Terms and conditions

The following terms and conditions (Terms of Website Use) relate to the Better Health website

For information relating to the NHS 12-week diet and exercise mobile app, see the Better Health app terms and conditions. You must be at least 18 years old to use the NHS weight loss app.

Please read these terms and conditions carefully before using the Site

Please note that the information we provide should not replace the advice of your healthcare professional.

Please contact us for more details.

This page was last updated: 1 October 2021.

Terms of website use

These Terms of Website Use (together with the documents referred to in it) tell you the terms on which you may make use of our website (the Site), whether as a guest or a registered user. Use of the Site includes accessing, browsing, or registering to use the Site.

Please read these Terms of Website Use carefully before you start to use the Site. We recommend that you print a copy of the terms for future reference.

By using the Site, you confirm that you accept these Terms of Website Use and that you agree to comply with them.

If you do not agree to these Terms of Website Use, you must not use the Site.

Other applicable terms

These Terms of Website Use refer to the following additional terms, which also apply to your use of the Site:

• Our Privacy Policy sets out the terms on which we process any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us. By using the Site, you consent to such processing and you warrant that all data provided by you is accurate.
• Our Acceptable Use Policy sets out the permitted uses and prohibited uses of the Site. When using the Site, you must comply with this Acceptable Use Policy.
• Our Cookie Policy; sets out information about the cookies on the Site.

Information about us

Better Health is a site operated by Department of Health and Social Care and has an office at 39 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0EU, United Kingdom.

Changes to these terms

We may revise these Terms of Website Use at any time by amending this page.

Please check this page from time to time to take notice of any changes we have made, as they are binding on you.

Changes to the Site

We may update the Site from time to time, and may change the content at any time. However, please note that any of the content on the Site may be out of date at any given time, and we are under no obligation to update it.

We do not guarantee that the Site, or any content on it, will be free from errors or omissions.

Accessing the Site

The Site is made available free of charge.

We do not guarantee that the Site, or any content on it, will always be available or be uninterrupted. Access to the Site is permitted on a temporary basis. We may suspend, withdraw, discontinue or change all or any part of the Site without notice. We will not be liable to you if for any reason the Site is unavailable at any time or for any period.

You are responsible for making all arrangements necessary for you to have access to the Site.

You are also responsible for ensuring that all persons who access the Site through your internet connection are aware of these Terms of Website Use and other applicable terms and conditions, and that they comply with them.

Intellectual property rights

We are the owner or the licensee of all intellectual property rights in the Site, and in the material published on it. Those works are protected by copyright laws and treaties around the world. All such rights are reserved.

You may print off one copy, and may download extracts, of any page(s) from the Site for your personal use and you may draw the attention of others within your organisation to content posted on the Site.

You must not modify the paper or digital copies of any materials you have printed off or downloaded in any way, and you must not use any illustrations, photographs, video or audio sequences or any graphics separately from any accompanying text.

Our status (and that of any identified contributors) as the authors of content on the Site must always be acknowledged.

You must not use any part of the content on the Site for commercial purposes without obtaining a licence to do so from us or our licensors.

If you print off, copy or download any part of the Site in breach of these Terms of Website Use, your right to use the Site will cease immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made.

No reliance on information

The content on the Site is provided for general information only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on the Site.

Although we make reasonable efforts to update the information on the Site, we make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether express or implied, that the content on the Site is accurate, complete or up-to-date.

Medical information

The content on the Site provides medical information for use as information or for educational purposes. We do not warrant that information we provide will meet your health or medical requirements. It is up to you to contact a health professional if you are concerned about your health.

The content on the Site does not give medical advice in relation to any individual case or patient, nor does it provide medical or diagnostic services.

If you are a medical or health professional then you are encouraged to use the content on the Site for general information purposes. However, you should not rely on material included on the Site and we do not accept any responsibility if you do.

Dietary advice – important information

Better Health is unable to give individual dietary advice. If you have or care for a person with special dietary requirements, medical needs, eating disorders, or specialised nutrition advice (for example, if you or another person are underweight or very overweight), you should seek guidance from a registered healthcare professional.

Limitation of our liability

Nothing in these Terms of Website Use excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury arising from our negligence, or our fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited by English law.

To the extent permitted by law, we exclude all conditions, warranties, representations or other terms which may apply to the Site or any content on it, whether express or implied.

We will not be liable to any user for any loss or damage, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, even if foreseeable, arising under or in connection with:

• use of, or inability to use, the Site; or
• use of or reliance on any content displayed on the Site.

If you are a business user, please note that in particular, we will not be liable for:

• loss of profits, sales, business, or revenue;
• business interruption;
• loss of anticipated savings;
• loss of business opportunity, goodwill or reputation; or
• any indirect or consequential loss or damage.

If you are a consumer user, please note that we only provide the Site for domestic and private use. You agree not to use the Site for any commercial or business purposes, and we have no liability to you for any loss of profit, loss of business, business interruption, or loss of business opportunity.

We will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by a virus, distributed denial-of-service attack, or other technologically harmful material that may infect your computer equipment, computer programs, data or other proprietary material due to your use of the Site or to your downloading of any content on it, or on any website linked to it.

We assume no responsibility for the content of websites linked on the Site. Such links should not be interpreted as endorsement by us of those linked websites. We will not be liable for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them.

Viruses

We do not guarantee that the Site will be secure or free from bugs or viruses.

You are responsible for configuring your information technology, computer programs and platform in order to access the Site. You should use your own virus protection software.

You must not misuse the Site by knowingly introducing viruses, Trojans, worms, logic bombs or other material which is malicious or technologically harmful. You must not attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Site, the server on which the Site is stored or any server, computer or database connected to the Site. You must not attack the Site via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of service attack. By breaching this provision, you would commit a criminal offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. We will report any such breach to the relevant law enforcement authorities and we will co-operate with those authorities by disclosing your identity to them. In the event of such a breach, your right to use the Site will cease immediately.

Linking to the Site

You may link to our home page, provided you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage our reputation or take advantage of it.

You must not establish a link in such a way as to suggest any form of association, approval or endorsement on our part where none exists.

You must not establish a link to the Site in any website that is not owned by you.

The Site must not be framed on any other site, nor may you create a link to any part of the Site other than the home page.

We reserve the right to withdraw linking permission without notice.

The website in which you are linking must comply in all respects with the content standards set out in our Acceptable Use Policy [Please see our Acceptable Use Policy section].

If you wish to make any use of the content on the Site other than that set out above, please contact us.

Third-party links and resources in the Site

Where the 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.

Applicable law

If you are a consumer, please note that these Terms of Website Use, its subject matter and its formation, are governed by English law. You and we both agree that the courts of England and Wales will have non-exclusive jurisdiction. However, if you are a resident of Northern Ireland you may also bring proceedings in Northern Ireland, and if you are resident of Scotland, you may also bring proceedings in Scotland.

If you are a business, these Terms of Website Use, its subject matter and its formation (and any non-contractual disputes or claims) are governed by English law. We both agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

Trade marks

“Better Health NHS” is a registered trademark of Department of Health and Social Care

Contact us

This Acceptable Use Policy sets out the terms between you and us under which you may access our website (the Site). This Acceptable Use Policy applies to all users of, and visitors to, the Site.

Your use of the Site means that you accept, and agree to abide by, all the policies in this Acceptable Use Policy, which supplement our Terms of Website Use.

Better Health is a site operated by Department of Health and Social Care (We, Us or DHSC) and has an office at 39 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0EU, United Kingdom.

Prohibited uses

You may use the Site only for lawful purposes. You may not use the Site:

• in any way that breaches any applicable local, national or international law or regulation;
• in any way that is unlawful or fraudulent, or has any unlawful or fraudulent purpose or effect;
• for the purpose of harming or attempting to harm minors in any way;
• to bully, insult, intimidate or humiliate any person;
• to send, knowingly receive, upload, download, use or re-use any material which does not comply with our content standards (please see our Content Standards section below);
• to transmit, or procure the sending of, any unsolicited or unauthorised advertising or promotional material or any other form of similar solicitation (spam); or
• to knowingly transmit any data, send or upload any material that contains viruses, Trojans, worms, time-bombs, keystroke loggers, spyware, adware or any other harmful programs or similar computer code designed to adversely affect the operation of any computer software or hardware.

You also agree:

• not to reproduce, duplicate, copy or re-sell any part of the Site in contravention of the provisions of our Terms of Website Use; and
• not to access without authority, interfere with, damage or disrupt:
  - any part of the Site;
  - any equipment or network on which the Site is stored;
  - any software used in the provision of the Site; or
  - any equipment or network or software owned or used by any third party.

Content standards

These content standards apply to any and all material which you may contribute to our site (contributions), and to any interactive services associated with it.

You must comply with the spirit and the letter of the following standards. The standards apply to each part of any contribution as well as to its whole.

Contributions must:

• Be accurate (where they state facts).
• Be genuinely held (where they state opinions).
• Comply with applicable law in the UK and in any country from which they are posted.

Contributions must not:

• Contain any material which is defamatory of any person.
• Contain any material which is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory.
• Promote sexually explicit material.
• Promote violence.
• Promote discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age.
• Infringe any copyright, database right or trade mark of any other person.
• Be likely to deceive any person.
• Be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence.
• Promote any illegal activity.
• Be threatening, abusive or invade another’s privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.
• Be likely to harass, upset, embarrass, alarm or annoy any other person.
• Be used to impersonate any person, or to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person.
• Give the impression that they emanate from us, if this is not the case.
• Advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse.

Suspension and termination

We will determine, in our discretion, whether there has been a breach of this Acceptable Use Policy through your use of the Site. When a breach of this policy has occurred, we may take such action as we deem appropriate.

Failure to comply with this Acceptable Use Policy constitutes a material breach of the Terms of Website Use upon which you are permitted to use the Site, and may result in our taking all or any of the following actions:

• Immediate, temporary or permanent withdrawal of your right to use the Site;
• Immediate, temporary or permanent removal of any posting or material uploaded by you to the Site;
• issue of a warning to you;
• legal proceedings against you for reimbursement of all costs on an indemnity basis (including, but not limited to, reasonable administrative and legal costs) resulting from the breach;
• further legal action against you; and
• disclosure of such information to law enforcement authorities as we reasonably feel is necessary.

We exclude liability for actions taken in response to breaches of this Acceptable use Policy. The responses described in this policy are not limited, and we may take any other action we reasonably deem appropriate.

Changes to the Acceptable Use Policy

We may revise this Acceptable Use Policy at any time by amending this page. You are expected to check this page from time to time to take notice of any changes we make, as they are legally binding on you. Some of the provisions contained in this Acceptable Use Policy may also be superseded by provisions or notices published elsewhere on the Site.