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Information Charter

This information charter sets out the standards you can expect from the Cabinet Office when we request or hold information (“personal data”) about you. “Personal data” is information that relates to identifiable living individuals. It does not include information relating to dead people, groups of people, organisations or businesses. The Data Protection Act 1998 regulates the management of personal data.

We may need to handle personal information about you so that we can provide better services for you. This is how we look after that information.

When we ask you for personal information, we promise:

• to make sure you know why we need it;
• to ask only for what we need, and not to collect too much or irrelevant information;
• to protect it and make sure nobody has access to it who shouldn't;
• to let you know if we share it with other organisations to give you better public services – and if you can say no;
• to make sure we don't keep it longer than necessary; and
• not to make your personal information available for commercial use without your permission.

In return, we ask you to:

• give us accurate information; and
• tell us as soon as possible if there are any changes, such as a new address.

This helps us to keep your information reliable and up to date.

You can get more details on:

• how to find out what information we hold about you and how to ask us to correct any mistakes;
• agreements we have with other organisations for sharing information;
• circumstances where we can pass on your personal information without telling you, for example, to prevent and detect crime or to produce anonymised statistics;
• our instructions to staff on how to collect, use and delete your personal information;
• how we check the information we hold is accurate and up to date; and
• how to make a complaint.

For more information, please contact:

FOI Team
Cabinet Office
Room 120
70 Whitehall
London SW1A 2AS

Email: foiteam@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk

When we ask you for information, we will keep to the law, including the Data Protection Act 1998. For independent advice about data protection, privacy and data-sharing issues, you can contact the Information Commissioner at:

Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Phone: 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 54 57 45
Fax: 01625 524510

Website: www.ico.gov.uk [External website]