Cookie Policy
Protecting and managing your online privacy
We are committed to protecting you and any data (anonymous or otherwise) that we collect about you online. This policy tells you how we use cookies, why, and how this allows us to improve our service. It also tells you how you can manage what cookies are stored on your device. We call this our “Cookies Policy”.
By using this website (through any device) you agree that this Cookies Policy applies to that use in addition to any other terms and conditions which may apply.
We reserve the right to make changes to our Cookies Policy. Any such changes shall appear here and become effective immediately. Your continued use of our websites is taken as meaning that you agree to any such changes.
What are cookies?
What is a cookie?
Cookies are files containing small amounts of information which are downloaded to the device you use when you visit a website. These cookies can then be sent back to the originating website, or another website that recognises the cookie, on each subsequent visit. Cookies can do lots of different and useful jobs, such as remembering your login details when you’re accessing securer areas, remembering your preferences and generally improving your online experience.
There are different types of cookies and they all work in the same way, but have some minor differences:
Session cookies
Session cookies last only for the duration of your visit and are deleted when you close your browser. These facilitate various tasks such as allowing a website to identify that a user of a particular device is navigating from page to page, supporting website security, allow you to log in and stay logged in for the duration of your visit and can sometimes be necessary for some basic functionality.
Many of the cookies we use are session cookies. For example, they help us to ensure the security of your session when logging in or submitting information to us.
Our session cookies used for security are designed to be very difficult to read, change, access or use except by us when you have an active session. They contain no personal information so you cannot be identified in any way from these types of cookies.
Persistent cookies
Persistent cookies last after you have closed your browser and these can allow a website to remember your actions and preferences from a previous session(s). Sometimes persistent cookies are used by websites to provide targeted advertising based upon the browsing history of the device.
We use persistent cookies in a few ways, for example, to remember your username so you don’t have to. We also use persistent cookies to allow us to analyse customer visits to our site. These cookies help us to understand how customers arrive at and use our site so we can improve our service.
For full details about our cookies, we’ve put together a list of the cookies we use.
First and third party cookies
Whether a cookie is a first or third party cookie depends on which website the cookie comes from. First party cookies are those set by or on behalf of the website visited. All other cookies are third party cookies. We use both first party and third party cookies, which you can read more about in our list of the cookies that we use.
Strictly necessary cookies
These cookies are essential in order to enable you to move around the website and use its features, and ensuring the security of your online experience. Without these cookies services you have asked for, such as applying for products and services, cannot be provided. These cookies don’t gather information about you for the purposes of marketing.
Performance cookies
These cookies collect information about how visitors use a web site, 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 although they may collect the IP address of the device used to access the site together with the type and version of the browser used. All information these cookies collect is anonymous and is only used to improve how a website works, the user experience and to optimise our advertising. By using our websites you agree that we can place these types of cookies on your device, however you can block these cookies using your browser settings.
Functionality cookies
These cookies allow the website to remember choices you make (such as your user name). They may also be used to provide services you have requested such as watching a video. The information these cookies collect is anonymised (i.e. it does not contain your name, address, contact details, etc.) and they do not track your browsing activity across other websites. By using our websites you agree that we can place these types of cookies on your device, however you can block these cookies using your browser settings.
Targeting cookies
These cookies collect several pieces of information about your browsing habits. They are usually placed by advertising networks. They remember that you have visited a website and this information is shared with other organisations such as media publishers. By using our websites you agree that we can place these types of cookies on your device, however you can block these cookies using your browser settings.
Additional information
From time to time, we may embed external content from third party websites (e.g. Facebook, YouTube) within our website. Additionally, we partner with third parties who provide services for us which you can navigate to from our website. These third parties may use cookies, you can find out about their approach to cookies on their websites.
Cookies we use
Here is a list of the cookies we use:
| Name | Cookie | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Universal Analytics (Google) | __utma, __utmb, __utmc, __utmt, __utmz, _ga, _gid, _ga_(container ID) | These cookies are used to collect information about how visitors use our website. We use the information to compile reports and to help us improve the website. The cookies collect information in an anonymous form, including the number of visitors to the website, where visitors have come to the website from and the pages they visited. See Google’s overview of privacy and safeguarding data for more information. |
What if I don’t want to accept cookies?
If you wish to restrict or block the cookies which are set by any website - including this website, you should do this through the browser settings for each browser you use on each device you use to access the Internet. Please be aware that some of our services will not function if your browser does not accept cookies. However, you can allow cookies from specific websites by making them “trusted websites” in your Internet browser.
Alternatively, you may wish to visit https://allaboutcookies.org which contains comprehensive information on how to do this on a wider variety of browsers.
Find out how to manage cookies on popular browsers:
To find information relating to other browsers, visit the browser developer’s website.
To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites, visit Google Analytics Opt-out.