Privacy and Copyright
The LSC website, with the exception of the registration systems and the discussions facility does not capture or store personal information, but merely logs the user's IP address (the Internet address of your computer) to give us an idea of which part of our website you visit and how long you spend there.
In common with many other commercial websites the LSC website may use a standard technology called a 'cookie' to collect information about how you use the site; this is a small data file that certain websites write to your hard drive when you visit them. A cookie file can contain information such as a user ID that the site uses to track the pages you've visited, but the only personal information a cookie can contain is information you supply yourself. A cookie can't read data off your hard disk or read cookie files created by other sites.
Some parts of the LSC website uses cookies to track user traffic patterns. We do this in order to determine the usefulness of our website information to our users and to see how effective our navigational structure is in helping users reach that information. If you prefer not to receive cookies while browsing our website, you can set your browser to warn you before accepting cookies and refuse the cookie when your browser alerts you to its presence. You can also refuse all cookies by turning them off in your browser. You do not need to have cookies turned on to use/navigate through many parts of our website, except access to certain parts of the LSC web pages may require a login and password.
If you register to receive updates your information will be held on a secure server and the data will not be shared with any organisations outside government. It will be used only to provide you with email updates on the topics you have requested or postal information if you request that service. If you respond online to a consultation exercise your data will only be used to facilitate the analysis of responses and will be deleted subsequently.
This privacy statement only covers the LSC website and subsequent sub-sites of that domain. Other websites linked to or from the LSC website are not covered by this privacy statement.
Data protection
The Learning and Skills Council is registered with the Information Commissioner responsible for the Data Protection and Freedom of Information Acts. Our notification can be viewed on the Information Commissioners website at www.dpr.gov.uk
What information is gathered and how it is used by the LSC
The LSC gathers certain types of information about visitors to this website. It is important, therefore, that visitors know what is gathered and how it is used. The LSC may use information for the following purposes:
- to fulfil your requests for certain services
- to personalise your experience on the LSC website
- to keep you up to date on the latest service announcements or other information the LSC thinks you'd like to hear about either from us or from our partners
- to understand your needs and provide you with better services
- to track usage.
Information sharing and disclosure
Because the LSC is a national non-departmental public body, your personal information may be shared between local offices and the National LSC offices.
By providing personal information you are deemed to consent to your personal information being shared outside the LSC in the following circumstances:
- where the LSC needs to share your information to provide the service you have requested
- where the LSC needs to send the information to companies who work on behalf of LSC to provide a service to you (we will only provide those companies the information they need to deliver the service, and they are prohibited from using that information for any other purpose)
- where the LSC wants to keep you up to date on the latest service announcements, software updates or other information the LSC thinks you would like to hear about either from us or from our business partners
- the LSC will also disclose your personal information if required to do so by law in urgent circumstances, to protect personal safety, the public or our website.
LSC data is stored in controlled servers with limited access. Your information may be stored and processed in the United Kingdom where LSC or its business partners are located.
Mailing lists and forums
Users of the LSC's mailing lists and forums must register separately for these services. These services are free and on the whole will only require registration when posting messages. Details of how to register and remove personal details from LSC mailing lists and forums are located with the mailing lists.
Do not register for either of these services if you do not want other subscribers to LSC mailing lists and/or forums to have access to your email address.
Subscribers should only use these services for authorised purposes, and should under no circumstances divulge the email addresses of other subscribers to unconnected third parties.
Any unauthorised use may result in the offending subscriber's subscription being cancelled and, depending on the severity of the unauthorised action, the commencement of civil proceedings against the offender. If any subscriber is unsure as to whether or not a particular course of action is authorised, he/she should contact the LSC in the first instance.
The views and opinions expressed in any email either to a notice board or to a subscriber's personal e-mail address are the author's own and may not reflect the views and opinions of LSC. In addition, the LSC cannot be held responsible for any acts or omissions of subscribers or for any breaches of data protection legislation by subscribers.
Changes to this privacy policy
The LSC may amend this policy from time to time. If we make any substantial changes in the way we use your personal information we will make that information available by posting a notice on this site.
Children and privacy
Our website does not target and is not intended to attract children under the age of 14. LSC does not knowingly solicit personal information from children under the age of 14 or send them requests for personal information.
Questions or concerns about personal data
If you have any questions or concerns about our collection, use, or disclosure of your personal information, please write to the Learning and Skills Council's Data Protection Officer at Information Systems Division, Cheylesmore House, Quinton Road, Coventry, CV1 2WT.
Copyright
© Copyright The Learning and Skills Council ("the LSC") - you should assume that material presented on the LSC site is owned by the LSC, unless otherwise stated. Visitors are permitted to reproduce this material free of charge in any format or media without specific permission, provided that the material is reproduced accurately and is not used in a derogatory manner or a misleading context.
Where LSC copyright material is published or issued to others, the source and copyright status must be acknowledged. The permission granted by the LSC to reproduce copyright protected material does not extend to any material on this site that is identified as being the copyright of a third party and authorisation to reproduce such material must be obtained from the copyright holders concerned.
If you wish to use the LSC logo within your web pages, please contact the LSC logo keeper at email info@lsc.gov.uk, to request permission. You will also need to provide details of your web address, a return email address, and a brief description of how the logo will be used within your site. You will then be issued with a .gif file together with the style sheet for usage in line with our corporate style. The LSC logo must never be taken as a screen grab from our site, and must never be part-masked in usage.
