Terms & Conditions

Introduction

These terms of use (“Terms”) set out the rules which apply when using the HTA’s biosecurity self-assessment tool known as Plant Healthy (“Plant Healthy”).

Plant Healthy, which is available for HTA members and non-members, helps businesses assess how robust their biosecurity arrangements are when it comes to reducing the risk of transmitting plant disease or pests through the supply chain. Instances of plant pests and diseases can have a significant impact on businesses, for example if a ban is imposed on the movement of plant materials. Plant Healthy is based on established good practice in biosecurity by enabling businesses to carry out a self-assessment (“Self-Assessment”) and signposting suggestions and resources to help the business take action to improve its practices and procedures.

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Who we are and how to contact us

Plant Healthy is provided by the Horticultural Trades Association ("HTA" or “we”) which is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales under company number 00169606 and has its registered office at Horticulture House, Chilton, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RN. Our VAT number is GB 200 437 028.

To contact us, please email services@hta.org.uk or telephone our customer service line on 0333 003 3550.

By using Plant Healthy, you accept these terms

By using Plant Healthy, you confirm that you accept these Terms and that you agree to comply with them. If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use Plant Healthy.

You are also responsible for ensuring that all persons within your business who access Plant Healthy are aware of, and comply with, these Terms and the other terms referred to below.

There are other terms that may apply to you

The following additional terms may also apply to your use of Plant Healthy:

  • Our Privacy Policy. Please also see the sections entitled “Data Submitted Via Plant Healthy” and “Personal Data” below.
  • Our Cookie Policy, which sets out information about the cookies used in Plant Healthy.

We may make changes to these terms

We may revise these Terms at any time. Where practicable we will notify you by email of the changes but please check this page for changes from time to time as they will be binding on you.

We may make changes to Plant Healthy

We may make changes to Plant Healthy at any time. Where practicable we will notify you by email of the changes.

You may use Plant Healthy to repeat the Self-Assessment but please note that we reserve the right to delete any Self-Assessments which are more than two years old.

We reserve the right to withdraw/discontinue Plant Healthy, or to transfer ownership of Plant Healthy to a third party, at any time. We will notify you by email of any such change.

Availability of Plant Healthy

We will use reasonable endeavours to make Plant Healthy available on a 24/7 basis but we do not guarantee that Plant Healthy will always be available or that access to it will be uninterrupted. We may suspend the availability of Plant Healthy for business and operational reasons. We will try to give you reasonable notice of any suspension.

Plant Healthy is designed for users in the United Kingdom

Plant Healthy is designed for use by businesses located in the United Kingdom. Companies based outside the UK (whether overseas subsidiaries of UK companies or supplying into the UK market) may use Plant Healthy but you are reminded that Plant Healthy only takes account of UK legal requirements and that you are responsible for deciding whether Plant Healthy is suitable for use in your business.

You must keep your account details safe

You must keep your account details (including and user ID, password and other security information) confidential and you must not disclose it to any third party.

We have the right to disable any your account at any time if, in our reasonable opinion, you have failed to comply with any of the provisions of these Terms.

If you know or suspect that anyone other than you knows your user ID or password, you must promptly notify us at services@hta.org.uk.

Proprietary Rights

You acknowledge that Plant Healthy is the property of the HTA that we are the owner or licensee of all intellectual property rights in Plant Healthy and the material generated through your use of it. Those works are protected by copyright laws and treaties around the world. All such rights are reserved.

You must not reproduce, duplicate, copy or re-sell any part of Plant Healthy save as expressly permitted by these Terms.

How you may use Plant Healthy

We grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferrable licence:

  • to use Plant Healthy;
  • to print off and download material generated through your use of Plant Healthy; and
  • to use the material you print off or download,

solely for the purposes of your own legitimate business interests, and for no other purpose. You shall not be entitled to supply, market, sell, make available or otherwise dispose of the material generated through your use of Plant Healthy to any third party.

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 as the owner of Plant Healthy and the material generated through it must always be acknowledged.

If you use Plant Healthy or the material generated through your use of it in breach of these Terms, your right to use Plant Healthy will cease immediately, no refunds will be given and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made.

Prohibited Use

You may use Plant Healthy only for lawful purposes. You may not use it:

  • 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; or
  • to transmit, or procure the sending of, any unsolicited or unauthorised advertising or promotional material or any other form of similar solicitation (spam).

You also agree not to access without authority, interfere with, damage or disrupt any part of Plant Healthy, the equipment or network on which it is stored or any software used in the provision of Plant Healthy.

We are not responsible for viruses and you must not introduce them

We do not guarantee that Plant Healthy will be secure or free from bugs or viruses.

You are responsible for configuring your information technology, computer programmes and platform to access Plant Healthy. You should use your own virus protection software.

You must not misuse Plant Healthy by knowingly introducing viruses, trojans, worms, logic bombs or other material that is malicious or technologically harmful. You must not attempt to gain unauthorised access to Plant Healthy, the server on which Plant Healthy is stored or any server, computer or database connected to Plant Healthy. You must not attack Plant Healthy 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 Plant Healthy will cease immediately, no refunds will be given and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made.

Do not rely on information generated by Plant Healthy

Plant Healthy is intended to help businesses assess their biosecurity risks but it is not intended to amount to professional or specialist advice on biosecurity and we cannot accept responsibility for your reliance on Plant Healthy and the material generated through your use of it.

Although we make reasonable efforts to update the information in Plant Healthy, we make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether express or implied, that such information is accurate, complete or up to date.

Links to other websites

Plant Healthy includes links enabling you to access other websites and resources provided by third parties. These links are provided for your information only and should not be interpreted as approval by us of those linked websites or the information you may obtain from them. We have no control over the contents of those websites or resources.

Data submitted via Plant Healthy

Your use of Plant Healthy will include submitting data to us. You warrant that you are entitled to submit the data and will ensure that any data submitted via Plant Healthy is accurate and up to date.

The data which you submit via Plant Healthy will be used as follows:

  • it will be submitted to the contractor engaged by the HTA from time to time to develop and host Plant Healthy;
  • to administer Plant Healthy and generate the results of the Self-Assessment;
  • to enable individual users to have a single sign-on for both Plant Healthy and the HTA’s other websites;
  • to send you reminders to complete or update the Self-Assessment;
  • it will be aggregated with data submitted by other businesses and used to produce information (in an aggregated and anonymous format) to enable other users of Plant Healthy to assess their biosecurity risks and to produce HTA’s reports and analyses which will be made available to HTA members and the wider public;
  • to send you plant health information and alerts;
  • to send you information about products and services, both free and unpaid for, which we believe may be of interest to you;
  • we may, with your agreement, pass on the results of the Self-Assessment to an inspector so that your business can be accredited for a full plant healthy standard; and
  • we will use the results of the Self-Assessment to review what HTA membership benefits should be offered to your business, including eligibility to attend HTA events and participate in the HTA’s sub-groups and committees. We may carry out these reviews in conjunction with support from our third party partners (such as the organisers of HTA events). For example, we will only allow businesses which have completed the Self-Assessment to exhibit at our National Plant Show trade show.

You agree that the data you submit by Plant Healthy may be used in these ways and you acknowledge that you will not be entitled to payment for such use.

Plant Healthy may in future be developed to give you the option to upload information as evidence in support of the answers your have input into Plant Healthy. We will use reasonable endeavours to keep such documentation safe and confidential but we cannot accept any responsibility if such information is lost or deleted.

Personal Data

Plant Healthy offers a self-assessment tool for businesses purposes and the majority of the information exchanged through it will be of a business to business nature. To the extent that we collect and use any personal data via Plant Healthy (for example the business email addresses and other business contact details of the users within your business), such information will be processed in accordance with the HTA’s privacy policy.

Our responsibility for loss or damage suffered by you

We do not exclude or limit in any way our liability to you where it would be unlawful to do so. This includes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or the negligence of our employees, agents or subcontractors and liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.

We exclude all implied conditions, warranties, representations or other terms that may apply to Plant Healthy and any material generated through your use of it.

Although we will do our best to make sure that Plant Healthy is available and that the material generated through your use of Plant Healthy is accurate, we will not be liable 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:

  • your use of, or inability to use, Plant Healthy;
  • your use of or reliance on any material generated through your use of Plant Healthy; or
  • any errors in the material generated through your use of Plant Healthy.

In particular, we will not be liable to you 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.

All conditions, warranties and representations implied by statute or common law in relation to your use of Plant Healthy and the material generated through your use of it are excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law.

Our trade marks

All trade marks appearing in Plant Healthy, in particular our “Plant Healthy” trade mark (UK trade mark application number UK00003369108) but also any other registered or unregistered trade marks, belong to the HTA and, except to the extent that they are reproduced on any materials which you print off or download through your use of Plant Healthy in accordance with these Terms, you are not permitted to use them without our express written consent.

Which country's laws apply to any disputes?

These Terms, and our contract with you for the use of Plant Healthy and its formation, shall be governed by English law. Any disputes between us (including any non-contractual disputes or claims) are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.