Privacy Policy
This website is run by the Central Office of Information, the government's executive agency for publicity procurement.
This page contains details about how we deal with information from and about the general public users of this website. This includes information obtained from feedback forms and website log files, how it is used, and under what circumstances it will be shared with other parties.
This privacy policy applies only to the Central Office of Information website at www.coi.gov.uk. This policy does not apply to any other site, including:
- Other websites operated by or for COI
- Other government departments and agencies
- Any site that is linked from one of our pages
Recent significant changes to this policy
For version 2 - following the introduction of Google Analytics code onto the site the section 'Information not collected by this website' of this policy was removed and the 'Cookies' section updated.
This policy was last revised on 29 September 2006.
This is version 2 of the Central Office of Information's privacy policy.
Changes to this policy
The conditions contained in this privacy policy may be amended over time. The latest version will always be available at this location, and any major changes will be highlighted in the previous section 'Recent significant changes to this policy'.
Any changes that are made to the privacy policy are not retroactive: therefore, changes made to our privacy policy do not apply to any information about you that we have already collected under a previous version of the policy.
Please check this page regularly to ensure that you have the current information relating to privacy matters.
Information collected by this website
Information that is routinely collected by this website falls into two categories, feedback forms and website log files.
Feedback forms
The website provides a feedback form to allow users to:
- Give general feedback about the site
- Report technical problems with the site
- Make a press/media enquiry
- Request a business contact with COI
- Make a Freedom of Information request
The information collected will be stored and used by the Central Office of Information chiefly for the purpose of fulfilling the stated service.
We will not share any personal information that we receive about individuals with other organisations for commercial purposes, or use it for any marketing purposes not in accordance with the stated purpose of the original form through which the information was supplied, or otherwise as detailed in this Privacy Policy.
However, we reserve the right to use non-personal information for business, research and marketing purposes. In these cases the reuse of the information will not identify or be associated in any way with the individual who provided it and will not contain any contact information relating to that individual or their company.
For example, possible reuses of non-personal information may include (but are not limited to):
- A report made publicly available on the site listing all the Freedom of Information queries made in a given period
- An internal report produced for Central Office of Information staff listing any technical problems that have arisen with the website and steps taken to remedy them
- Marketing literature using quotes drawn from feedback given about the site
In most cases, the information provided on a form is entirely optional. General feedback and technical problems can be sent without having to provide a name or email address. However, contact details may be given if you would like to receive a reply.
Other forms only make sense if certain information is included; for example, a Freedom of Information request is only valid if a contact name and email address are provided. In these cases the required fields are clearly marked by the 
symbol.
Information collected from feedback forms is not stored on the website, but is instead sent to an email address accessible only by authorised Central Office of Information staff. However, these forms are not intended for the transmission of confidential or security-related material and should not be used for such.
Website log files
All websites produce log files that record the activity on that site. Log files record which pages on the site have been accessed and how many times. From this information it is possible to produce statistics such as how busy the website is, which pages are the most popular and whether there are any broken links.
Log files typically record the IP address and/or hostname of all users accessing the website. This allows us to distinguish between different users and therefore estimate the number of unique visitors to the website. IP addresses and hostnames are not linked to any individual's personally identifiable information.
Specific IP addresses and hostnames will not be made publicly available. They will only be used by website log file software to compile overall summary statistical reports on the performance of the website. (For more information about IP addresses and hostnames, see 'Additional information' below.)
Website log files are stored securely on the website using industry best practice methods for safeguarding information and server functions.
Additional information
This section provides background information regarding terminology and legislation referenced in the writing of this privacy policy statement.
Cookies
Depending on your browser's security settings, websites may be allowed to create and store small files called 'cookies' in a specific directory on your computer to help with the functionality of the site. Cookies cannot harm your computer in any way. Only the website that created the cookie can subsequently reuse it.
There are two types of cookies:
- A persistent cookie remains on your computer for a period of time to allow a website to recognise you when you return and present you with the appropriate customised pages
- Session-specific cookies are deleted when you shut down your browser. These are used on sites where you log in; the cookie ensures that you stay logged in throughout that visit
The Central Office of Information uses both types of cookie for Google Analytics. However, the site can still be used if cookies are refused by your browser.
IP addresses and hostnames
An IP address is the numeric address of a computer. The IP address recorded on website log files is the address provided by your internet service provider's equipment and not your own personal computer's address.
Hostnames are similar in appearance to the domain names you see in URLs and email addresses. The hostnames recorded on website log files are those of the internet service provider's equipment that you are using to access the internet, and not your own computer's name or location.
Your internet service provider will keep records of which customer is using any IP address or hostname at any given time, and so it is theoretically possible to trace back activity shown on any website log file to a specific individual. In practice, this can only be done with the explicit involvement of the internet service provider, and such a trace would therefore only take place in the event of serious criminal misuse of the internet and would be carried out by the police.
The Central Office of Information will not attempt to associate IP addresses and hostnames with individuals. In the event of serious criminal misuse of the website, the matter would be referred to the police for investigation.
The Data Protection Act 1998
The Data Protection Act requires us to protect any information we collect from you. We do this by ensuring:
- Information collected from feedback forms is not stored on the website, but is instead sent to an email address accessible only by authorised Central Office of Information staff
- Website log files are stored securely on the website using industry best practice methods for safeguarding information and server functions
The Data Protection Act also gives you the right to request a copy of any personal data held by the Central Office of Information at any time so that you can check its accuracy. If you wish to do this, please write (explaining that your interest is in personal data maintained by the Central Office of Information) to:
The Data Protection Officer
Central Office of Information
Hercules House
Hercules Road
London
SE1 7DU
More information about the Data Protection Act can be found on the Information Commissioner's website at http://www.ico.gov.uk/Home/what_we_cover/data_protection.aspx.
