Your data and privacy

What data this site collects

NGC Insight collects the minimum amount of personal data required to operate the site and respond to correspondence. When a reader emails the editor at [email protected] we retain the email address and the content of the exchange for as long as required to answer the correspondence and to keep an audit trail of any correction.

When a reader visits a page on the site the web server records the standard log data that any UK-hosted web server records, including the internet protocol address, the timestamp of the request, the page requested and the user agent string reported by the browser.

We do not require registration, we do not offer accounts, we do not run comments, we do not run forums and we do not offer newsletters. There is no login on the site and there is no user profile stored anywhere on the site's systems.

Where a page refers to third-party services such as the National Gambling Helpline or the Information Commissioner's Office the links point directly to those organisations' own sites and no data is passed through NGC Insight in connection with a reader following the link.

Cookies and analytics we use

NGC Insight does not set advertising cookies, does not run behavioural analytics, does not fingerprint browsers and does not sell reader data. The site uses a minimal set of first-party cookies that are strictly necessary to serve the site, and no consent banner is required for strictly necessary cookies under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 as amended.

Where the site records aggregate visit data for editorial purposes, the data is aggregated at the level of a page and does not identify individual readers.

If we ever introduce a non-essential cookie or an analytics service that would require prior consent under the current UK ePrivacy and UK GDPR framework, we will display a consent banner that allows the reader to accept or decline the non-essential cookies without being prevented from reading the site.

The default state of the banner will be declined, and the site will remain fully functional if a reader chooses to decline. Any material change to the cookie position on the site will be logged on this page with the date of the change.

How long we keep your data

Server log data is retained for a period sufficient to detect and investigate abusive access attempts, ordinarily no longer than ninety days, after which it is deleted. Email correspondence with the editor is retained for as long as required to answer the correspondence, to keep an audit trail of any correction and to satisfy any statutory retention duty that applies.

Where a reader asks for correspondence to be deleted we will do so unless a specific legal duty requires us to retain it, and we will confirm the deletion in writing.

Where a correction has been made to a page in response to reader correspondence, the version history of the page is retained internally for audit purposes and is not made public. The reader's correspondence identifying the correction is retained alongside the audit note for as long as the audit note itself, and the retention period is reviewed annually. No personal data collected through the site is passed to any third party for marketing, profiling or advertising purposes.

Your UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 rights

Under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 a reader has a defined set of rights over their personal data. The rights include access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, portability and objection to processing. The rights apply against the data controller, which for the purposes of data collected through this site is NGC Insight, whose editorial contact is [email protected].

A subject access request can be submitted to the same address and will be answered within the statutory response window of one month, extendable by up to a further two months in complex cases.

Where a reader exercises a right the response will be free of charge in the ordinary case, and we will confirm the outcome in writing. Where a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive we may charge a reasonable fee or refuse the request under the exemptions in the Act.

The rights do not affect any statutory retention duty that applies to us as a UK entity, and where a retention duty prevents us from complying with an erasure request we will explain the position and the source of the duty in writing.

Reaching us, or escalating a concern to the ICO

The first route for any privacy concern is a direct email to [email protected] setting out the concern and the outcome the reader is seeking. We answer correspondence in writing rather than by phone, and we treat a privacy concern as a first-order editorial event. If the reader is not satisfied with the response, or if the reader prefers to raise the concern with the supervisory authority directly, the Information Commissioner's Office is the UK supervisory authority for data protection matters and accepts complaints at ico.org.uk.

The ICO can be reached by post at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF, and by telephone on 0303 123 1113.

UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 apply to the handling of personal data on this site, and this notice is the operative statement of our position. If this notice conflicts with a statement made elsewhere on the site or in correspondence, this notice is the authoritative version.

Material changes to this notice will be published with the date of the change and the date will be reflected in the footer of the page. Contact the editor at [email protected].