National Elf Service

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The Social Care Elf

Terms of Use

Copyright

Please ensure that you own the copyright to any material you submit to the site, particularly if you have copied it from another source. If we have reason to doubt the ownership of any content, we will remove it from the site.

Your contributions to the National Elf Service website are published and viewable by the general public. By submitting a comment, you assign all rights in your contribution to the National Elf Service for use and publication (further information can be found in our full terms and conditions).

If you are unwilling to assign copyright in your contribution to the National Elf Service, you should not submit it to the site.

Liability Statement

We exclude any liability to you should the National Elf Service not be available at any particular time.

We do not accept any liability to you for any of the following types of loss or damage (whether the losses were foreseen, foreseeable, unforeseen, unforeseeable, known, unknown or otherwise):

  • loss which arose when you first accessed or registered to use the National Elf Service (even if that loss results from our failure to comply with these terms or our negligence);
  • any business loss you may suffer, including loss of revenue, loss of profits or loss of anticipated savings (whether those losses are the direct or indirect result of our default);
  • loss which you suffer other than as a result of our failure to comply with these terms or our negligence or breach of statutory duty;
  • any loss suffered due to the default of any party other than us.

We do not warrant that the National Elf Service or any content will be available uninterrupted or error free, that defects will be corrected, or that the National Elf Service or its supporting systems are free of viruses or bugs.

We do not accept any liability to you if we fail, or are interrupted or delayed in the performance of any obligation because of:

  • the non-availability or failure of any telecommunications or computer services, systems, equipment or software operated or provided by you or any third party;
  • any other event not reasonably within our control.

We do not give any commitments or accept any liability to you in respect of content provided by other users of the website or third parties.

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

Moderation Policy

We ask you to bear in mind our guidelines when submitting comments. Where views have been sought, all comments will be considered before a response is published.

Guidelines for taking part in discussions

Contributions may be moderated – that is, checked to ensure they do not break our rules. All contributions must be constructive, relevant and civil.

We pre-moderate most comments we receive. ‘Pre-moderation’ means comments will not be published instantly; they will first be reviewed by moderators who monitor the site during normal working hours (09:00–17:30, GMT) and aim to process comments as quickly as possible.

The first comment posted by a new user is moderated. Subsequent comments by the same user are published without moderation once the first comment has been approved, enabling us to process comments efficiently.

This is not about censoring your views. The aim is to ensure comments relate to the subject being discussed. Moderation will not be used to suppress legitimate, reasoned discussion.
Occasionally there may be a delay in publishing whilst we gather information for inclusion in our response.

The following rules are in place to protect both you and the National Elf Service. Our moderators will remove contributions that break these rules:

  • Comments must be relevant to the page on which they appear.
  • Be civil: respect other users. Comments must not be malicious, offensive, or constitute a personal attack.
  • Do not use comments to further a grievance against any person or organisation. Such posts will be removed.
  • Do not incite hatred on the basis of race, religion, gender, nationality, sexuality or any other personal characteristic.
  • Do not reveal personal details such as private addresses, phone numbers, email addresses or other contact details.
  • Keep comments reasonably concise. Do not spam the site.
  • Do not impersonate or falsely claim to represent a person or organisation.
  • Do not make comments that are purely party-political in nature. We acknowledge that references to political parties may sometimes be unavoidable, but reserve the right to remove comments that are purely partisan.
  • Do not include swearing, hate speech or obscenity. People of all ages use the National Elf Service and language must be appropriate for all.
  • Do not break the law — this includes libel, condoning illegal activity, and breaching copyright.
  • Comments that stereotype sections of society will be removed.
  • Comments containing threats, references to terrorism, or threats towards any individual are not permitted.
  • Do not advertise commercial products or services. You may mention relevant products or services where they genuinely support your comment.
  • Please write in English. We do not currently have the resource to moderate comments in other languages.
  • Do not write in capital letters — this is widely regarded as ‘shouting’ online and may cause offence.
  • Duplicate or repeated comments will be removed.
  • If you are under the age of 16, please obtain your parent or guardian’s permission before submitting a comment, in accordance with Article 8 of the UK GDPR. Users without this consent are not permitted to participate or provide personal information.

We reserve the right to suspend comments at any time and to remove any comment that we consider to break our rules. Comments may also be removed if they are more than six months old.

Where we choose not to publish a comment for a reason not listed above, we will reply to the commenter by email (where an address has been provided) explaining our decision and inviting appropriate changes for reconsideration.

We read every comment and respond wherever possible. If you require an official response, please contact the National Elf Service by post or email.

Health advice, medical products and commercial activity

The National Elf Service does not offer clinical advice.  No action should be taken without the advice of a qualified professional.

Comments that glamorise smoking, drug use or excessive alcohol consumption, or that promote a poor moral example, will be removed.

Comments deemed to be advertising a product or service will be removed.

We may remove references to specific medical products or medicines where the context is not appropriate.

Irrespective of their content, comments will be removed if they were, or might reasonably be suspected of having been, made following financial or any other inducement.

Contempt of court rules mean you must not make comments that could prejudice the outcome of a court case or General Medical Council hearing. Comments on matters that subsequently become subject to court proceedings will also be removed where they risk contempt of court. Contributions that breach a court injunction will be removed.

Defamation may occur when someone makes an untrue statement that damages a person’s reputation, or expresses an opinion they do not sincerely hold.

Social Media Policy

The National Elf Service maintains a presence across a number of social media platforms as part of its commitment to communicating clearly, quickly and engagingly with people interested in our work. Details of our current social media accounts can be found on our website.

Content we share

Content published by the National Elf Service on social media may include, but is not limited to:

  • links to news releases, blog posts, videos, guidance and other approved, publicly available National Elf Service material;
  • links to relevant information produced and published by other organisations, researchers and news outlets;
  • interesting facts, quotes or observations related to our work;
  • topical questions intended to provoke discussion relevant to our work.

Sharing and re-sharing content

Content we share or re-post (including retweets, reposts or shares) from other accounts does not imply endorsement by the National Elf Service. We may share content we consider relevant to the work we do without necessarily agreeing with every view expressed.

Our social media activity should not be taken as an indication of any shift in the National Elf Service’s official position on any matter. Any change in our official position on legislation, guidance, investigations or audits will be communicated through formal channels: official publications, statements on our website, speeches and media releases.

Accounts we follow

The National Elf Service’s decision to follow a particular account on any social media platform does not imply endorsement of any kind. We follow accounts we consider relevant to our work, which may include commercial organisations and their representatives.

Availability and monitoring

We commit to updating and monitoring our social media accounts during normal office hours (09:00–17:30, GMT). We may also monitor and respond outside these hours. We accept no responsibility for any lack of service due to downtime on third-party platforms.

We will read all direct messages and replies sent to our accounts and respond where possible.

Complaints, media requests and personal matters

For media requests, freedom of information (FOI) requests or formal complaints, please use our traditional contact channels rather than social media.

Staff using personal accounts

Some National Elf Service staff post on social media under their own names or pseudonyms. Despite their professional affiliation with the National Elf Service, their posts do not represent the official position of the organisation and should be regarded as personal views.

Third-party platforms

Social media platforms used by the National Elf Service are operated by third parties and are subject to their own terms of service and privacy policies. We are not responsible for the availability, content or practices of these platforms. We encourage you to review the relevant platform’s policies before engaging with our content.

Disclaimer

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

We do not warrant that the functions or material contained on this site will be uninterrupted or error free, that defects will be corrected, or that this site or the server that makes it available is free of viruses or fully represents the functionality, accuracy and 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 National Elf Service website.

Although we may from time to time monitor or review discussions, postings, transmissions and similar content on www.nationalelfservice.net, we are under no obligation to do so and assume no responsibility or liability arising from the content of any such material, nor for any error, omission, infringement, defamation, obscenity or inaccuracy contained therein.

We may revise these terms and conditions without notice. Please check this page regularly. Continued use of the National Elf Service website after any change constitutes your acceptance of that change.

A breach of any of our rules may result in your comment being rejected. Repeated or serious breaches may lead to the National Elf Service blocking contributions from your email address or suspending your ability to comment.

The National Elf Service reserves the right to delete any content at any time for any reason and is under no obligation to publish any contribution.