This page explains how we use any information you give to us through our website, and the ways in which we protect your privacy.
Contents:
The Forestry Commission is a data controller under the Data Protection Act. Under the Act, we have a legal duty to protect any information we collect from you. We safeguard your data, and keep strict security standards to prevent any unauthorised access to it. We do not pass on your details to any third party or other government department (except to process on our behalf) unless you give us permission to do so.
Some of our applications are provided by third parties and may have different terms and conditions and privacy/cookie policies:
When we provide services, we want to make them easy, useful and reliable. Where services are delivered on the internet, this sometimes involves placing small amounts of information on your device, for example, computer or mobile phone. These include small files known as cookies. They cannot be used to identify you personally.
These pieces of information are used to improve services for you through, for example:
You can manage these small files yourself and learn more about them through  “Internet browser cookies – what they are and how to manage them”
If you’d like to learn how to remove cookies set on your device, visit ‘Our use of cookies‘
On this site we use cookies in the Picture Library to store your lightbox for your next visit. We do not collect any information about you using cookies.
| Cookie | Typical content | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| MyLightbox | 2 months |
Our Tree Alert application uses session cookies. These are stored for the duration of the session, and are used to associate the servers session with the connected user.
Cookie Name: _ga
Duration: 2 years
Purpose: To distinguish users
Cookie Name: _gat
Duration: 10 minutes
Purpose: Used to throttle request rate.
Cookie name: lastSession
Duration: 15 minutes
Purpose: This is a session id. If the session id is expired, the user needs to login again.
Our website also uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Googleâ€). Google Analytics uses cookies -text files placed on your computer, to help the website analyse how users use the site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google uses this information to evaluate your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity for website operators and providing other services relating to website activity and internet use. Google may transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google’s behalf. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google.
By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above.
You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website.  We follow the ICO privacy and electronic communication regulations.
Google Analytics sets cookies to help us accurately estimate the number of visitors to the website and volumes of usage. This to ensure that the service is available when you want it and fast.
| Cookie | Typical content | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| _utma | randomly generated number | 2 years |
| _utmb | randomly generated number | 30 minutes |
| _utmc | randomly generated number | session |
| _utmz | randomly generated number + info on how the site was reached (e.g. directly or via a link, organic search or paid search) | 6 months |
For further details on the cookies set by Google Analytics, please refer to the Google Code website.
| Cookie | Typical content | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| PREF | 2 years | |
| NID | 6 months | |
| SNID | 6 months |
| Cookie | Typical content | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| datr | 2 years | |
| lsd | session | |
| reg_fb_gate | session | |
| reg_fb_ref | session | |
| act | session | |
| csm | session | |
| lu | 2 years | |
| sub | session | |
| locale | 1 week | |
| p | session | |
| c_user | session | |
| s | session | |
| xs | session | |
| presence | session |
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| Cookie | Typical content | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| guest_id | 2 years | |
| k | 1 week | |
| _twitter_sess | session | |
| auth_token_session | ||
| secure_session | ||
| original_referer | ||
| lang | ||
| twll |
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Flickr
| Cookie | Typical content | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| B | 2 years | |
| Bx | 1 week |
We will not use cookies to collect personnally identifiable information about you.
However, if you wish to restrict or block the cookies which are set by our website, or indeed any other website, you can do this through your browser settings. The ‘Help’ section within your browser should tell you how.
Alternatively you may wish to visit www.aboutcookies.org which contains comprehensive information on how to do this on a wide variety of browsers. You will also find details on how to delete cookies from your machine as well as more general information about cookies.
Please be aware that restricting cookies may impact on the functionality of our website.
If you wish to view your cookie code, just click on a cookie to open it. You’ll see a short string of text and numbers. These numbers are your identification card, which can only be seen by the server that gave you the cookie. To do this on the browser of your mobile phone you may need to refer to your handset manual.
To opt-out of third parties collecting any data regarding your interaction on our website, please refer to their website for further information.
Log files allow us to record visitors’ use of the site which we use to make changes to the layout of the site and to the information in it, based on the way that visitors move around it. Log files do not contain any personal information about you or information about which other sites you have visited.
We collect different kinds of information from visitors to our website:
You can send us your feedback directly using the contact details on our website. We do not pass on any of your personal information outside our organisation when dealing with your enquiry. We will not use any information you supply for any other purpose without first seeking your permission.
Where your details are held in our tracking system these are archived after we have dealt with your enquiry and deleted after 12 months.
The information you supply to us in telephone contacts may be logged within a database to help us respond to, and track, your request. We do not pass on any of your personal information outside our organisation when dealing with your enquiry, unless you have given us permission to do so. We will not use any information you supply for any other purpose without your permission.
Our system archives your messages after it has been dealt with, and deletes them after 12 months.
We need to record your personal contact details to be able to respond to, and track the progress of, your request. We do not pass on any of your personal information outside our organisation when dealing with your enquiry, unless you have given us permission to do so. We will not use any information you supply for any other purpose without your permission.
If you register an interest in receiving regular updates from the site your details will be kept indefinitely. You have the option to check the details supplied by you, to update these details, or to remove your name from any mailing lists by contacting us.
We regularly use our website to encourage input into the many consultation exercises that we carry out. On some occasions we will invite responses directly through the site. Where this happens we need to record your personal contact details to be able to validate responses and, where appropriate to respond to your input. We do not pass on any of your personal information outside our organisation unless you have given us permission to do so. We will not use any information you supply for any other purpose without your permission.
We will normally archive computer-held responses after six months and delete them after 12 months.
Although most of our site does not require you to register there are a few areas which do. The details you supply will only be used for these purposes unless you give us permission for other uses (for example to be included in mailing lists).
When using this site you may access an online service or transaction that is delivered by another government department or agency, or by a commercial supplier. Each of these services will have its own privacy policy and terms and conditions or end user licences that apply only to that service. Users of any service should make sure they have read the relevant terms and conditions before completing that transaction.
We do not pass on any personal information you have given us to any other site.
You can change your registration information by contacting us. If you wish to see our records of any correspondence you have sent to us, or if you have a query or complaint about this privacy policy or about the site, you can contact us:
e-mail: webmaster@forestry.gsi.gov.uk
Webmaster
Communications Branch
Forestry Commission
231 Corstorphine Road
Edinburgh
EH12 7AT
United Kingdom
T: 0300 067 5053
If this privacy policy changes in any way, we will update this page. Regularly reviewing this page ensures you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we will share it with other parties.
