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.gov.uk Naming and Approvals Committee Terms of Reference

Scope

The Cabinet Office has delegated responsibility for maintenance of the second level domain .gov.uk. Overall responsibility for the .uk domain names lies with Nominet, the UK domain name registry. The terms of the delegation are covered by agreement between Nominet and the Cabinet Office.

The Naming and Approvals Committee shall be responsible for devising and applying the guidelines to all applications for names within the .gov.uk namespace.

Objectives

The Naming and Approvals Committee aims to bring together stakeholders from across UK Government, the devolved administrations, local government and our ‘registry’ UKERNA. The Committee has a duty to:

• Maintain the integrity and credibility of the .gov.uk namespace with risk management to avoid confusion by the general public and embarrassment to public administration within UK Government, devolved administrations, ministers and elected officials;
• define, and identify, within the wider public interest, eligibility and ongoing eligibility for a .gov.uk domain;
• define, review and publish the policy applicable to .gov.uk domain names – known as the ‘.gov.uk domain rules’;
• ensure that the ‘.gov.uk domain rules’ take cognisance of and, where appropriate, be subordinate to, the overarching policy on the ccTLD .UK;
• ensure that the policy of the namespace is consistent with broader UK Government policy on electronic government;
• taking the final decision on applications or appeals of applications on novel or contentious names;
• identify the need for, and maintain a list of any names that it is considered appropriate, in the wider national public interest not to use or to use only for a specific or defined purpose – known as ‘reserved names’;
• liaise with other SLD managers in the public sector as appropriate; advise on domain naming in general, such as, use other ccTLDs, technical developments and governance.

Accountability

The Committee will report to the Cabinet Office e-Government Unit and ensure that its work is consistent with Government and Nominet standards. Reports to the Cabinet Office’s Head of e–Government Unit and to Ministers as appropriate.

Frequency of Meetings

It is expected that the full Group will meet every 6 months to review progress.

Deliverables

1. ‘Ownership’ of the Guidelines for UK government websites (Illustrated handbook for web management teams), section 1.9 Domain Names – the vehicles that incorporates the .gov.uk domain rules.
2. Publication and maintenance of the .gov.uk domain rules on the Cabinet Office website.
3. A monthly statistical report on the .gov.uk namespace.
4. Maintain a central directory of registered .gov.uk names.
5. Response to an application for a .gov.uk domain name to be undertaken within 5 working days.

Membership

In accordance with the Memorandum of Agreement with UKERNA, the Committee will be chaired and hosted by the Cabinet Office. Membership will be drawn from the Cabinet Office, UKERNA, the Devolved Administrations, an appropriate local government representation and from appropriate public sector organisations. Day–to–day management will be undertaken by the Cabinet Office.

Committee members should have the authority to speak on behalf of the organisations that they represent and to take action on decisions made by the Committee.

It is expected that others can be invited to contribute or participate as appropriate including representatives from Nominet, Internet Service Providers and any other relevant parties.

Finance

The Committee’s financial responsibilities are negligible.

Review

These terms of reference will be reviewed annually or as necessary.