Cookie Policy

This cookies policy lays out how and why we use cookies on our site, and offers resources that will allow you to make an informed decision regarding the acceptance, rejection or deletion of any cookies that we use.

By using our website, you consent to our use of cookies, so we recommend that you read through the information below carefully.

This cookies policy may change at any time, so please check it regularly.

What is a cookie?

A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers which is saved by a website to your computer or mobile device and is used to record specific pieces of information. Cookies often include an anonymised, unique identifier, meaning that data it records can be distinguished as coming from a separate place to other data, without revealing your personal information. When you visit a website, it asks permission to store a cookie in the cookies section of your hard drive.

Cookies are widely used on the internet to make websites work, to make them work more efficiently, or to provide information about your usage of the site to the site owner or other third parties. For example, if you add items to a shopping basket, a cookie allows the website to remember what items you’re buying, or if you log in to a website, a cookie may recognise you later on so that you don’t have to put in your password again.

Please be aware that restricting cookies may have an impact on the functionality of our website and on other websites that you use.

Different types of cookies

Some cookies, known as “session cookies”, are stored only for the duration of your visit to a particular website. “Persistent cookies” but others can be stored in the cookie file of your browser for longer periods of time – sometimes until you clear your browser’s cache manually, depending on the lifetime of the specific cookie.

How do we use cookies?

We use cookies to improve the way our website works. We also use third-party cookies set by Google Analytics to review our site functionality, and by Google AdWords to improve our online marketing efforts.

Third-party cookies

A third-party cookie is one that is associated with a different domain or website than the one that you visit. For example, on this site, we use third-party cookies built by Google to enable website analytics, but as our site is not on the Google domain, this makes their cookies “third-party” cookies.

The Google Analytics cookie will recognise and count the number of people who visit our site, as well as providing other information such as how long visitors stay, where they move to on our site, and what pages receive the most visits. We cannot directly control how Google cookies behave, and the information they retrieve is delivered to a Google Analytics account, not to our website, which is why they are third-party: the information about this site is delivered to another website.

Google Analytics

In using Google Analytics cookies, it is our responsibility to ensure that you have access to the following information:

This website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”). Google Analytics uses “cookies”, which are text files placed on your computer, to help the website analyze how users use the site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity for website operators and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google’s behalf. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser. However please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website. By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above.

Google Analytics does not store any personal information about any website users. They offer a comprehensive review of their Analytics data privacy and security commitments in Google Support.

Using cookies for advertising

Cookies can make advertising more effective, helping us to reach our target audience and understand how well our campaigns are working. Cookies can also prevent you from seeing the same ad over and over again, which will help improve your experience browsing the web.

Further information

For further reading about our cookies policy, your rights, and how to control or delete cookies, we have collected the following resources:

• the Information Commissioner’s Office cookies information for public users
• the BBC’s WebWise information service pages about cookies
• information about the types of cookies that Google use
• AboutCookies.org’s advice on controlling cookies and deleting cookies.