Internet Service Standards

Thanet District Council websites covered by these policies include, but may not be limited to:

• http://www.thanet.gov.uk
• http://www.portoframsgate.co.uk
• http://www.thanetcoast.org.uk
• http://www.thanetyouthmatters.co.uk
• http://www.dippersanddunkers.org.uk
• http://www.thisismargate.co.uk
• http://www.thanetcommunitysafety.org.uk
• http://www.kentinnovation.com
• http://www.margaterenewal.co.uk
• http://www.eastkenthousing.org.uk 

Copyright

The content on these websites, including images, data and design, is provided for information purposes and for personal, non-commercial use only.

The use of and access to the information is regulated by intellectual property rights (copyright). No part of these sites may be copied or adapted without written permission from Thanet District Council.

Disclaimer

All information contained within our websites is, to the best of our knowledge, correct at the time of inclusion. The websites are regularly checked and updated but Thanet District Council cannot accept responsibility or liability for any loss, damage or inconvenience which may arise from the use of the information provided.

Links are provided to external third party sites that Thanet District Council considers may be of additional benefit and interest to site visitors. The Council does not however endorse the information, products or services offered by these sites and the businesses operating them. Similarly, the Council does not carry out ongoing quality control of these sites and cannot accept responsibility for any actions arising from their use or for the content of further links leading from them.

Privacy Notice

How we use your information

Thanet District Council does not require you to submit any personal information to visit this or any other of its websites (as detailed above). We will only ask for information which is relevant or required for the provision of our online service. No information you have given us will be passed on to third parties for commercial purposes. If, to provide a service, we need to share your information with a third party, we will tell you. We will only hold your information for as long as necessary for these purposes and for any retention period that we are legally required to meet.

Use of Cookies by Thanet District Council

A cookie is a small text file placed on your computer, phone or other device by websites that you visit. Cookies are used to store information about you on your computer.  We may use both session cookies (which expire once you close your web browser) and persistent cookies (which stay on your computer until you delete them or they expire naturally) to provide you with a more personal and interactive experience.  We encourage you to accept the cookies our website uses as they help us to improve the user experience for you and many others.

The cookies we use are:

• Thanet District Council - Thanet District Council makes use of session cookies in its Online Form system to facilitate secure processing of each transaction.
• Google Analytics - Thanet District Council uses Google Analytics, a service provided by Google Inc., on its websites. Google Analytics creates a cookie so that we may evaluate your use of our websites and create reports regarding the use and activity on our sites. Please refer to the Google privacy policy at http://www.google.com/intl/en/privacy/privacy-policy.html for more information.
• Bing - Thanet District Council uses Bing, a service provided by Microsoft Corporation, on its websites. Bing creates a cookie so that it may provide you with geographically tailored search results (where appropriate). Please refer to the Bing privacy policy at http://privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/bing.mspx for more information.
• YouTube - Thanet District Council uses YouTube, a service provided by Google Inc., on its websites. YouTube creates a cookie so that content can be delivered to you from a geographically local server and also to provide basic analytic services. Please refer to the Google privacy policy at http://www.google.com/intl/en/privacy/privacy-policy.html for more information.
• Add This - Thanet District Council uses AddThis, a service provided by Clearspring Technologies Inc., on its websites. AddThis creates a cookie so that we may evaluate the use of the AddThis service by users of our websites. Please refer to the AddThis privacy policy at http://www.addthis.com/privacy/privacy-policy for more information.

To delete or reject cookies

We recommend you allow the cookies which are set by this website as they help us provide you with a better service.  Under settings you can delete individual cookies or any cookies that your browser has stored.  You can find more information on how to delete and control cookies at http://www.aboutcookies.org/Default.aspx?page=2

If you set your browser to refuse cookies, please be aware that some parts of the website you are visiting may not work.

To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites, you can download a tool from Google - it is available from http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

Security

All web systems used by Thanet District Council which require the transfer of sensitive personal data such as payment card details have been placed in a secure area. Payment card details are entered directly onto the bank’s website and are not stored by Thanet District Council. This facility is provided by an authorised third party supplier whose site operates full commercially accepted security procedures to protect your transaction.

Any dealings with Thanet District Council will be in compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998 in relation to the processing of personal data.

You should be aware however that there are currently no encryption facilities within Thanet District Council's e-mail server. For confidential issues, Thanet District Council recommends that you correspond with the relevant Officer or Department, by sealed letter, marked if appropriate 'Private and Confidential'.

Use of RSS Feeds

Thanet District Council provides a number of RSS feeds which you may view using RSS reader software. If you run your own website, you can display the latest headlines from other websites on your own site using RSS.

We encourage the use of Thanet District Council News feeds as part of a website, however, we do require that the proper format and attribution is used when Thanet District Council content appears. The attribution text should read "Thanet District Council News" or "thanet.gov.uk/news" as appropriate. You may not use any TDC logo.

Thanet District Council reserves the right to prevent the distribution of TDC News content and the council does not accept any liability for its feeds.

You:

• may use the council RSS Feed in order to display the council content on your website, blog or other product or service.
• must display the council RSS Feeds that you subscribe to in full and accurately on your website, blog or other product or service.
• may not directly or indirectly change, edit, add to or produce summaries of any TDC content or any other content available at thanet.gov.uk or place any TDC content in an HTML frame-set.
• do not have the right to use any TDC content or mark/logo on your website, blog or other product or service or elsewhere except as provided in the TDC RSS Feed itself.

Thanet District Council reserves the right to withdraw this RSS service at any time.

Use of Online Mapping

• Thanet District Council Online Mapping – Terms and Conditions

Further Information

We review these policies on a regular basis in order that we comply with current legislation. These policies were last updated 04 July 2011.

We are currently reviewing our Data Protection Act policies and procedures, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations and the accompanying ICO guidance. We will comment on any proposed actions in the coming months.

If you require any further information on any of our website policies, please e-mail web.editor@thanet.gov.uk

For detailed guidance on how your information may be used by organisations, contact http://www.ico.gov.uk