Privacy and Content Disclaimer notice

What is this website?

Marine Scotland Marine Planning and Policy Division (MS-MPP) has statutory responsibilities for national and regional marine planning under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 and the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. This website allows the public to see the marine assessment and associated evidence online.  This privacy notice explains what happens to the personal information provided when a user browses this site.

MS-MPP takes the right to privacy seriously and this privacy notice reflects our commitment to the fair and transparent processing of personal information. This notice sets out why we may need personal information, what we need and how we will use it.

Collection and use of personal information

We collect certain information or data about you when you use Marine Scotland Assessment Portal (https://marine.gov.scot/sma).

This includes:

  • your email address if you contact us by email,
  • information on how you use the site, using cookies and page tagging techniques to help us improve the website (these cookies aren't used to identify you personally).

This helps us to:

  • improve the site by monitoring how you use it.
  • respond to any feedback you send us, if you've asked us to.

We won't share your information with any other organisations for marketing, market research or commercial purposes, and we don't pass on your details to other websites.

Disclosing / sharing your information

Though we make every effort to preserve user privacy, we may need to disclose personal information if we have a legal obligation to do so.

We use outside contractors to host our services. These companies do not retain, share, store or use personally identifiable information for any secondary purposes.

Why do we collect personal information?

The only information collected is usec to improve user experiences on the sight in terms of making sure more often visisted content is maintained and search phrases lead to the most relevant results.

If you contact us, MS-MPP will not use this email address other than to respond to any request.

MS-MPP complies fully with our obligations under data protection laws. These laws are the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA), the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and any other data protection legislation enacted by the UK Government.

Who is processing the personal information?

A controller is the entity (organisation) that determines the purposes, conditions and means of the processing of personal information. For MS Maps NMPi and MS Information the Scottish Government is the Data Controller. MS-MPP processes this information on behalf of the Scottish Ministers.

How is personal information collected?

Information on how you use the site, using cookies and page tagging techniques helps us improve the website (these cookies aren't used to identify you personally).

What personal information is collected?

MS-MPP will process personal information including: ip addresses (which are subsequently masked before analysis is carried out).

Queries about how personal information is handled

If you have any queries or concerns about how your personal information will be handled please contact us. Our details are included on the Contact Us page.

Data subject rights

You have the right to access the personal data we process about you, the right to object to processing that is or is likely to cause substantial damage or distress to you or another, the right to request to rectify, erase, block or destroy inaccurate information and the right to be confident that we will handle your personal information responsibly and in line with good practice.

To exercise these rights, you can write to the Scottish Government Data Protection Officer, supported by the Data Protection and Information Asset Team at:

Data Protection and Information Assets Team

V Spur, Saughton House

Broomhouse Drive

Edinburgh

EH11 3XD

Email: dpa@gov.scot

Complaints

If you feel we have been unable to resolve your information rights concern, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO are the supervisory authority responsible for data protection in the UK. 

For further information, including independent data protection advice and information in relation to your rights, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office at:

Information Governance department

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Tel: 0303 123 1113

Website: http://www.ico.org.uk/

You can also report a concern here - https://ico.org.uk/concerns/handling/

Revisions to this privacy notice

MS-MPP may revise this privacy notice from time to time. Each revised version will be dated and posted on the MS Information website.

Content disclaimer

We seek to ensure that information on MS assessment web portal is up-to-date and accurate. However, the information does not constitute legal or professional advice and we cannot accept liability for actions arising from its use. Neither can we be held responsible for the contents of any pages referenced by an external link.

Links to and from the site

This site contains links to other websites. This privacy policy only applies to this website and doesn't cover other websites.

We welcome websites to link to the site. You don't have to ask for permission to do so.

However, we don't give you permission to suggest that your website is associated with, or endorsed by Marine Scotland or Scottish Government.

Where our site contains links to other sites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for your information only. We have no control over the contents of those sites or resources, and accept no responsibility for them or for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them.

Date: December 2020