Statement of Public Task for the Ministry of Defence
This statement sets out the functions carried out by the Ministry of Defence (“MOD”), that are
within the MOD’s public task under the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015 (the
“2015 Regulations”) which can be found here:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/1415/contents/made
This statement should not be construed as being for any other purpose, context, or any restatement of what the MOD does. This statement purely applies to the definition within the 2015
Regulations.
In this context the MOD should be construed as comprising the MOD’s civil service staff and the
Armed Forces. This statement does not apply to the MOD’s Agencies, Trading Funds, areas of MOD
with their own delegation to licence Crown copyright material, for example Defence Geospatial and
Intelligence, or other arms’ length bodies.
Please also note:
The definition afforded to “document” is set out specifically in the 2015 Regulations, and should be
construed in line with this, and not its literal or any dictionary definition of the term. Likewise the
term “Re-use” also takes a specific meaning, as is set out in the 2015 Regulations.
Unless licence terms are automatically ascribed to documents you may wish to Re-use or, they are
not addressed by other documents or processes set out on this page, you will need to make a formal
request to Re-use documents to the MOD’s Crown copyright administrator using DIPR-CC@MOD.UK
using the format set out in the 2015 Regulations. In order to be a valid request, please note the
requirement to be clear as to your intended usage of any such documents.
For the purposes of the 2015 Regulations, the MOD’s public task is to:
Protect the security, independence and interests of our country at home and abroad. The MOD
works with our allies and partners whenever possible. The MOD’s aim is to ensure that the armed
forces have the training, equipment and support necessary for their work.
We have 7 military tasks:
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defending the UK and its overseas territories
providing strategic intelligence
providing nuclear deterrence
supporting civil emergency organisations in times of crisis
defending our interests by projecting power strategically and through expeditionary
interventions
providing a defence contribution to UK influence
providing security for stabilisation
Documents supplied by the MOD as a part of this public task will be available for Re-use unless they
are excluded by virtue of exemptions in the 2015 Regulations, or as otherwise are set out below. The
MOD attempts to make specific categories of document (and wider information) available through
formal and consistent processes, including:
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The MOD operates a publication scheme which sets out information available to the public
about how we operate and spend our budget. Details can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-defence/about/publicationscheme along with terms of use.
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The MOD publishes datasets to data.gov.uk, which can be found here:
http://data.gov.uk/publisher/ministry-of-defence and the MOD also provides images of
where it and its staff operate on our official imagery website here:
https://www.defenceimagery.mod.uk Both of these websites set out the terms of use for
documents held therein.
Please note that there are documents which are excluded from the 2015 Regulations. These include:
Per Regulation 2; the definition of “document” specifically excludes a “computer program”.
Accordingly computer programs fall outside the 2015 Regulations and are thus, not available for Reuse thereunder.
Per Regulation 5 (6); “parts of documents containing only logos, crests or insignia” are excluded. In
the case of the MOD, such logos, crests or insignia are likely to be protected by legal rights in
addition to copyright, for example by way of design or trade mark registration. Accordingly the use
of such insignia by any third party outside the MOD may only be in accordance with either one of the
licences available on this web page, or for use on items which are to be sold or given away under a
formal licence as a part of the MOD’s official Merchandising Licensing Programme. The documents
“Armed Forces Officially Licensed Product Guidance” and “Officially Licensed Products application
form” which can be found on this page, explain more.
Per Regulation 7 (a); “a document where access is excluded or restricted under information access
legislation including on the grounds of protection of personal data, protection of national security,
defence or public security, statistical confidentiality or commercial confidentiality (including
business, professional or company secrets)”, means that MOD will consider any request for Re-use
with these principles and requirements in mind.
Some particularly sensitive documents, if falling within the scope of the MOD’s public task, will only
be made available for Re-use, if at all, with the most stringent conditions, as permitted by Regulation
12. These will include, but will not be limited to:
 Identity documents;
 Certification documents of any kind;
 Photographs of the deceased.
If you have any queries on this public task statement you can submit them using the contact details
for the MOD’s Crown copyright administrator as set out in the document “MOD copyright licensing
information” which is available on this page. If you have a complaint about the MOD under the 2015
Regulations you can submit it using the same, noting our complaints handling procedure is set out in
the same document.
Last updated in July 2015 by Defence Intellectual Property Rights (DIPR) as Version 1.0
Reviewed periodically, and and hosted on .GOV.UK at
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mod-copyright-licensing-information
along with all other documents which are referenced herein.