Compliance

Last updated: 1 June 2025

These Website Terms of Use, together with any and all other documents referred to herein, set out the terms under which you may use this website, www.bna.org.uk (our “Site”). Please read these Terms of Use carefully and ensure you understand them. Your agreement to comply with and be bound by these Terms of Use is deemed to occur upon your first use of our Site. If you do not agree to comply with and be bound by these Terms of Use, you must stop using our Site immediately.

1. Definitions

In these Terms of Use, the following expressions have the following meanings:

 “Content” means all text, images, audio, video, scripts, code, software, databases and any other form of information capable of being stored on a computer that appears on, or forms part of, our Site;

“System” means any online communications facility we make available on our Site either now or in the future. This may include, but is not limited to, contact forms, email, and live chat; and

“we”, “us” and “our” means British Neuroscience Association Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales under company number 04307833, charity number 1103852 and whose registered address is The Dorothy Hodgkin Building, Whitson Street, Bristol BS1 3NY.

2. Access to our Site

Access to our Site is free of charge.

We may alter, suspend or discontinue our Site (or any part of it) at any time and without notice. We will not be liable to you in any way if our Site (or any part of it) is unavailable at any time and for any period.

3. Intellectual property rights

The content of this website is the sole property of The British Neuroscience Association (BNA), and all intellectual property rights existing in this site (including but not exclusively any copyright and design right) belong exclusively to the BNA, unless otherwise specified.

All Content is protected by applicable United Kingdom and international intellectual property laws and treaties.

You may not reproduce, copy, distribute, sell, rent, sub-licence, store or in any other manner re-use Content from our Site without our prior written consent.

Our status as the owner and author of the Content on our Site (or that of identified licensors, as appropriate) must always be acknowledged.

You may not use any Content saved or downloaded from our Site for commercial purposes without first obtaining a licence from Us (or our licensors, as appropriate) to do so.

The logo device is the sole property of the BNA. The BNA logo and associated logos must not be used without express written permission of the BNA.

4. Links to our Site

You may link to our site, provided that you:

• do so in a fair and legal manner;
• do not do so in a manner that suggests any form of association, endorsement or approval on Our part where none exists;
• do not use any logos or trademarks displayed on our Site without our prior written consent; and
• do not do so in a way that is calculated to damage our reputation or to take unfair advantage of it.

You may not link to our Site from any other site the content of which contains material that is explicit, obscene, offensive, promotes violence or unlawful activity, discriminatory or implies any form of affiliation with us where none exists.

5. Links to other websites

Links to other websites may be included on our Site. Unless expressly stated, these websites are not under our control. We neither assume nor accept responsibility or liability for the content of third party websites. The inclusion of a link to another website on our Site is for information only and does not imply any endorsement of the websites themselves or of those in control of them.

6. Membership

All of our individual membership packages are paid on an annual basis for a 12 month period.

The membership fee may be increased or reduced at any time and at our sole discretion. We will contact you should there be any changes to the membership fee.

We reserve the right to reject membership for any reason whatsoever.

Members can cancel their membership at any point. Refunds are only available within seven days of joining or renewing your membership to the BNA. After this point, fees are non-refundable. Refunds are subject to a £10 administration charge. Please contact the BNA office to arrange a refund ([email protected]).

BNA members are welcome to state their membership in public profiles but must also:

• state what type (Professional, Early Career, Postgraduate, Undergraduate, Career Starter, Associate, Retired or Honorary)
• never refer to the BNA in a way that implies the BNA’s endorsement of a commercial or non-profit-making activity, without first gaining written permission of the BNA. If a member is found to be doing so, their membership could be terminated.

British Neuroscience Association members are expected to follow the principles of the BNA Equity, Diversity and Inclusion policy.

7. Events

All members, speakers, delegates, staff, exhibitors and all others interacting with the BNA community are expected to follow the BNA's Safer Spaces policy.

We will use the information you have provided to keep you informed about events and to advise you of the same or similar events in future years. Where required, we will also share details with third parties who are assisting with the event. By registering for an event, you agree to this use of your information.

Please be aware that we may record parts of events for use in presentations and communications explaining our work.

Paid-for events will only be refunded if cancelled within seven days of purchase, unless otherwise stated. Please note all refunds are subject to a £10 administration charge.

8. Disclaimers

Nothing on our Site constitutes advice on which you should rely. It is provided for general information purposes only.

Insofar as is permitted by law, we make no representation, warranty, or guarantee that our Site will meet your requirements, that it will not infringe the rights of third parties, that it will be compatible with all software and hardware or that it will be secure.

We make reasonable efforts to ensure the Content on our Site is complete, accurate and up-to-date. We do not, however, make any representations, warranties or guarantees (whether express or implied) that the Content is complete, accurate or up-to-date.

We make reasonable efforts to ensure all pricing information shown on our Site is correct at the time of going online. We reserve the right to change prices at any time and may add or remove special offers and promotions from time to time.

While we take every reasonable effort to ensure all representations and descriptions of services available from us correspond to the actual services available, minor variations or errors may occur.

Our site may include information and materials uploaded by other users of the site, including some Content. This information and these materials have not been verified or approved by us. The views expressed by other users on our site do not represent our views or values. We are not responsible for the information, materials or Content uploaded by other users of our site, in particular this applies to the Membership Directory section of the our site. We may not be held liable for any loss or damage that may arise, or be alleged to arise, from the publication of information, materials or Content by other users of our site, or the reliance on any such information, materials or Content.

9. Our liability

To the fullest extent permissible by law, we accept no liability to any user/member for any loss or damage, whether foreseeable or otherwise, in contract, tort (including negligence), for breach of statutory duty or otherwise, arising out of or in connection with the use of (or inability to use) our Site or the use of or reliance upon any Content included on our Site.

To the fullest extent permissible by law, we exclude all representations, warranties and guarantees (whether express or implied) that may apply to our Site or any Content included on our Site.

We exercise all reasonable skill and care to ensure our Site is free from viruses and other malware. We accept no liability for any loss or damage resulting from a virus or other malware, a distributed denial of service attack or other harmful material or event that may adversely affect your hardware, software, data or other material that occurs as a result of your use of our Site (including the downloading of any Content from it) or any other site referred to on our Site.

We neither assume nor accept responsibility or liability arising out of any disruption or non-availability of our Site resulting from external causes including, but not limited to, ISP equipment failure, host equipment failure, communications network failure, natural events, acts of war, or legal restrictions and censorship.

Nothing in these Terms of Use excludes or restricts our liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, for death or personal injury resulting from our negligence or for any other forms of liability which cannot be excluded or restricted by law.

10. Viruses, malware and security

We exercise all reasonable skill and care to ensure our Site is secure and free from viruses and other malware.

You are responsible for protecting your hardware, software, data and other material from viruses, malware and other internet security risks.

You must not deliberately introduce viruses or other malware, or any other material which is malicious or technologically harmful either to or via our Site.

You must not attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of our Site, the server on which our Site is stored or any other server, computer, or database connected to our Site.

You must not attack our Site by means of a denial of service attack, a distributed denial of service attack or by any other means.

11. Data protection, privacy and cookies

Use of our Site is also governed by our Privacy Policy (available at INSERT LINK) and our Cookies Policy (available at INSERT LINK). These policies are incorporated into these Terms of Use by this reference.

All personal information we may use will be collected, processed and held in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 2018, the EU Regulation 2016/679 General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and your rights under the GDPR.

For details of our collection, processing, storage and retention of personal data including, but not limited to, the purpose(s) for which personal data is used, the legal basis or bases for using it, details of your rights and how to exercise them and personal data sharing (where applicable), please refer to our Privacy and Cookies Policies.

12. Changes to these Terms of Use

We may alter these Terms of Use at any time. Any such changes will become binding on you upon your first use of our Site after the changes have been implemented. You should therefore check this page from time to time.

In the event of any conflict between the current version of these Terms of Use and any previous version(s), the provisions current and in effect shall prevail unless it is expressly stated otherwise.

13. Governing law and jurisdiction

These Terms of Use shall be construed in accordance with and governed by English law.

For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in these terms shall confer on any third party any benefit or the right to enforce any term or terms. Nothing in this website shall be deemed to create a binding contract between the BNA and any users of the website.

Last updated June 2025

Cookies are small text files that can be used by websites to make a user's experience more efficient. We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. 

This site uses different types of cookies. Some cookies are placed by third party services that appear on our pages. Cookies set by the website owner (in this case, BRITISH NEUROSCIENCE ASSOCIATION LTD) are called “first party cookies”. Cookies set by parties other than the website owner are called “third party cookies”. Third party cookies enable third party features or functionality to be provided on or through the website (e.g. like advertising, interactive content and analytics). The parties that set these third party cookies can recognize your computer both when it visits the website in question and also when it visits certain other websites.

The law states that we can store cookies on your device if they are strictly necessary for the operation of this site. For all other types of cookies we need your permission.

You can at any time change or withdraw your consent from the Cookie Declaration on our website.

Learn more about who we are, how you can contact us and how we process personal data in our Privacy Policy.

We use the following cookies:

• Strictly necessary cookies. Necessary cookies help make a website usable by enabling basic functions like page navigation and access to secure areas of the website. The website cannot function properly without these cookies.
• Analytical/performance cookies. They allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily.
• Functionality cookies. These are used to recognise you when you return to our website. This enables us to personalise our content for you, greet you by name and remember your preferences (for example, your choice of language or region).
• Targeting cookies. These cookies record your visit to our website, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed. We will use this information to make our website and the advertising displayed on it more relevant to your interests. We may also share this information with third parties for this purpose.

You have the right to decide whether to accept or reject cookies. You can exercise your cookie rights by setting your preferences in the Cookie Consent Manager. The Cookie Consent Manager allows you to select which categories of cookies you accept or reject. Essential cookies cannot be rejected as they are strictly necessary to provide you with services.

The Cookie Content Manager can be found in the notification banner and on our website. If you choose to reject cookies, you may still use our website though your access to some functionality and areas of our website may be restricted. You may also set or amend your web browser controls to accept or refuse cookies. As the means by which you can refuse cookies through your web browser controls vary from browser-to-browser, you should visit your browser’s help menu for more information.

If you have any questions about our use of cookies or other technologies, please email us at [email protected] or visit our privacy policy.

EQUITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION POLICY

Last reviewed June 2025

The BNA is committed to providing and promoting equal opportunities throughout its work, including via the use of procedures and practices which are inclusive and anti-discriminatory. 

The BNA actively seeks to eliminate discrimination or bias related to the protected characteristics of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation or any combination of these. Discrimination on any of these grounds is unlawful under the Equality Act 2010. The BNA further seeks to eliminate any less favourable treatment relating personal situation, for instance: level of education or socioeconomic background. 

Specifically, the BNA strives to avoid biases of any kind across its membership procedures, funding and award allocation processes, print and online publications, conferences and events, and when engaging in the employment, election or appointment of staff, Council and Committee members and any other paid or voluntary roles. 

As part of this, the BNA formally endorses the ALBA Declaration on Equity and Inclusion, and works to fulfil its goals.

For the BNA to endorse, fund or participate in an event, meeting or activity (whether internal or external), the expectation is therefore that it will follow the principles of this Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Policy and meet the following conditions: 

• At least a third but ideally half of the total number of speakers should be women (on the basis that around half of the UK population are women); 
• Individual sessions in multi-session meetings, and any committees, selection panels, author lists, or similar activities, should not be populated exclusively by men; 
• There should be clear and demonstrable efforts to include minority ethnic groups in every activity. For UK-based activities, there should be an ambition of having representation aligned with UK population levels; and 
• It is the expectation of the BNA that any activities, run by the BNA itself or as a partner or a supporter, will consider diverse representation and inclusion across as many as possible of the protected characteristics listed in paragraph 2 above. 

Breaches of this code should be reported to the BNA here.

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BNA SAFER SPACES POLICY

This policy applies to all participants in BNA activities and events, including events hosted by other organisations exclusively for BNA members. It covers participation during the activity as well as any related correspondence before or after.

This Safer Spaces Policy is based on that developed by EDIS, a coalition of organisations working to improve equality, diversity and inclusion within the science and health research sector. The BNA is grateful for their advice and support.
For more on diversity beyond protected characteristics, see: https://acmedsci.ac.uk/about/governance/equality-and-diversity

1. Background and Ethos

The British Neuroscience Association (BNA) is committed to fostering spaces that are respectful, inclusive, and free from harassment for all participants—including Chairs, delegates, speakers, exhibitors, staff, and members of the press (collectively referred to as “event participants” or “participants”).

We welcome participants regardless of:

• Age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.
• Any other aspect of diversity, including those not listed as protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010.

Our aim is to ensure everyone can participate in and enjoy BNA events and activities without feeling harassed, excluded, or uncomfortable—whether in person or through digital communication (e.g. email, social media, chat).

BNA events will be guided by the principles of our equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) work. When engaging with individuals or organisations who contravene these values, our first approach will focus on understanding and supporting learning. However, the BNA reserves the right to withdraw support or engagement from those who continue to contribute to an unsafe environment, either online or in person.

2. Expectations of Behaviour

All event participants are expected to act with integrity and respect. The BNA will not tolerate any form of harassment or intimidation, including:

Harassment (verbal, physical, or written):

• Offensive or unwanted conduct related to personal characteristics (e.g., race, gender, disability, socioeconomic background).
• Use of sexualised or otherwise inappropriate images or content.
• Inappropriate physical contact or unwelcome sexual attention.
• Stalking.
• Sustained interruption of speakers or audience members.
• Unwanted photography or filming.

Intimidation:

• Threats or bullying.
• Personal attacks

These rules apply across all settings, including in-person events, online chats, social media, and emails.

3. Reporting a Breach

If you experience or witness a breach of this policy, you can report it via this form.

• Reports will be received and reviewed by the BNA.
• If your report involves a BNA staff member, please contact the BNA President directly.

4. BNA Response to Breaches

The BNA reserves the right to take appropriate action, including:

• Requesting individuals stop inappropriate behaviour.
• Removing participants from events or communication platforms.
• Notifying an individual’s host institution regarding harassment reports.

In all cases, event leads and BNA staff may intervene. Participants are expected to comply with any requests immediately.

We are also committed to supporting those affected. This may include:

• Facilitating a conversation or mediation (with an option to nominate an observer or support person).
• Removing individuals from communication threads to help protect wellbeing.