Who manages this website?
This website is managed by Milton Keynes Chamber
of Commerce.
Changes to this policy
This privacy policy will change from time to time
as we develop the range of services on the website.
When this privacy policy changes, 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. You should always check
the privacy policy before using this site, even
if you have visited it in the past. This ensures
that you will be aware of any changes. Changes
to our privacy policy do not affect information
we already hold about you. This statement was
last updated on 26th September 2005.
The Data Protection Act
Under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998,
we have a legal duty to protect any information
we collect from you. We use leading technologies
and encryption software to safeguard your data,
and keep strict security standards to prevent
any unauthorised access to it. It will not be
disclosed to any other government department
or any other organisations unless you give explicit
permission, or there is a legal obligation to
do so.
What information do we collect?
Depending on which site facilities you use, we
collect several different types of information:
- Website usage information - see below.
- Information that you provide for specific
purposes eg email addresses, publication mailing
address, and contact information.
- Transitory information - that you
provide to enable us to give you appropriate
information eg typing your postcode into the "find
contacts" search box.
- Stored information - that you provide
to enable you to logon and reuse site facilities
such as subscription to email alerts and the
regulation checklist.
Website usage information
We collect website usage information to help us:
- assess the effectiveness of marketing
campaigns
- improve the usage of the website
- improve the design of the website
and make it more usable for you
We collect website usage from a number of sources:
- Our web server.
- URLs passed to us when you enter our
site.
- "Tags" placed in web pages
that run a small piece of javascript (sometimes
also a java applet) on your machine and send
information to us or our contract partners (see
below for more on javascript and java applets).
- Some data entered by you on forms
on the website, but none in a form that can be
traced back to an individual. In web usage information,
postcodes are used to measure regional demographics,
but are truncated to exclude the last two characters
so that they are not traceable back to you.
- A selection of Internet service providers.
- A selection of search engine companies.
In all cases, website usage information excludes
any information that can be traced back to you,
so is non-personal in the meaning of the Data Protection
Act.
IP Addressses
We use IP addresses to analyse trends, track users'
movement, and gather broad demographic information
for aggregate use. IP addresses are not linked
to personally identifiable information.
Cookies
Cookies are small files that are often created
when you visit a website, and which are stored
in the cookie directory of your computer. A cookie
often includes an anonymous unique identifier.
Cookies do not damage your computer. Each website
can send its own cookie to your browser if your
browser's preferences allow it, but (to protect
your privacy) your browser only permits a website
to access the cookies it has already sent to
you, not the cookies sent to you by other sites.
You can decide if you want to accept cookies
by changing the settings on your browser to either
accept all cookies, reject all cookies, or notify
you when a cookie is set.
There are two types of cookie. Persistent cookies
remain on your computer for a specified time, like
six or 12 months. We use persistent cookies to
collect website usage information for use as described
above. These cookies contain no personal information
and cannot be used to identify you.
Session-specific cookies are deleted when you
leave the website. We use session cookies for the
following purposes:
- to hold the information given while
using an interactive tool on the website
- to hold your details when you are
logged into the site
- to hold your search criteria while
you are doing a search of the website
- to collect website usage information
for use as described above - website usage information
cookies contain no personal information and cannot
be used to identify you
Javascript
We use javascript, a simple web scripting language,
for interaction with users. We also employ it
to collect anonymous web usage information for
the purposes described above. Javascript can
be used to launch java applets.
Java applets
We may use java applets, which are small programs,
to collect anonymous web usage information for
the purposes described above. You can disable
this technology by turning off java support in
your browser, with no ill effect on your use
of the website.
Information collected from our website via any
of the mechanisms described above is used solely
for the purposes of improving the quality of the
website and reporting general statistical information.
None of the information above can be related to
an individual user of the website.
Personal information
In some cases, we do use personal information about
you, but only information that you provide. There
are two types of personal information that we
use; transitory information (which is used briefly
for a specific purpose) and stored information
(which is kept for future visits).
Transitory information
You will be asked for contact details when you
use any of the following site facilities:
- Email this page - in this case, the
email address you type is not retained by us.
- Feedback - the purpose of this is
to enable you to give us comments or raise issues
about the website. You are asked to give an email
address only if you want a reply. This address
is forwarded with your feedback and is not retained
on the website.
- Book a training course - you will
be asked for a mailing address if you book a
training course. This address is passed to the
training department and is not used by us for
any purpose other than ensuring that your training.
- Contact Milton Keynes Chamber of Commerce
- you will be asked for contact information (eg
a telephone number) if you request a call from
us. This information is passed to the chosen
Milton Keynes Chamber of Commerce representative.
The telephone area code may be used for web usage
(demographic) information.
Linking to other websites
This website contains links to many other government
and non-government websites. None of the personal
information described above is passed to any
of these organisations. Anonymous visit or session
information may be passed to other websites for
the web usage information purposes described
above. None of this information can be related
to an individual user of the website.
This privacy policy applies only to our website.
We are not responsible for the privacy practices
within any other websites. You should always be
aware of this when you leave the Business Link
website and we encourage you to read the privacy
statement on any other website which collects personal
information.
Right to request information
You have a right to request a copy of any personal
data held in order to check its accuracy. If
you wish to do this, please contact Milton Keynes
Chamber of Commerce, explaining that your interest
is to review your personal data. |
