Website Privacy Policy
This website is owned and operated by Orkney Islands Council. We aim to provide secure and safe interaction for users of the website and are committed to protecting the privacy of any personal information you may submit.
Orkney Islands Council is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office for Data Protection purposes, adheres to the guidance provided by the Information Commissioner (link available from the 'Related Sites' section of this page), and complies with the Data Protection Law.
This policy explains how any personal data collected by this website will be used by Orkney Islands Council.
What information will our website gather
IP Addresses
Orkney Islands Council uses your IP address to gather broad demographic information about visitors and to monitor the frequency with which visitors return to the website.
Forms
All forms used on this website may collect personal data for use by Orkney Islands Council in providing or improving services to you.
Email links
All email links on this website are direct email addresses for submissions of details of requests to relevant individuals and departments of Orkney Islands Council and relevant third parties.
Online Payments
All online payments are made via a secure payment system. We use Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology, a standard supported by most major Internet browsers to encrypt all of your personal and card details. Your payment details are stored on a secure system and only authorised personnel may access this information.
Social Media
Orkney Islands Council utilises various social media services on the Orkney Islands Council website. These services are for the purpose of provision of information only and do not act as a source of feedback to the Council. The privacy policies of each of these services are not controlled by Orkney Islands Council and should be reviewed by the user before use of these services.
Links are available in the 'Related Sites' section of this page for the Privacy Policies of Twitter, Facebook and Google.
Cookies
Our website uses several cookies. A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we put on your computer if you agree. These cookies allow us to distinguish you from other users of the website which helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and allows us to improve our site.
The cookies are ‘analytical cookies. They allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors and to wee how visitors move around the site when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works, for example by making sure users are finding what they need easily. Read more about the individual analytical cookies we use and how to recognise them here.
In compliance with Data Protection Law, the following table lists the use of cookies on this website:
|
Cookie |
Purpose |
|---|---|
|
CookieControl |
This cookie is used to remember a user’s choice about cookies on orkney.gov.uk. Where users have previously indicated a preference, that user’s preference will be stored in this cookie. |
|
useTextOnly |
This is used to store whether you are in textOnly mode or not. Persistent for three months. Strictly necessary cookie. |
|
setString |
This is used to store user preferences for viewing sites in textOnly mode e.g. font-size and colour. Persistent for one month. Strictly necessary cookie |
|
SKDxxx (xxx being the unique identifier) |
This cookie has two functions. Firstly it serves as a session cookie for extranet users. Without this cookie, an extranet user will have to login to each individual page in the extranet. it enables us to track the pages that a user visits while they navigate around our site. Persistent for one year unless users logout. |
|
SKTID |
For tracking logged out visitor sessions. Persistent for one year. |
|
AcceptCookies |
This is used to store whether you have agreed to receive cookies. Persistent for one year. |
|
_ga |
Google Analytics These cookies are used to collect information about how visitors use our website. We use the information to compile reports and to help us improve the website. The cookies collect information in a way that does not directly identify anyone, including the number of visitors to the website and blog, where visitors have come to the website from and the pages they visited. |
Most web browsers allow some control of most cookies through the browser settings. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit the 'All About Cookies' website from the 'Related Sites' section of this page.
To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites visit the 'Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on' webpage available from the 'Related Sites' section of this page.
Allow or reject cookies
We recommend you allow the cookies to be set by this website as they help us provide a better service and make our website easier to use.
If you do not want to receive cookies from this website, select cookie settings under the privacy settings in your browser options, then add our domain to the list of websites you do not want to accept cookies from.
Under settings you can also delete individual cookies or any cookies that your browser has stored.
Find out more about how to manage cookies from the 'All About Cookies - Manage Cookies' webpage available from the 'Related Sites' section of this page.
If you set your browser to refuse all cookies, please be aware that there may be functionality on various websites that does not work.
Sharing your information
The Council is legally obliged to share certain data with other public bodies such as HMRC, Scottish Government, and Audit Scotland, and will do so where the law requires this; the Council will also generally comply with requests for specific information from other regulatory and law enforcement bodies where this is necessary and proportionate. Information is also analysed internally to provide management information, inform service delivery reform and similar purposes.
What we do with your data
We use information we collect from the website to help us provide and improve our services to you. We comply with the Data Protection Act in that:
- We ensure that it is fairly and lawfully processed.
- We ensure that it is only processed for the purposes for which it was collected.
- We ensure that any information collected is relevant and not excessive.
- We ensure that any information you submit to us is recorded accurately.
- We don’t keep you information for longer than is necessary.
- We ensure that your information is processed in accordance with your rights.
- We ensure that your information is held securely.
Council Privacy Policy
More information about your rights and how the Council may use your information is available in the 'Council Privacy Policy' available from the 'Related Links' section of this page.
