enquiries, please contact:

Email: admin@3cats.org.uk

2. Personal Information We Collect

The personal information we collect depends upon your relationship with 3CATS and the services you use.

Identity information

This may include:

  • name;

  • title;

  • date of birth;

  • gender, where required;

  • nationality or residency information where relevant to funding eligibility;

  • learner, candidate or membership numbers;

  • photographic identification where required for examinations, enrolment, identity verification or funding purposes.

Contact information

This may include:

  • home or correspondence address;

  • email address;

  • telephone number;

  • emergency contact details.

Learner and education information

This may include:

  • enrolment and application information;

  • previous qualifications;

  • educational history;

  • prior learning and experience;

  • course and learning programme information;

  • attendance;

  • learning activity;

  • progress and achievement;

  • assessments and assignments;

  • examination results;

  • tutor feedback;

  • learning plans and targets;

  • records of communications concerning your learning;

  • funding eligibility and supporting evidence;

  • learner support information.

Examination and assessment information

Where you sit an examination or assessment through 3CATS, we may process:

  • candidate identification information;

  • awarding organisation membership or registration numbers;

  • examination bookings;

  • examination attendance;

  • assessment information;

  • reasonable adjustment or access arrangement information;

  • examination results where available to us;

  • examination incidents or irregularities;

  • communications necessary for the administration of an examination.

Financial and transaction information

This may include:

  • invoices;

  • payments;

  • outstanding balances;

  • refunds;

  • funding information;

  • purchase history;

  • transaction references.

Where card payments are processed through a third-party payment provider, 3CATS does not ordinarily receive or store your full payment card details. Payment providers process those details in accordance with their own security and privacy requirements.

Special category information

In some circumstances, we need to process personal information that receives additional protection under data protection law.

This may include information concerning:

  • disabilities;

  • health or medical conditions;

  • learning difficulties or disabilities;

  • accessibility requirements;

  • reasonable adjustments;

  • other information relevant to learner support, safeguarding or examination arrangements.

We only collect and use this information where it is necessary and where we have both an appropriate lawful basis under UK GDPR and an appropriate condition for processing special category information.

We will only collect information that is reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.

Safeguarding information

Where appropriate, we may process information relating to safeguarding concerns, incidents or disclosures.

Safeguarding information is handled on a need-to-know basis and may be shared with appropriate authorities or organisations where necessary to protect an individual, meet a legal obligation or appropriately respond to a safeguarding concern.

Website and technical information

When you use our website or online services, we may collect information such as:

  • IP address;

  • browser information;

  • device information;

  • website usage information;

  • pages visited;

  • cookie information;

  • information about how you interact with our website.

Please see Section 13 for further information about cookies and similar technologies.

Communications, feedback and marketing information

This may include:

  • emails and correspondence;

  • enquiries;

  • feedback;

  • survey responses;

  • testimonials;

  • reviews;

  • communication preferences;

  • marketing preferences.

We will obtain appropriate permission before publishing a testimonial, photograph or other marketing material that identifies you.

3. How We Collect Personal Information

We may collect personal information directly from you when you:

  • contact us;

  • submit an enquiry;

  • apply for or enrol on a course;

  • complete an enrolment or funding form;

  • provide evidence required for funding;

  • book an examination or assessment;

  • make a payment;

  • submit coursework or assessments;

  • use our learner systems;

  • complete surveys or feedback forms;

  • subscribe to communications;

  • attend courses, examinations, workshops or events;

  • communicate with our staff or tutors.

We may also receive information from other organisations where appropriate, including:

  • Lincolnshire County Council;

  • the Department for Education;

  • awarding organisations and examination bodies;

  • funding authorities;

  • referral organisations;

  • employers or training sponsors;

  • government departments or agencies;

  • other education or training organisations.

Where information is obtained from another source, we will only process it where we have an appropriate lawful basis.

4. Why We Use Your Information and Our Lawful Bases

Data protection law requires us to have a lawful basis for processing personal information.

Depending upon the circumstances, 3CATS may rely upon one or more of the following.

Contract

We process information where necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you.

This may include:

  • processing course applications;

  • delivering training;

  • providing learning materials;

  • managing your learner account;

  • arranging examinations;

  • processing payments;

  • communicating with you about your course, examination or booking.

Legal obligation

We process information where necessary to comply with a legal obligation.

This may include matters relating to:

  • financial and taxation records;

  • data protection;

  • equality and accessibility requirements;

  • safeguarding;

  • regulatory requirements;

  • other legal duties applicable to our activities.

Legitimate interests

We may process information where necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and interests.

These interests may include:

  • operating and improving our education and examination services;

  • responding to enquiries;

  • maintaining appropriate business records;

  • securing our premises, systems and services;

  • preventing and detecting fraud or misuse;

  • obtaining and responding to feedback;

  • improving learner and customer experience;

  • establishing, exercising or defending legal claims.

Where appropriate, we consider the impact of this processing upon your privacy before relying on legitimate interests.

Consent

In some circumstances we rely upon your consent.

This may include certain:

  • marketing communications;

  • uses of photographs;

  • identifiable testimonials;

  • optional information;

  • uses of special category information where explicit consent is the appropriate condition.

Where we rely upon consent, you may withdraw your consent at any time.

Withdrawal of consent does not affect processing that was lawful before consent was withdrawn.

Other lawful bases

In limited circumstances, information may be processed where necessary to protect someone's vital interests, perform a task in the public interest where applicable, or where another lawful basis permitted by data protection legislation applies.

5. Special Category Information

Information concerning health, disability and certain other matters is classed as special category information under UK GDPR.

Where we process special category information, we identify both:

  • an Article 6 lawful basis for processing personal information; and

  • an appropriate Article 9 condition for processing special category information.

Depending upon the circumstances and purpose, this may include explicit consent or another condition permitted by law.

We may process health, disability or learning support information where necessary to:

  • understand and provide reasonable adjustments;

  • provide appropriate learner support;

  • make examination access arrangements;

  • address accessibility requirements;

  • respond appropriately to safeguarding concerns;

  • meet legal or equality requirements;

  • meet awarding organisation requirements;

  • meet funding requirements.

Access to this information is restricted to people who reasonably require it for the relevant purpose.

6. Funded Learning and Regulatory Information Sharing

Where your learning is funded, fully or partly, through Lincolnshire County Council (LCC), 3CATS is required to collect, maintain and share information necessary to administer, evidence and audit that funding.

This may include information relating to:

  • your identity and contact details;

  • eligibility for funded learning;

  • residency and other eligibility evidence;

  • enrolment;

  • learning aims;

  • course start and planned completion dates;

  • attendance and participation;

  • evidence of learning activity;

  • progress;

  • assessment and achievement;

  • course completion;

  • learner support and funding information;

  • evidence required to demonstrate that learning has taken place;

  • other information or documentation required under the applicable funding arrangements.

Providing the information and evidence required for funded provision is a condition of accessing that funding.

Where required information cannot be provided or verified, we may be unable to enrol you onto, or continue to provide, funded learning.

We share required learner and programme information with Lincolnshire County Council in accordance with our contractual and funding requirements.

Learner information and records may also be made available to the Department for Education (DfE), Ofsted, auditors, inspectors, regulators or other appropriately authorised bodies where they are entitled to request or inspect that information for:

  • funding;

  • audit;

  • inspection;

  • quality assurance;

  • regulatory;

  • compliance;

  • legal purposes.

Where an authorised organisation requires access to information, we will provide information that we are legally or contractually required or otherwise lawfully permitted to provide.

LCC, DfE, Ofsted and other public authorities may process personal information as data controllers in their own right and are responsible for their own processing.

Where applicable, learners will also be provided with additional privacy information required by the relevant funding authority.

7. AAT Learners and Examinations

AAT membership and learner information

AAT learners are responsible for their own relationship with AAT, including:

  • registering with AAT;

  • maintaining their AAT membership or registration;

  • managing their personal AAT account;

  • ensuring that the personal information held by AAT is accurate and up to date.

3CATS does not control a learner's personal AAT account and does not manage changes to personal information held within that account on the learner's behalf.

Where necessary to provide training, support a learner or administer an examination, we may process limited AAT-related information provided by the learner or required for the relevant service.

This may include:

  • your name;

  • AAT membership or registration number;

  • qualification information;

  • assessment information;

  • examination booking information;

  • information necessary to identify you as an examination candidate;

  • examination results where made available to us;

  • reasonable adjustment or access arrangement information where applicable.

AAT is responsible for the personal information it collects and processes as a data controller in its own right. Learners should refer to AAT's own privacy information regarding their AAT account, membership and records.

Examination candidates

3CATS also provides examination services to individuals who are not 3CATS learners.

Where 3CATS acts as an examination centre, we process information necessary to book, administer and invigilate examinations in accordance with the requirements of the relevant awarding organisation.

This may include:

  • candidate identification;

  • candidate or membership numbers;

  • examination bookings;

  • attendance records;

  • reasonable adjustments or access arrangements;

  • examination incidents or irregularities;

  • communications necessary to administer the examination.

Where information needs to be exchanged with an awarding organisation for the administration of an examination, reasonable adjustment, incident or other examination-centre requirement, we will only share information reasonably necessary for that purpose.

Other awarding organisations used by 3CATS may also process learner or candidate information as data controllers in their own right.

8. Other Awarding Organisations

Where you undertake a qualification or assessment awarded by an organisation other than AAT, we may be required to collect and share information with the relevant awarding organisation.

This may include organisations such as IAB and Highfield, depending upon the qualification or assessment you undertake.

Information may include:

  • identity and contact information;

  • learner or candidate information;

  • registration information;

  • qualification information;

  • assessment information;

  • examination bookings;

  • examination results;

  • reasonable adjustment information;

  • information concerning assessment or examination incidents.

The relevant awarding organisation may process this information as a separate data controller and will have its own privacy information explaining how it uses and retains personal information.

9. Who We Share Personal Information With

We do not sell personal information.

We only share personal information where there is a legitimate and lawful reason to do so.

Depending upon your relationship with 3CATS and the services you use, information may be shared with:

  • Lincolnshire County Council and other relevant funding authorities;

  • the Department for Education;

  • Ofsted;

  • awarding organisations and examination bodies;

  • auditors, inspectors and quality assurance organisations;

  • government departments and regulatory bodies;

  • HM Revenue & Customs where required;

  • IT, hosting, website and learner-management providers;

  • accounting, invoicing and bookkeeping service providers;

  • banking and payment providers;

  • email and communications providers;

  • professional advisers, accountants, auditors, insurers and legal advisers;

  • postal and delivery providers;

  • safeguarding organisations;

  • emergency services or public authorities where necessary;

  • other organisations where disclosure is required or permitted by law.

Where another organisation processes personal information solely on our behalf as a data processor, we require appropriate contractual and security protections.

Some organisations receiving information from us — including funding bodies, awarding organisations, banks, regulators and public authorities — may act as independent data controllers and are responsible for their own processing.

10. International Transfers

Some technology and service providers used by 3CATS may process, store or provide access to personal information from countries outside the UK.

Where our use of a service results in a restricted international transfer under UK data protection law, we take appropriate steps to ensure that the transfer is lawful.

Depending upon the destination and circumstances, this may include relying upon:

  • UK adequacy regulations; or

  • appropriate safeguards recognised under UK data protection law, together with any additional assessment or protections required.

Further information about safeguards applicable to a particular transfer can be requested by contacting us at admin@3cats.org.uk.

11. How Long We Keep Personal Information

We do not retain personal information for longer than is reasonably necessary.

Different records are retained for different periods depending upon:

  • the purpose for which the information was collected;

  • legal and regulatory requirements;

  • taxation and accounting requirements;

  • funding conditions;

  • awarding organisation requirements;

  • audit requirements;

  • inspection requirements;

  • safeguarding requirements;

  • contractual requirements;

  • the need to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

Funded learner records may need to be retained for periods specified by LCC, the Department for Education or another relevant funding authority.

Awarding organisations may also impose record-keeping requirements relating to qualifications, examinations and assessments.

Financial and contractual records may need to be retained for a number of years after our relationship with you ends.

General enquiries and information that is no longer required may be retained for a much shorter period.

Where information is no longer required, it will be securely deleted, destroyed or anonymised as appropriate.

3CATS maintains retention arrangements for the different categories of records we hold and periodically reviews information to determine whether it remains necessary.

12. How We Protect Your Information

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against:

  • unauthorised access;

  • accidental loss;

  • misuse;

  • alteration;

  • destruction;

  • unauthorised disclosure.

Access to personal information is limited to staff, tutors, contractors and service providers who have a legitimate need to access it.

People handling personal information on behalf of 3CATS are expected to maintain appropriate confidentiality and comply with relevant data protection requirements.

Where we use third-party systems or service providers, we take reasonable steps to ensure appropriate data protection and security arrangements are in place.

If a personal data breach occurs, we will assess it and, where legally required, notify the Information Commissioner's Office and affected individuals.

13. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our website may use cookies and other storage and access technologies.

Some are necessary for the website to operate.

Others may be used, where permitted, for purposes such as:

  • remembering preferences;

  • understanding website usage;

  • measuring website performance;

  • improving our website and services.

Where consent is required by law for a cookie or similar technology, we will obtain that consent before using it.

You can manage applicable preferences through the cookie controls provided on our website.

You can also change your browser settings to restrict or delete cookies, although doing so may affect how some website features operate.

We periodically review the cookies and similar technologies used on our website to ensure our information and controls remain accurate.

14. Marketing Communications

We may contact you with information about our courses, workshops, events or other services where we are permitted to do so under data protection law and PECR.

Where consent is required for electronic marketing, we will obtain it.

Where permitted by law, we may contact existing customers about our own similar products or services where the relevant legal requirements have been met and an appropriate opportunity to opt out has been provided.

You can unsubscribe or object to direct marketing at any time by:

  • using the unsubscribe facility included in the communication; or

  • contacting admin@3cats.org.uk.

We will stop sending the relevant marketing communications after receiving an opt-out request.

We may retain limited information on a suppression list to ensure that we continue to respect your preference and do not inadvertently resume marketing to you.

Communications concerning a course, examination, payment, funding requirement or another service you are receiving are service communications and are not necessarily marketing. We may continue to send these where they are necessary to provide the service or meet our obligations.

15. Your Data Protection Rights

Depending upon the circumstances and the lawful basis upon which your information is processed, you may have the right to:

  • access personal information we hold about you;

  • rectify inaccurate or incomplete information;

  • request erasure of personal information in certain circumstances;

  • request restriction of processing in certain circumstances;

  • object to certain processing;

  • receive or transfer certain information under the right to data portability;

  • withdraw consent where we rely upon consent.

These rights are not absolute and do not all apply in every circumstance.

For example, we may need to retain certain learner, examination, funding, safeguarding, financial or regulatory records despite a request for deletion where we have a legal, contractual, funding, regulatory or other lawful reason for doing so.

Your right to object

Where we process your personal information on the basis of legitimate interests, you may have the right to object to that processing.

You have an absolute right to object to your personal information being used for direct marketing.

To exercise a data protection right, contact:

admin@3cats.org.uk

We may need to request information to confirm your identity before responding to your request.

We do not normally charge a fee for exercising data protection rights. However, data protection law allows us to charge a reasonable fee or refuse a request in certain circumstances, including where a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive.

We will respond within the timescales required by data protection law. This will normally be within one month. Where the law permits additional time because of the complexity or number of requests, we will inform you.

16. Automated Decision-Making

3CATS does not currently make decisions about learners, examination candidates or customers based solely upon automated processing where those decisions produce legal or similarly significant effects.

If this changes, we will update this Privacy Notice and provide the information required by data protection law.

17. Data Protection Complaints

If you have a concern or complaint about how 3CATS has collected, used, shared or otherwise handled your personal information, please contact us:

Email: admin@3cats.org.uk

We take data protection complaints seriously.

We will:

  • acknowledge a data protection complaint within the period required by law;

  • take appropriate steps to investigate it;

  • keep you informed about the progress of the complaint where appropriate;

  • provide you with the outcome of our investigation without undue delay.

You also have the right to raise a concern or make a complaint to the UK's data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

You do not have to contact 3CATS before approaching the ICO, although we welcome the opportunity to investigate and address concerns directly.

Information about your data protection rights and making a complaint is available from the Information Commissioner's Office.

18. Links to Other Websites

Our website may contain links to websites operated by other organisations.

Once you leave our website, 3CATS does not control how those organisations collect or use your personal information.

We encourage you to read the privacy notice of any external website or service you use.

19. Changes to this Privacy Notice

We keep this Privacy Notice under review.

We may update it where:

  • our services or systems change;

  • our data processing activities change;

  • our funding arrangements change;

  • our awarding organisation arrangements change;

  • legal or regulatory requirements change;

  • relevant data protection guidance changes.

The current version will be published on our website and the date at the top of this notice will show when it was last updated.

Where a change significantly affects how we use personal information, we will take reasonable steps to bring the change to the attention of affected individuals where required.

20. Contact Us

For questions about this Privacy Notice, requests relating to your personal information or data protection complaints, please contact:

3 Counties Accounts Training Services (3CATS)
Email: admin@3cats.org.uk