Terms of use and disclaimer
The limits and conditions that apply when using Secure Country Living UK guidance, tools and free downloads.
1. About these terms
These terms apply to the use of securecountryliving.co.uk and the guides, checklists, spreadsheets, PDFs and other resources published by Secure Country Living UK (SCL). By using the site or downloading a resource, you acknowledge the limits set out below.
SCL is an independent information project focused on rural England. The website is not an emergency service, police service, medical provider, engineering consultancy, legal practice, insurer or certification body.
2. General information, not individual advice
Guidance is written to help people think about security, preparedness and resilience in a structured way. It cannot take account of every property's construction, location, occupants, business activity, insurance conditions, planning constraints, safety obligations, local risks or changes in law.
You remain responsible for deciding whether a control is appropriate for your circumstances and for obtaining competent professional advice where the issue requires it.
Using this website, a guide, the security check or a download does not create a professional-client, adviser-client, consultant-client or other service relationship with SCL. SCL does not undertake to monitor a property, review an individual user’s circumstances or respond to security incidents.
3. No guarantee of security or prevention
No lock, gate, alarm, camera, procedure, risk assessment or other security measure can guarantee that crime, loss, injury, disruption or unauthorised access will not occur. Security controls reduce or manage risk; they do not eliminate it. Criminal methods, technology, local conditions and vulnerabilities change.
SCL does not warrant that following a guide will prevent an incident, satisfy an insurer, meet a particular standard or make a site legally compliant.
4. Emergency and personal-safety situations
If a crime is happening now, someone is in immediate danger or urgent emergency assistance is required, call 999 (or 112). Do not delay emergency action in order to consult this website.
SCL guidance does not encourage confrontation, pursuit or physical intervention against suspected offenders. Preserve personal safety, create distance, use safe reporting routes and follow police or emergency-service instructions.
5. Medical and emergency references
Any incidental first-aid, medical or emergency-preparedness references on SCL are general reminders only. SCL does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, clinical instruction or first-aid training. In a medical emergency call 999/112 and follow the instructions of the emergency call handler. Maintain appropriate accredited first-aid training for your role and circumstances.
6. Risk assessments, procedures and templates
SCL templates are starting points. They are not automatically suitable, sufficient or legally compliant for a particular home, farm, estate, workplace, charity, community organisation or business.
- Review and adapt each template before use.
- Identify the person responsible for actions and review dates.
- Check relevant health-and-safety, fire, employment, planning, environmental, data-protection, insurance and industry requirements.
- Do not treat an SCL security risk assessment as a substitute for any statutory assessment your organisation is required to complete.
- Completed documents may contain sensitive security or personal information. Store them securely and restrict access.
- Keep only the information needed for the purpose and review completed documents when circumstances change.
7. Workplace and contractor responsibilities
Employers, organisations and people controlling premises may have legal duties that cannot be transferred to SCL or discharged simply by using an SCL template. In particular, lone working, workplace violence, equipment, fire and general health-and-safety risks should be assessed by the person or organisation responsible for the work.
8. Accuracy and currency
SCL aims to use reliable official or recognised sources where law, policing, safety, planning, privacy or environmental requirements matter. Material is reviewed periodically, but we cannot promise that every page is complete, error-free or immediately updated after a change in law, guidance, standards, products or local practice.
Where a decision has material legal, safety or financial consequences, check the current primary source or obtain suitable professional advice rather than relying solely on a page's review date.
9. Third-party websites and services
Links to police forces, government bodies, regulators, manufacturers, professional organisations or other external sites are provided for reference. SCL does not control third-party content, availability, privacy practices, products or services and does not endorse a commercial product merely by linking to a source.
10. Downloads, licence and permitted use
Unless a resource states otherwise, SCL grants users a non-exclusive, revocable permission to download, print and adapt free SCL templates for personal, household, internal organisational or community use.
You may not sell SCL resources, package them as a paid product, remove SCL attribution and present them as your own publication, or republish substantial SCL content commercially without permission. You may share an unmodified free SCL resource or link to its official download page.
11. Liability
SCL is provided free of charge. To the fullest extent permitted by law, SCL does not accept responsibility for losses that arise solely from reliance on general information where the user has not considered whether it is suitable for the particular circumstances, or from a failure to follow current official instructions, statutory duties, manufacturer instructions or competent professional advice.
Where the law allows, SCL excludes liability for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profit, loss of business, loss of opportunity, loss of data or similar economic loss arising from use of the free website or resources.
Nothing in these terms excludes or restricts liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability or statutory right that cannot lawfully be excluded or restricted.
These terms are intended to describe the reasonable limits of a free information resource, not to deprive consumers or other users of rights given to them by law.
12. Intellectual property
Website text, original document layouts, graphics and SCL branding are protected by applicable intellectual-property rights. Official source material remains the property of its respective owner. Limited quotations and links are used for reference.
13. Misuse
You must not use the website or its resources to facilitate crime, evade lawful security controls, harass another person, gain unauthorised access, interfere with the site, introduce malicious code or misuse security information.
14. Availability and changes
SCL may correct, update, withdraw or replace material without notice. We do not promise continuous availability of the website or any particular download.
15. Governing law
The site is operated for an England-focused audience. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, subject to any mandatory rights or jurisdiction rules that apply to a user and cannot lawfully be displaced.
16. No correspondence service
Secure Country Living UK is provided as a free, self-service information resource. It does not provide individual advice, casework, consultancy, personalised recommendations, security assessments or a general correspondence service through this website.
The privacy-only contact route shown in the Privacy Notice exists solely for data-protection rights and privacy concerns. It is not monitored as an advice, support or emergency service. For emergencies, crimes in progress, safeguarding concerns, legal questions, medical advice or property-specific professional advice, use the appropriate emergency service, public authority or suitably qualified professional.
Last reviewed: 21 September 2026.