Website terms

Copyright

The material on this website (the Office for Environmental Protection or 'OEP' website) is subject to OEP copyright protection unless otherwise indicated. OEP copyright protected material (other than logos, photography and other images) may be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium, provided it is reproduced accurately, not used in a misleading context and is for non-commercial use only.

You are not permitted to sell or trade in material obtained from the website. Where any of the OEP copyright items on this site are being republished or copied to others, the source of the material must be identified and the copyright status acknowledged.

The permission to reproduce OEP copyright protected material does not extend to any material on this site that is identified as being the copyright of a third party. Authorization to reproduce such material must be obtained from the copyright holder concerned. Your use of material under this licence is entirely at your own risk. The OEP makes no warranty, representation or guarantee that the material is error free.

All images on this OEP website are copyright protected. All rights are reserved and no image may be copied, reproduced or directly linked to without the express permission of the OEP.

The OEP reserves the right, as determined in our discretion, to update or revise these terms at any time. Please check these terms periodically for changes.

Using our website

The OEP website is maintained for your personal use and viewing. Access and use by you of this site constitutes acceptance by you of these terms that take effect from the date of first use.

Hyperlinking to the OEP website

We encourage users to establish hypertext links to this OEP website, and you do not have to ask permission to link directly to pages hosted on this site. However, we do not permit our pages to be loaded into frames on your site. The OEP pages must load into the user’s entire window.

Hyperlinks to third party websites

The OEP is not responsible for the contents or reliability of any linked websites and does not necessarily endorse the views expressed within them. Listing should not be taken as endorsement of any kind. We cannot guarantee that these links will work all of the time and we may not have control over the availability of the linked pages.

Virus protection

The OEP will make every effort to check and test material at all stages of production. It is always wise for you to run an anti-virus program on all material downloaded from the Internet. We cannot accept any responsibility for any loss, disruption or damage to your data or your computer system which may occur whilst using material derived from this OEP website.

Disclaimer

The OEP website and material relating to Government information, products and services (or to third party information, products and services) is provided ‘as is’, without any representation or endorsement made and without warranty of any kind whether express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, compatibility, security and accuracy.

We do not warrant that the functions contained in the material contained in this OEP website will be uninterrupted or error-free, that defects will be corrected, or that this OEP website or the server that makes it available are free of viruses or represent the full functionality, accuracy, reliability of the materials. In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including, without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damages whatsoever arising from use or loss of use of, data or profits arising out of or in connection with the use of the OEP website.

The above terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. Any dispute arising under these terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

Complaints and comments

Receiving complaints and compliments is important to the OEP. We welcome your comments, suggestions and details of satisfaction and dissatisfaction. We will try to resolve any problem quickly and explain what we have done and why.

We deal with all complaints confidentially.

Option 1

If you have details of the person your complaint should be addressed to, please contact them so they can address your concerns.

Option 2

Alternatively, if your concerns cannot be resolved informally with the person or team concerned, you can make a formal complaint by contacting us at:

Email: enquiries@theoep.org.uk

Office for Environmental Protection
Wildwood
Wildwood Drive
Worcester
WR5 2QT

Telephone: 03300 416 581


To help us process your complaint please indicate:

  • the part of the organisation or team that is relevant to your complaint and a contact name (if you know this)
  • whether it is an original complaint or a follow-up to a reply you were not satisfied with
  • in a clear way, the nature of your complaint and what you would like us to do to sort things out
  • your full postal address, phone number and email address

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of our investigation of your complaint, you can write to us to ask for a further review of your complaint.

If you are still dissatisfied after the conclusion of our complaints procedure, you can ask for your complaint and its handling to be investigated by the Ombudsman. To do this, you must write to a Member of Parliament (this does not have to be your local MP) asking that they refer your complaint to the Ombudsman (the telephone number for the House of Commons Information Office, where you can get information on contacting your MP, is 020 7219 4272). Usually, before you complain, the Ombudsman expects you to have first put your complaint to us through our complaints procedure. If you are in any doubt about whether your case is suitable for referral to the Ombudsman, contact the Ombudsman’s helpline on 0345 015 4033 for guidance.