What are cookies?
Cookies are text files containing small amounts of information which are downloaded to your device when you visit a website. Cookies are then sent back to the originating website on each subsequent visit, or to another website that recognises that cookie. Cookies are useful because they allow a website to recognise a user’s device.
You can find more information about cookies at:
Cookies do lots of different jobs, like letting you navigate between pages efficiently, remembering your preferences, and generally improve the user experience. They can also help to ensure that adverts you see online are more relevant to you and your interests. The cookies used on this website have been categorised based on the categories found in the ICC UK Cookie guide.
What does a cookie look like?
Below is the content of a typical cookie. This one is from the Hotmail service and has the filename jss@hotmail.msn.txt (.txt is the standard filename extension for text files):
HMP1 1 hotmail.msn.com/ 0 1715191808 32107852 1236821008 29449527 *
The codes will only make sense to Microsoft’s MSN Hotmail servers.
Category 1 – Strictly necessary cookies
These cookies are essential in order to enable you to move around the website and use its features, such as accessing secure areas of the website. Without these cookies services you have asked for, like shopping baskets or e-billing, cannot be provided.
By using our website, you agree that we can place these type of cookies on your device.
Category 2 – Performance cookies
These cookies collect information about how visitors use a website, for instance which pages visitors go to most often, and if they get error messages from web pages. These cookies don’t collect information that identifies a visitor. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. It is only used to improve how a website works.
Google Analytics: We use Google Analytics to collect information about visitor behaviour on our website. Google Analytics stores information about what pages you visit, how long you are on the site, how you got here and what you click on. This Analytics data is collected via a JavaScript tag in the pages of our site and is not tied to personally identifiable information.We therefore do not collect or store your personal information (e.g. your name or address) so this information cannot be used to identify who you are.
You can find out more about Google’s position on privacy as regards its analytics service at https://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/analytics/privacyoverview.html
WordPress: Our websites run WordPress CMS and cookies are used to store basic data on your interactions with WordPress, and whether you have logged into WordPress. We use a session cookie to remember your log-in for you if you are a registered user and we deem these as being strictly necessary to the working of the website. If these are disabled then various functionality on the site will be broken.
More information on session cookies and what they are used for at https://www.allaboutcookies.org/cookies/session-cookies-used-for.html
By using our website, you agree that we can place these type of cookies on your device.
Category 3 – Functionality cookies
These cookies allow the website to remember choices you make (such as your user name, language or the region you are in) and provide enhanced, more personal features. For instance, a website may be able to provide you with local weather reports or traffic news by storing in a cookie the region in which you are currently located. These cookies can also be used to remember changes you have made to text size, fonts and other parts of web pages that you can customise. They may also be used to provide services you have asked for such as watching a video or commenting on a blog. The information these cookies collect may be anonymised and they cannot track your browsing activity on other websites.
By using our website, you agree that we can place these type of cookies on your device.
Category 4 –Targeting cookies or advertising cookies
These cookies are used to deliver adverts more relevant to you and your interests They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement as well as help measure the effectiveness of the advertising campaign. They are usually placed by advertising networks with the website operator’s permission. They remember that you have visited a website and this information is shared with other organisations such as advertisers. Quite often targeting or advertising cookies will be linked to site functionality provided by the other organisation.