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Cookie Policy

About cookies

A cookie is a file containing an identifier (a string of letters and numbers) that is sent by a web server to a web browser and is stored by the browser. The identifier is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server.

Cookies may be either "persistent" cookies or "session" cookies: a persistent cookie will be stored by a web browser and will remain valid until its set expiry date, unless deleted by the user before the expiry date; a session cookie, on the other hand, will expire at the end of the user session, when the web browser is closed.

Cookies do not typically contain any information that personally identifies a user, but personal information that we store about you may be linked to the information stored in and obtained from cookies.

Cookies that we use

We use cookies for the following purposes:

  • (a) to help us to analyse the use and performance of our website and services
  • (b) to store your preferences in relation to the use of cookies more generally

The following cookies may be set whilst browsing our website

We use Google Analytics to analyse the use of our website. Google Analytics gathers information about website use by means of cookies. The information gathered relating to our website is used to create reports about the use of our website. Google's privacy policy is available at: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/. Google Analytics uses the following cookies: _ga – Used to distinguish users. Expires after 2 years. _ga_0YX70MP4KF – Used to persist session state. Expires after 2 years.

Our website sets exp_visitor_consents to track and respect your choices. Around our website we use cookies to remember where you are and to help and protect you. We use exp_last_activity so every time the page is reloaded the date and time of your last activity is available. This is used to determine form expiry. The expiry time 360 days. exp_last_visit sets the date and time that the you last visited the site. The expiry time is 360 days. exp_tracker Contains the last 5 pages viewed, encrypted for security. Typically used for form or error message returns. This cookie expires when you leave the site. We also use exp_csrf_token. This cookie protects against Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF). A CSRF attack forces a logged-on victim’s browser to send a forged HTTP request, including the victim’s session cookie and any other automatically included authentication information, to a vulnerable web application. It expires from your computer after two hours.

Third party services our website uses also set cookies, specifically Cloudflare used for its content delivery network and firewall protection, and Weglot that provides translation services for our website. 

Managing cookies

Most browsers allow you to refuse to accept cookies and to delete cookies. The methods for doing so vary from browser to browser, and from version to version. You can however obtain up-to-date information about blocking and deleting cookies via these links:

  • (a) https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?hl=en (Chrome);
  • (b) https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/enable-and-disable-cookies-website-preferences (Firefox);
  • (c) http://www.opera.com/help/tutorials/security/cookies/ (Opera);
  • (d) https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/17442/windows-internet-explorer-delete-manage-cookies (Internet Explorer);
  • (e) https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/safari/sfri11471/mac (Safari); and
  • (f) https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10-microsoft-edge-and-privacy (Edge).

Alternatively you can manage cookie preferences here.

Blocking all cookies will have a negative impact upon the usability of many websites.

If you block cookies, you will not be able to use all the features on our website.