Website privacy statement

The following information explains how and why we collect information from you, to whom such information is disclosed and what your rights are.

What information do we collect and how do we obtain it?

We store information when you register for personalised services on the Regulators' Companion website.

The information we collect when you register is your first name, surname and email address so that we can provide services that are specific to you. There are optional fields that will help us understand who is using the site.

We store course completion data to award your certificate of attainment and may share this with the sponsoring government department.

How do we use your information?

We use the information that we collect about you to enable you to:

• enrol on courses and access related information such as completion certificates
• access restricted website content

In the future we may send messages about website developments or changes that affect registered users; you will be able to unsubscribe from these emails.

Will the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) disclose the information it collects to outside parties?

We use information about you only for the purpose of providing you with details on Regulators' Companion and share information pertaining to registered users and anonymised use of the Regulators' Companion website with the site owner, the Department for Business and Trade. Online course completion data may be shared with the sponsoring government department.

CTSI does not sell, trade or rent your personal information to any other party. CTSI may provide aggregate, anonymised statistics about our users, website traffic patterns and related site information to reputable third parties, but these statistics will include no personally identifying information.

How do we protect your information?

We endeavour to protect your information in the following ways:

1. we will not request or store information that is excessive for our purposes
2. the data will be updated directly if you update or delete your profile details
3. we will delete any information we hold about you that is no longer relevant, or within a reasonable period of the date such information becomes no longer necessary for our purposes
4. we will protect your data against unauthorised use

Receipt of information

You can request, at any time, that we stop using your information simply by deleting your account.  

Your consent

By registering with us and using our website and/or service, you consent to the collection and use of this information by CTSI. If we change our privacy policy, we will upload the changes to the website immediately, so that you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances we disclose it.

Cookies

We use Google Analytics to track and report website traffic. It deploys the following cookies to your device:

Cookie: _ga

Expiration: 2 years

Description: Used to distinguish users

Cookie: _gid

Expiration: 24 hours

Description: Used to distinguish users

Cookie: _gat

Expiration: 1 minute

Description: Used to throttle request rate

More information about Google Analytics' use of cookies can be found on the Google website.

In summary

We are committed to protecting your privacy. We use the information we may collect on the site to enhance your overall experience. We do not sell, trade or rent your personal information to others.