This statement covers the services provided by the DTI website: www.dti.gov.uk

The Data Controller for this website is the Department of Trade and Industry.

The purpose of this statement is to inform users of the DTI website, which is managed by the Department of Trade and Industry, about what information is collected about them when they visit this site, how this information is used, if it is disclosed and the ways in which we protect users' privacy.

Confidentiality and security

Any information you provide will be held securely and in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. Your personal details will not normally be disclosed to third parties. In some circumstances however we may need to disclose your personal details to a third party so that they can provide a service you have requested, or fulfil a request for information. Any information about you that we pass to a third party will be held securely by that party, in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998, and used only to provide the services or information you have requested.

You have a right to request a copy of your personal details at any time to check the accuracy of the information held. If you wish to do this, please write (explaining that your interest is in www.dti.gov.uk) to the:

Data Protection Officer
Department of Trade and Industry
Open Government and Data Protection Unit
1 Victoria Street,
London SW1H 0ET

Information we collect from visitors

We collect several kinds of information from visitors to dti.gov.uk depending on the part of the site being visited: feedback, e-mail enquiries, e-mail addresses, site usage information and, in a few cases, personal details such as your name and postal details if you order publications from publications@dti.

1. Feedback

If you provide feedback on the DTI website through our on-line form at http://www.dti.gov.uk/feedback/ we will only use this information to develop and improve the site.

2. Comments and questions

If you send an enquiry by e-mail to a specific contact on the DTI website it may not always be possible for the DTI provide the information requested directly. In such circumstances we may pass your enquiry to another government department so that they can fulfil your information request.

3. E-mail alert services sign up

If you sign up to receive e-mail alerts we will use the information you give us to provide the service(s) you have requested. We may occasionally contact e-mail alert subscribers to help us evaluate and improve the service that we offer.

If you have used an on-line form on the DTI website to sign up for an e-mail alert service, you can correct, update or remove any personally identifiable information directly, via our Internet pages.

If you sign up for a subscription e-mail service, we will hold the information you have provided for as long as you require access to the service requested. If you inform us that you wish to cancel a subscription we will remove you from our mailing list and your details will be deleted from our records.

4. Site usage information

i) Cookies
Cookies are pieces of data created when you visit a site, and contain a unique, anonymous number. They are stored in the cookie directory of your hard drive, and do not expire at the end of your session. Cookies do not contain any personal information about you and cannot be used to identify an individual user. If you choose not to accept the cookie, this will not affect your access to the majority of facilities available on our website.

Although your browser may be set up to allow the creation of cookies, you can specify that you be prompted before a site puts a cookie on your hard disk, so that you can decide whether to allow or disallow the cookie. Alternatively, you can set your computer not to accept any cookie. Help with cookies

RedSheriff, an independent measurement and research company gathers non-personal data regarding the visitors to our site on our behalf using cookies and code which is embedded in the site. Both the cookies and the embedded code provide non-personal statistical information about visits to pages on the site, the duration of individual page view, paths taken by visitors through the site, data on visitors' screen settings and other general information. The DTI uses this type of information, as with that obtained from any other cookies used on the site, to help it improve the service to its users.  To disable the embedded code, you will need to send requests directly to privacy@redsheriff.com. Further information regarding RedSheriff's privacy statement can be found at http://www.redsheriff.com/6.0.0.htm.

ii) Log files
Log files allow us to record visitors' use of the site. DTI puts together log file information from all our visitors, which we use to make improvements to the layout of the site and to the information in it, based on the way that visitors move around it. Log files do not contain any personal information about you.

Linking to another site from the DTI website

Our website contains links to other sites, mainly those of other government departments, but also to those of other third parties. The DTI is not responsible for the privacy practices within any of these other sites. You should be aware of this when you leave the dti.gov.uk site and we encourage you to read the privacy statements on other websites you visit.

Changes to this privacy policy

If this privacy policy changes in any way, we will place an updated version on this page. Regularly reviewing this page ensures that you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we will share it with other parties.

February 2003