Privacy Policy

01 Who we are

Beacon Writing Solutions ("Beacon," "we," "us," "our") is a UK-based tender writing consultancy specialising in health and social care procurement. We help care providers prepare tender submissions for NHS and local authority contracts.

For the purposes of data protection law, the data controller is:

Beacon Writing Solutions Limited
Company number 17096205
Registered office: 124 City Road, London, United Kingdom, EC1V 2NX

We are the data controller for the personal information described in this policy, meaning we decide how and why it is processed.

02 Information we collect

We collect information directly from you when you interact with our site, and a small amount automatically as part of running it securely.

Information you give us

• Enquiry and contact forms: name, email address, phone number, organisation name, and the content of your message.
• Booking a call: name, email address, and any details you provide when scheduling via our booking system.
• WhatsApp channel sign-up: your phone number and any name or message you provide when you join or message our WhatsApp channel.
• Tender opportunities portal: your email address if you sign up to receive tender alerts, and eligibility answers you submit to check access to specific opportunities (see Section 5).
• Correspondence: anything you send us by email or phone, which we may keep a record of to respond to you and for our own record-keeping.

Information collected automatically

• Basic technical information (such as IP address, browser type, and pages visited) collected by our hosting and security provider to keep the site running safely and to detect abuse.
• Functional cookies used for site performance and caching (see Section 8 for the full list).
• If you arrive via one of our ads and consent to it, advertising measurement data via the Meta Pixel (see Section 8 for full detail).

We do not knowingly collect: special category data (such as health data about you personally, as opposed to the care sector context we write about), payment card details, or government ID numbers through this website.

03 Our lawful basis for using it

Under UK GDPR, we must have a valid legal reason for every use of your personal information. We rely on the following:

Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time without affecting anything we did before you withdrew it. Where we rely on legitimate interests, we've considered that our interest doesn't override your rights and freedoms. You can ask us about this assessment or object at any time (see Section 10).

04 How we use your information

• To respond to enquiries and provide quotes for tender writing, review, or framework support services.
• To schedule and deliver booked strategy calls.
• To send tender opportunity alerts to subscribers, where you've asked to receive them.
• To communicate with you via WhatsApp if you've joined our channel.
• To maintain the security, performance, and proper functioning of our website.
• To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations, including accounting and tax requirements.

We do not use your information for automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you, and we do not sell or rent your personal information to third parties.

05 The tender opportunities portal

Our tender opportunities portal lets you check eligibility for, and access details of, live NHS and local authority tender opportunities. A few points specific to the portal:

• Eligibility checks and document access are handled entirely on our server. Access credentials and document links are never exposed in the page source or stored in your browser.
• If you subscribe to alerts, we hold your email address for the sole purpose of sending you new opportunity notifications. Alerts are sent manually by our team rather than automatically, so there may be a short delay between a new opportunity being added and an alert being sent.
• You can unsubscribe from alerts at any time using the link in any alert email, or by contacting us directly.

06 Who we share information with

We use a small number of trusted service providers ("processors") to run parts of our website. They only process your information on our instructions and are contractually required to keep it secure. We do not permit them to use your data for their own purposes.

We will also share information where required by law, for example with regulators, law enforcement, or in connection with a legal claim.

07 International data transfers

Some of the providers listed in Section 6 (such as Google and Formspree) may process data on servers located outside the UK, including in the United States. Where this happens, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as the provider's participation in the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, or UK-approved Standard Contractual Clauses (International Data Transfer Addendum). You can ask us for more detail on the safeguards used for any specific provider by contacting us (Section 14).

08 Cookies

Our website uses cookies to run properly and, on some pages, to measure the performance of our advertising:

• Strictly necessary / functional cookies: used by our security and caching provider (HackGuardian) and by WordPress itself (for example, to remember settings during a single visit). These don't require your consent, as the site can't function properly without them.
• Advertising / measurement cookies: we run paid advertising campaigns and use the Meta Pixel (Facebook/Instagram) to measure how visitors interact with the site after clicking one of our ads, and to measure the effectiveness of that advertising. This sets cookies (such as `_fbp`) and shares information about your visit, including pages viewed and actions taken, with Meta Platforms Ireland Limited. Meta's own use of this data is described in Meta's Privacy Policy.

Because the Meta Pixel is not strictly necessary for the site to function, UK cookie law (PECR) requires us to ask for your consent before it loads. This means the site needs a cookie consent banner offering a genuine accept/reject choice before the Meta Pixel fires. If one isn't in place yet, this is a compliance gap to close alongside publishing this policy, not just a wording issue.

You can control cookies through your browser settings at any time, and where we ask for consent, you can withdraw it at any point without affecting the underlying service.

09 How long we keep information

We review the personal information we hold periodically and delete it when it's no longer needed for the purpose it was collected for.

10 Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access: ask us for a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Rectification: ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Erasure: ask us to delete your information, where there's no good reason for us to keep it.
• Restriction: ask us to limit how we use your information in certain circumstances.
• Portability: ask us to transfer your information to you or another organisation, in certain circumstances.
• Object: object to us processing your information where we rely on legitimate interests.
• Withdraw consent: where we rely on consent (such as WhatsApp or tender alerts), withdraw it at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in Section 14. We'll respond within one month, and we won't charge a fee unless your request is clearly unfounded or excessive.

11 How we protect your information

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect the personal information we hold, including:

• Keeping sensitive tender portal data, such as eligibility credentials and document links, entirely server-side, so it's never exposed in page source or browser storage.
• Using authenticated, non-cached channels for all portal data operations.
• Restricting access to personal information to those who need it to do their jobs.
• Using reputable, security-conscious third-party providers as set out in Section 6.

No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure, so while we work hard to protect your information, we can't guarantee its absolute security.

12 Children's privacy

Our services are aimed at organisations and professionals in the health and social care sector. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children, and our website is not directed at anyone under the age of 18.

13 Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time, for example if we start using a new tool or change how we handle a particular type of information. We'll update the "last updated" date at the top of this page whenever we do, and for significant changes we'll take reasonable steps to make sure you're aware.

14 Contact us & complaints

If you have any questions about this policy, or want to exercise any of your rights, please get in touch:

If you're unhappy with how we've handled your personal information, you have the right to complain to the UK's data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):

• Website: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint
• Helpline: 0303 123 1113

We'd appreciate the chance to address your concerns before you approach the ICO, so please contact us first if you're able to.