What are the subscription terms and conditions?

When you subscribe to the SI Tracker® service you will be asked to accept an Agreement between you (the Customer) and the Hansard Society (the Supplier), which comprises the Subscription Terms and Conditions, the Authorised User: Terms of Use, and the Service Level Agreement.

Terms and conditions are notoriously dense and difficult to understand. However, they contain incredibly important information about the service you are using and your rights as a customer. So, to help you understand the commitment you are making, below are detailed some of the key points that customers raise with us about the T&Cs.

Is this a recurring subscription?

Yes, a subscription is for 12-months (the Initial Term) and will automatically renew for additional one-year periods (the Renewal Term), unless you cancel.

How do I cancel the subscription if I do not want to renew?

You can cancel the subscription by giving us 90 days prior written notice (see clause 13) before the renewal date. We will contact you in advance of your renewal date to remind you of the upcoming deadline.

Does the Fee increase each year?

We reserve the right to increase the annual fee after the first year. However, the increase shall not be greater than the percentage increase in the most recent Retail Price Index, as published in the month or period preceding the implementation of the increase (see clause 8).

• We will not introduce more than one increase in any 12-month period.

• We must give you 30-days' written notice of our intention to increase the Fee.

• You can cancel the Service within that 30-day period.

• If no cancellation of the Service is requested, the increase in the Annual Fee will be implemented.

What support does the Hansard Society provide for customers using the SI Tracker®?

The Society provides customers with the same or next Business Day 'Helpline' support by email or telephone. The purpose of this support is to give Customers general assistance in the use of the Service, for example by helping Customers to understand the process/procedures set out in the SI Tracker®. We do not provide advice on substantive matters of policy in relation to particular Statutory Instruments or other legislation.

The support is provided on the basis that usage will be fair and reasonable (see the Service Level Agreement).

Customers may also request online training on the use of the Tracker if they have not previously received such training. We reserve the right to charge an additional fee for any additional training required by the Customer.

What happens if the SI Tracker® is unavailable?

The SI Tracker® is very rarely offline. We do have a 'planned maintenance window' (Saturday 02:00am GMT to Sunday 20:00pm GMT) written into the Agreement during which time we may take the Service offline, in order to carry out software updates and implement functionality improvements. However, we alert Customers to this work in advance so you can plan ahead.

In the event that the Service is unavailable for more than 24-hours, for reasons other than a Force Majeure event or planned or unscheduled maintenance, then our Customers are entitled to reimbursement of a pro rata share of the Annual Fee for the downtime endured. To date, this has never happened.

What happens to our personal data?

The only data we collect is that which is required to process subscriptions, payments and to set up User Accounts. How and why we manage data and confidential information is set out in our Privacy Policy. We will never share your data with any third-parties.

Can I change my nominated User Account holders during the subscription period?

Yes, that is fine. If you are not using your full User Account entitlement, then just email us the details of the person you want to have access to the Service, and we can set them up on the system within 24-hours (and often much quicker).

If you are using your full User Account entitlement, then to add someone new to the Service, you should either: a) request an additional user account and pay the additional user account fee; or b) remove a designated user and replace them with another user. In the case of (b), simply email us the details of both the User you want to remove access from and the User you want to grant access to, and we can set that up within 24-hours or less.

Who is the SI Tracker® for?

The SI Tracker® is an online solution for those who need to track legislative and regulatory changes being made through Statutory Instruments laid before the Westminster Parliament. It ensures users have quick access to the latest information and intelligence on all SIs laid before the UK Parliament as they progress through both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The SI Tracker® is used by a wide range of parliamentarians, lawyers, campaigners, academic researchers, public affairs executives and regulation and compliance officers.

What SIs are captured by the SI Tracker®?

The SI Tracker® captures all Statutory Instruments laid before the Westminster Parliament since the start of the 2017-19 parliamentary session. In addition to SIs that are subject to ‘standard’ parliamentary procedures, such as the 'negative' and 'affirmative' procedures, we also monitor SIs subject to bespoke ‘strengthened scrutiny’ procedures such as Legislative Reform Orders, Localism Orders, Public Body Orders and Remedial Orders. The SI Tracker® also captures statements of changes to the Immigration Rules.

The Tracker does not include SIs that are ‘made-only’ (i.e., not laid before Parliament), such as Commencement Orders. However, to assist clients we now include links to new Commencement Orders in the daily update email. This link takes you direct to the Order on legislation.gov.uk.

The Tracker does not include SIs that are laid before the devolved legislatures only (i.e., Scottish Statutory Instruments, Wales Statutory Instruments, and Northern Ireland Statutory Rules). However, there are some devolved SIs that are laid before the Westminster Parliament and so are added to the Tracker (e.g., SIs that require approval by multiple legislatures, Northern Ireland Statutory Rules when the Northern Ireland Assembly is not sitting, etc).

How frequently is the SI Tracker® updated?

The SI Tracker® is updated every working day. Our team adds new entries and updates existing entries within 24 hours of an SI being published or a parliamentary event occurring. Our service is the most rapidly updated and comprehensive database of SIs laid before the Westminster Parliament.

Can I access historic data from the SI Tracker®?

Yes. The SI Tracker® includes all SIs laid before the Westminster Parliament since the start of the 2017-19 parliamentary session. Subscribers can access the records of all SIs captured in the SI Tracker® since this date. Once an SI completes its parliamentary passage it moves from the 'live' list of SIs to the 'concluded' archive list, but it can still be accessed at any time and is included in the search function.

How can I access the SI Tracker®?

The SI Tracker® is a web-based app so it can be accessed on devices such as your smartphone, tablet, laptop and desktop, providing they are connected to the internet.

Once you complete the subscription process we will send you the link to the app, along with your username and password. Once you have these you can log in anytime. You should receive your account details within 24 hours (and often much quicker), once the necessary checks are complete on your application and payment.

Why does the Hansard Society provide this service?

The Hansard Society is the leading research organisation dedicated to the study of Parliament. While researching our report The Devil is in the Detail: Parliament and Delegated Legislation, we discovered that business and civil society found it very difficult to keep track of Statutory Instruments. Using our knowledge of how the parliamentary scrutiny system works, we built the SI Tracker® with support from the digital development agency Tinderhouse.

Our own team use the SI Tracker® for research purposes. We use the unique database to generate evidence about the way in which the scrutiny process works, and use the findings in Select Committee evidence submissions, media briefings and our own publications. We therefore have a vested interest in making sure the SI Tracker® data is accurate and precise.

The Hansard Society is a not-for-profit organisation. The subscription income generated by the SI Tracker® is re-invested in our research and education projects. So, if you subscribe to the SI Tracker®, you are also helping support our wider work to promote parliamentary democracy and champion more informed public understanding of how Parliament works.

If I don't understand something in the SI Tracker®, can I contact the Society?

Absolutely! We have a friendly and easy-to-reach SI Tracker® team who are happy to be contacted by either phone or email. The SI Tracker® Terms and Conditions include a 'fair use' policy for using our services in this way.

In addition to helping you unpick the complex SI system, our team of parliamentary specialists can also provide bespoke training masterclasses in all aspects of the legislative process and parliamentary procedure, to complement and support your research and monitoring needs.

What is the return on investment of an SI Tracker® subscription?

Each year around 1,000+ regulations are laid before the Westminster Parliament. Tracking these is a painstaking job, and keeping up to date with multiple sources of legal, governmental and parliamentary information about an SI is complex and difficult.

The biggest ROI is therefore in the saving of staff time looking for the regulatory needle in a haystack. In short, using our SI Tracker® will save you time (and therefore money) which can be spent on other tasks. It will also reduce your exposure to risk - there's less chance of you or a colleague missing some vital information or a critical scrutiny or submission deadline. We keep track of all the parliamentary details so you don't have to!