Terms of Use

1. Who we are

The IFPC means The Institute for Public Clarity.

For the purposes of these Terms of Use, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to The IFPC, The Institute for Public Clarity.

The IFPC exists to support plain English, better answers and public clarity. The website provides information, commentary, review material and contact routes connected with public communication, official wording, statements, replies, policies and public understanding.

2. Acceptance of these terms

By accessing, browsing, using, submitting material through, or otherwise interacting with this website, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use.

If you use this website on behalf of an organisation, you confirm that you have authority to do so and that the organisation will also comply with these terms.

If you do not agree to these terms, you must stop using this website immediately.

3. Other policies that apply

These Terms of Use should be read alongside any other policies published on this website, including:

• the Privacy Policy;
• the Cookie Policy, where applicable;
• any submission guidance or contact form notices;
• any membership, review or service-specific terms published by The IFPC.

If there is a conflict between these Terms of Use and more specific written terms agreed separately with The IFPC, the specific written terms will take priority for that particular matter.

4. Using this website

You may use this website for lawful personal, organisational, informational or professional purposes only.

You must not use this website:

• in any way that breaches any applicable law or regulation;
• in any way that is fraudulent, misleading, abusive, threatening, harassing, defamatory, obscene or malicious;
• to send or upload unlawful, harmful, offensive, discriminatory or deliberately false material;
• to impersonate another person or organisation;
• to interfere with, damage, disrupt or overload the website or its systems;
• to attempt to gain unauthorised access to the website, server, database, hosting environment, email systems or any connected service;
• to introduce viruses, malware, spyware, ransomware, logic bombs, corrupted files or harmful code;
• to scrape, harvest, copy or extract website content in bulk without written permission;
• to use automated tools, bots, crawlers or scripts in a way that places unreasonable demand on the website;
• to submit spam, mass marketing, irrelevant promotional material or repeated nuisance messages.

5. Submitting material to The IFPC

You may be able to submit wording, links, screenshots, documents, background information, comments or other material to The IFPC through the website or by other contact routes.

By submitting material, you confirm that:

• the material is accurate to the best of your knowledge;
• you are not deliberately submitting false, fabricated or misleading information;
• you have the right to send the material to The IFPC;
• the material does not breach confidentiality, court orders, legal restrictions or the rights of another person;
• you have removed unnecessary private information where possible;
• you accept that The IFPC is not obliged to respond, review, publish or act on the material.

You must not submit material that is unlawful, defamatory, abusive, threatening, discriminatory, malicious, deliberately misleading or unnecessarily intrusive into another person’s private life.

6. How submitted material may be used

Material sent to The IFPC may be reviewed to understand the issue being raised and to assess whether it is relevant to public clarity, plain English, public communication or official wording.

Where appropriate, submitted material may be:

• reviewed internally;
• summarised or anonymised;
• used to inform future IFPC work;
• used as the basis for commentary, analysis, guidance, case work or public communication;
• used to identify recurring problems in public language or official responses.

The IFPC will aim to remove unnecessary personal details where they are not needed. However, you are responsible for checking what you send before submitting it.

7. No obligation to respond or publish

The IFPC is not required to respond to every message, submission, enquiry or request.

Submitting material does not create a contract, appointment, advisory relationship, legal relationship, client relationship or duty to act unless this is separately agreed in writing.

The IFPC may decline, ignore, delete, archive, anonymise or retain submissions at its discretion, subject to any legal obligations and applicable data protection rights.

8. Accuracy of website content

We aim to keep website content clear, accurate and useful. However, website content is provided for general information only.

We do not guarantee that content is complete, current, error-free, uninterrupted or suitable for your particular circumstances.

The IFPC may update, amend, remove, suspend or replace website content at any time without notice.

9. No legal, professional or official advice

Content on this website is not legal advice, professional advice, regulatory advice, official advice or a substitute for advice from a suitably qualified professional.

The IFPC may comment on public wording, clarity, official communication, policy language, public replies or organisational language. Such commentary is for public understanding and editorial purposes only.

You should not rely on this website as the sole basis for legal, financial, regulatory, employment, medical, safeguarding or other significant decisions.

10. Editorial independence

The IFPC retains editorial control over its website, content, wording, analysis, commentary, review material and published output.

No person, organisation, public body, member, contributor or submitter has a right to require publication, amendment, removal or approval of IFPC content unless required by law or separately agreed in writing.

The IFPC may correct, clarify, update, remove or decline to publish material at its discretion.

11. Intellectual property

Unless otherwise stated, the content on this website belongs to The IFPC or is used with permission. This includes text, layout, design, branding, page structure, graphics, logos, commentary, articles, review material and other website content.

You may view, download or print pages for personal reference or internal organisational use.

You must not, without prior written permission:

• copy substantial parts of the website;
• republish IFPC content as your own;
• sell, licence or commercially exploit IFPC content;
• remove branding, credits, copyright notices or context;
• use IFPC branding, names, logos or design elements in a misleading way;
• suggest endorsement, partnership, approval or membership where none exists.

12. Permission you give when submitting material

When you submit material to The IFPC, you grant The IFPC a non-exclusive, royalty-free permission to review, store, assess, summarise, quote from, anonymise, adapt and use that material for purposes connected with IFPC work.

This permission is limited to the purposes of public clarity, plain English, public communication, review, commentary, case work, website content, research, internal assessment and related IFPC activity.

You retain any rights you already have in your own material, subject to the permission granted above.

13. Third-party rights and confidential material

You must not submit confidential, restricted, legally privileged, private, copyrighted or third-party material unless you have the right to do so.

If you send material from another organisation, public body or person, you are responsible for ensuring that you are allowed to share it with The IFPC.

The IFPC is not responsible for your decision to submit material you were not entitled to share.

14. Personal information in submissions

You should remove unnecessary personal information before submitting material.

This includes names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, reference numbers, signatures, images, private correspondence and other identifying details unless they are genuinely necessary to understand the issue.

How The IFPC handles personal information is explained in the Privacy Policy.

15. Membership, badges and references to The IFPC

If The IFPC offers membership, supporter status, badges, marks, wording, public references or any similar recognition, these may only be used in accordance with the conditions set by The IFPC.

You must not claim to be a member, supporter, partner, approved organisation or endorsed body unless The IFPC has confirmed this in writing.

The IFPC may withdraw permission to use its name, initials, badge, wording or branding if it considers that use to be misleading, inappropriate, inaccurate or damaging to the credibility of The IFPC.

16. Links to this website

You may link to this website provided that the link is fair, lawful and does not damage or take unfair advantage of The IFPC’s name, work or reputation.

You must not link to this website in a way that suggests association, endorsement, approval, partnership or membership where none exists.

The IFPC may ask you to remove a link if it considers the link misleading, inappropriate or harmful.

17. Links from this website

This website may include links to external websites, organisations, public bodies, documents, resources or third-party material.

External links are provided for context or convenience only. They do not mean that The IFPC endorses, controls or accepts responsibility for the linked website, organisation, content or service.

You access external websites at your own risk and should read their own terms and privacy information.

18. Website availability and security

We aim to keep this website available and secure. However, we do not guarantee that the website will always be available, uninterrupted, error-free or free from harmful components.

Access to the website may be suspended, restricted or withdrawn without notice for maintenance, security, technical, legal, operational or other reasons.

You are responsible for using appropriate security protections on your own devices and systems.

19. Limitation of liability

Nothing in these Terms of Use excludes or limits liability where it would be unlawful to do so.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, The IFPC will not be liable for:

• loss arising from reliance on website content as professional, legal or official advice;
• loss caused by inaccurate, incomplete, outdated or unavailable website content;
• loss caused by website downtime, technical faults or interruptions;
• loss caused by viruses, harmful code or security incidents outside our reasonable control;
• loss caused by external websites or third-party content;
• loss of profit, revenue, business, data, opportunity, reputation or goodwill;
• indirect, consequential or special loss.

20. Indemnity

You agree to be responsible for any loss, damage, claim, cost or expense suffered by The IFPC as a result of your breach of these Terms of Use, your unlawful use of the website, or your submission of material that you did not have the right to provide.

21. Breach of these terms

If you breach these Terms of Use, The IFPC may take appropriate action. This may include:

• blocking or restricting access to the website;
• removing or deleting submitted material;
• refusing to respond to further contact;
• withdrawing membership, permission, recognition or access where relevant;
• reporting harmful, unlawful or abusive behaviour to relevant authorities;
• taking legal action where appropriate.

22. Changes to these Terms of Use

The IFPC may update these Terms of Use from time to time.

The latest version will be published on this website with the updated date shown on the page. Continued use of the website after changes are published means you accept the updated terms.

23. Governing law

These Terms of Use are governed by the laws of England and Wales.

Any dispute relating to these Terms of Use, this website or use of this website will be subject to the courts of England and Wales, unless applicable law requires otherwise.

24. Contact

Questions about these Terms of Use should be sent using the contact details or contact form provided on this website.