This policy applies to:
- Darlington Borough Council website (www.darlington.gov.uk).
- Darlington Partnership
- Do the Localmotion
- DLD Live
It does not apply to any other sites, including websites which we may link to from these pages (see other websites).
Due to changes in legislation and improvements to the website, we may need to make changes to this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes we make in the future will be posted on this page.
We collect anonymous information when web users access our site.
This may include:
- Your computer's IP address (more information about IP addresses below)
- The browser and operating system you are using
- The date and time of your visit
- The pages you have visited.
We use this information to
- Help develop the website (for example, if we know which browsers web users are accessing this website with, we can make sure that the site is compatible in that browser)
- Help us determine which pages web users are visiting so we can improve navigation on the website
- Help identify certain accounts on MyDarlington+ so we can troubleshoot problems with accounts (more information about MyDarlington+ below)
- Allow you to participate in interactive features of our service, when you choose to do so
- Notify you about changes to our service
This information does not contain personal data and we will not be able to trace it back to an individual.
When you use our website, a text file called a 'cookie' is placed in a directory on your computer. This file generates the information above and is passed through to our web server.
Cookies allow websites to remember your preferences (for example, if you have specified that you would like the website to appear in high contrast or you would like MyDarlington+ to remember your password, the cookie will remember this for you)
The Cookies that we use cannot harm your computer in any way or give away any of your personal information. You can disable the use of cookies in your web browser – although you will still be able to access content on our website, your preferences will not be able to be remembered.
Enabling and disabling cookies in Internet Explorer [external link]
Enabling and disabling cookies in Firefox [external link]
Enabling and disabling cookies in Chrome [external ink]
Enabling and disabling cookies in Safari [external link]
An Internet Protocol (IP) address is the numeric address of a computer and is determined by your internet service provider. It is different to your house address and although we can determine a rough geographic location from it, we cannot use it to identify you personally.
We use the IP address to identify individual computers. For example, we can use it to find out how many computers outside of Darlington are accessing the website.
In the event of serious criminal misuse of the internet, your internet service provider and the police may be able to use your IP address to identify you.
If you use the mobile version of this website and use a page with a Google Map on it, you have the option of pinpointing your exact location using your mobile phone. You can also use this functionality on Firefox 3.6+, Internet Explorer 9 and Chrome 10+. This functionality is optional and we do not store/track your location when using this service.
We will not capture and store any personal information about you when you visit our website, unless you voluntarily choose to (for example, if you fill in an online form, email us or sign-up to our online forum)
We may ask for certain information such as your name, address, telephone number or email address. We will not pass this information on unless:
- When our services are provided through partnerships with other organisations and we need to share information with these third-parties.
- We are legally obliged to do so
We may use non-personal information (for example, comments) for research purposes and reports. If this happens, we will not personally identify the person who provided the feedback.
Although we will do our best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to our site; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try and prevent unauthorised access.
Please visit our Social Networking disclaimer to find out about confidentiality when posting on any of our Social Networking profiles.
In order to receive all the benefits of MyDarlington you will need to register. If you register for our basic service, all you will need to provide is a username (which does not need to be your real name) and email address. Your email address will not be given to any third parties, although we may use it to contact you in regards to MyDarlington+ from time to time.
If you want to take advantage of other functionality (for example, viewing your council tax online), you will need to provide additional information. This may include your name, address and your council tax/housing rents number. This information will be used for verification purposes and we will not pass any of this information to a third party.
All pages which are used to collect payment details are secure pages (they have a web address starting with 'https' rather than 'http'). This means that any payments you make through this website will be secure and payment details will not be intercepted by third parties.
Under the Data protection act 1998, we have a legal duty to protect any information we collect from you.
The Access to Information Act gives you the right to access information held about you. Your right of access can be exercised in accordance with the Act. Any access request may be subject to a fee of £10 to meet our costs in providing you with details of the information we hold about you.
Our site may, from time to time, contain links to other websites. If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies. Please check these policies before you submit any personal data to these websites.