Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

The IFPC means The Institute for Public Clarity.

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to The IFPC, The Institute for Public Clarity.

The IFPC reviews public communication, official wording, notices, statements, policies and replies where clarity, plain English or public understanding may be an issue.

2. What personal information we may collect

We may collect personal information when you use our website, submit a contact form, send us material, email us, or otherwise communicate with us.

This may include:

• Your name, where you provide it.
• Your email address or other contact details, where you provide them.
• The name of an organisation, where relevant.
• Information included in your message or enquiry.
• Links, screenshots, files or documents you choose to send.
• Technical information collected through the website, such as basic analytics or cookie data, where used.
• Any other information you voluntarily provide to The IFPC.

3. Why we use personal information

We may use personal information to:

• Receive, manage and respond to enquiries.
• Review material sent to The IFPC.
• Understand examples of unclear public language or communication.
• Consider whether material may inform future IFPC work.
• Manage website enquiries and submissions.
• Keep basic records of contact and correspondence.
• Protect the security and proper operation of the website.
• Meet legal, regulatory or administrative obligations where required.

We do not sell personal information.

4. Lawful basis for using personal information

Under UK data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for using personal information.

Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

• Consent, where you have clearly chosen to send information to us or asked us to contact you.
• Legitimate interests, where we need to review, manage and respond to enquiries or material sent to The IFPC, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights.
• Legal obligation, where we are required to keep or disclose information by law.

5. Material submitted to The IFPC

If you send us wording, links, screenshots, files, documents or background information, we may review that material to understand the issue being raised.

Where appropriate, material may be summarised, anonymised or used to inform future IFPC work. We will aim to remove personal details where they are not needed.

Please do not send private information about other people unless it is genuinely necessary to understand the issue. This includes names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, reference numbers, images or other identifying details.

6. Sharing personal information

We may share personal information only where necessary and appropriate.

This may include sharing information with:

• Website, hosting, email or technical service providers.
• Professional advisers, where needed.
• Regulators, authorities or legal bodies, where required by law.
• Other parties where you have asked us to share information or where it is necessary to deal with your enquiry.

We do not sell personal information to third parties.

7. How long we keep personal information

We will keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary.

How long we keep information may depend on:

• The nature of the enquiry.
• Whether we need to respond or keep a record.
• Whether the material may be relevant to future IFPC work.
• Legal, regulatory or administrative requirements.
• Whether you ask us to delete information, where we are able to do so.

Where information is no longer needed, we will delete it or anonymise it where appropriate.

8. Cookies and website analytics

The IFPC website may use cookies or similar technologies to help the website work properly, understand basic website use, improve performance or support security.

Where analytics or non-essential cookies are used, further information should be provided in a separate Cookie Policy or cookie notice.

9. Your rights

Under UK data protection law, you may have rights over your personal information. These may include the right to:

• Ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Ask us to correct inaccurate information.
• Ask us to delete information in certain circumstances.
• Ask us to restrict how we use your information.
• Object to certain uses of your information.
• Withdraw consent where we rely on consent.
• Complain if you are unhappy with how your information is handled.

To make a request, contact us using the contact details provided on this website.

10. Security

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration or destruction.

No website, email system or online service can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Please take care when sending information online and avoid sending unnecessary personal or sensitive details.

11. Links to other websites

The IFPC website may include links to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices, content or security of external websites.

You should read the privacy information provided by any external website you visit.

12. Complaints

If you are concerned about how The IFPC handles your personal information, please contact us first so that we can try to resolve the issue.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK regulator for data protection.

13. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The latest version will be published on this website with the updated date shown at the top of the page.