1. Introduction
Welcome to the Sunderland’s Consultation Calendar.
The Consultation Calendar is one of the ways that people can find out about and give their views on local public services, plans and proposals.
2. About these Terms and Conditions
By accessing and using this Consultation Calendar you agree to be legally bound by these terms. If you do not agree to be bound by all of the following terms please do not access, use and/or contribute to the calendar.
3. What will we do with the information we receive?
3.1 Departments at Sunderland City Council and its’ partner organisations such as the police, fire authority and health authority are authorised to access the information provided. We comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 for the purpose of processing personal data in the performance of our legitimate business. Any information held by us will be processed in compliance with the principles set out in the Act.
3.2 The opinions and suggestions received will be used help us to improve our services and the way we deliver on plans and policies. Where possible we will take the views and suggestions received through consultations into account when finalising plans and launching policies. There may be occasions where the law gives us limited choice over what we deliver, but in these cases we will try to make sure that the views of local people are fed into how we deliver them.
3.3 Where possible we will try to make use of anonymous consultations and surveys, but there may be occasions where we need to record the identity of the people who contact us. In those cases, we will ask you to register as a Calendar User: any personal information you supply will be retained securely and for a maximum period of six years after your User Profile is closed. Personal information will not be retained longer than we need to and, once the retention period is over, the council will ensure that records are either fully anonymised or are securely destroyed. In some instances your name and/or comments may be displayed publicly. The privacy settings can be viewed in the Information area for each consultation event.
3.4 There may be exceptional circumstances where an e-consultation results in the receipt of information that alleges, or provides evidence of, circumstances or events that require urgent action (examples of these exceptional circumstances would include the receipt of information that provided evidence of criminal activity or perhaps allegations of serious potential or actual risk or harm to identifiable individuals). We do not expect these to be frequent occurrences, but must reserve the right to act on legitimate concerns that may be raised even if these might appear unconnected or incompatible with the purposes of the consultation exercise.
3.4 Before using this Calendar you should be aware that any information posted may be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. This means that we may be required to provide access to information, views or opinions that you supply, but will make all reasonable efforts to anonymise this information before release.
4. Use of this Portal
4.1 You agree to use the Portal for lawful purposes only. You must not submit, download or transmit any material (“user generated content”), or otherwise engage in any conduct that:
- breaches any third party’s rights including, without limitation, copyright, patent rights, trade mark rights, performer’s rights, rights of confidence;
- is unlawful, offensive, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, deceptive, fraudulent, invasive of another’s privacy or tortuous;
- Victimises, harasses, degrades or intimidates an individual or group of individuals on the basis of religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age or disability;
- Encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offence, or that gives rise to civil liability.
5. Your rights to privacy
5.1 The Council and its partners are committed to respecting the privacy of private, home and family life of all customers, residents and e-consultation respondents. Accordingly, all reasonable precautions will be taken to ensure the security of any personal data you provide in connection with the use of the Sunderland Consultation Calendar.
5.2 Any such information will be managed fully in line with the requirements of Sunderland Council’s Data Protection Policy including any rights you might have regarding the use or management of any personal data we have asked you for. For more information, please go to - http://www.sunderland.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=3795&p=0
5.3 An individual’s right to Privacy does not extend to allowing interference with the lawful rights and privileges of others. In particular, racist, sexist, homophobic or other unlawfully discriminatory posts or submissions will not be tolerated. If information is submitted through the Consultation Calendar that would unlawfully infringe on those individual rights the Council reserves the right to dispose of that information in full or take action upon it as appropriate and as referred to in paragraph 3.3 above.
6. Our Liability to You
6.1 The views expressed on the Portal do not necessarily reflect official Sunderland City Council policy and Sunderland City Council is not responsible for any content posted on the Portal by any third party.
6.2 Sunderland City Council shall not be liable for any loss not reasonably foreseeable by the Council, nor for any loss of data, profit, revenue or business or wasted expenditure, howsoever caused, arising from your use of the Portal.Sunderland City Council shall not be liable for any reliance you place on the contents of the Portal.
6.3 Without limiting the above paragraph (and except for Sunderland City Council’s liability for death or personal injury caused by its negligence, for which Sunderland City Council liability shall be unlimited), the liability of Sunderland City Council under or in connection with your use of the Portal (whether arising in negligence or otherwise) will not under any circumstances exceed £500, regardless of the cause or form of action. Your statutory rights are unaffected.