What’s a cookie?

A “cookie” is a piece of information that is stored on your computer’s hard drive if you agree to this and which records how you move your way around a website so that, when you revisit that website, it can present tailored options based on the information stored about your last visit. Cookies can also be used to analyse traffic and for advertising and marketing purposes.

Cookies are used by nearly all websites and do not harm your system.

We are required to obtain your consent for all non-essential cookies used on our website. You can block cookies (including essential cookies) at any time by activating the setting on your browser that allows you to refuse the setting of all or some cookies. However, if you use your browser settings to block essential cookies you may not be able to access all or parts of our site.

How do we use cookies?

We use cookies to track your use of our website. This enables us to understand how you use the site and track any patterns with regards to how you are using our website. This helps us to develop and improve our website as well as products and/or services in response to what you might need or want.

A Cookies is either a:

Session cookie

these are only stored on your computer during your web session and are automatically deleted when you close your browser – they usually store an anonymous session ID allowing you to browse a website without having to log in to each page but they do not collect any personal data from your computer; or

Persistent cookies

a persistent cookie is stored as a file on your computer and it remains there when you close your web browser. The cookie can be read by the website that created it when you visit that website again. [We use persistent cookies for Google Analytics.]

Cookies can also be categorised as follows:

Strictly necessary cookies

This type of cookie is essential to enable you to use the website effectively, such as when buying a product and/or service. Without these cookies, the services available to you on our website cannot be provided. These cookies do not gather information about you that could be used for marketing or remembering where you have been on the internet.

Performance cookies

These cookies enable us to monitor and improve the performance of our website. For example, they allow us to count visits, identify traffic sources and see which parts of the site are most popular.

Functionality cookies

These cookies allow our website to remember choices you make and provide enhanced features. For instance, we may be able to provide you with news or updates relevant to the services you use. They may also be used to provide services you have requested such as viewing a video or commenting on a blog. The information these cookies collect is usually anonymised.

Targeting cookies

Targetting 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.

First and third-party cookies

First-party cookies are cookies set by our website. Third-party cookies are cookies on our website that are set by a website other than our website, such as where we have adverts on our website or use Facebook pixels so that we can show you relevant content from us when you are on Facebook.

We use third-party cookies on our website and these are set out in the table below

Examples of purposes for which a cookie may be used.

These cookies are essential for our site to OR enables us to:

• Estimate our audience size and usage pattern.
• Store information about your preferences, and so allow us to customise our site and to provide you with offers that are targeted to your individual interests.
• Speed up your searches.
• Recognise you when you return to our site.
• Allow you to use our site in a way that makes your browsing experience more convenient, for example, by allowing you to store items in an electronic shopping basket between visits. If you register with us or complete our online forms, we will use cookies to remember your details during your current visit, and any future visits provided the cookie was not deleted in the interim.

You can find more information about the individual cookies we use and the purposes for which we use them in the table below: