What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files that are sent by a website to a web browser and contain information that is transferred to your computer’s hard drive. This enables the website to identify and track the web browser. Cookies can, among other functions, enable a website to recognise a device each time it visits, remember user preferences and recommend content. Cookies in themselves do not identify the individual user, but rather the computer used. However, some cookies will contain personal information such as a user name.
Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a more personalised user experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our website. By continuing to browse and use our website, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
Different cookies do different things and some are essential to the operation of a website, whilst others are not. The different types of cookie are:
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Strictly necessary cookies. These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website such as your account profile.
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Analytical/performance cookies. These allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors to our website and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily.
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Functionality cookies. These are used to recognise you when you return to our website, enabling us to personalise our content for you, greet you by name and remember your preferences.
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Targeting cookies. These cookies record your visits 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. We may also share this information (in anonymised form) with third parties for this purpose.
To the extent that any personal information is collected through our use of cookies, our Privacy Policy will apply to our processing of that personal information.
What cookies do we use?
You can find more information about the individual cookies we use and the purposes for which we use them in the table below:
| Cookie | Purpose | Expiry of cookie |
|---|---|---|
| wp-settings-{time}-[UID] cookies | This cookie is used to customize your view of the main website interface. | This cookie is set to expire two weeks after being set or when you log out. It will also expire if your IP address changes. |
| wordpress_logged_in_[hash] cookie | This cookie indicates when you're logged in and who you are. | This cookie is set to expire two weeks after being set or when you log out. It will also expire if your IP address changes. |
| wordpress_[hash] cookie | This cookie is used to store your authentication details. | This cookie is set to expire two weeks after being set or when you log out. It will also expire if your IP address changes. |
| Google Analytics | Our website employs cookies from Google Analytics. Google Analytics is a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. Google Analytics cookies are used to collect information about how visitors use our 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. We use the information to compile reports and to help us improve our website. Google holds this information and provides us with access to it. Find out more about Google Analytics at: https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/analyticsjs/cookie-usage. The Google Analytics privacy policy is at: http://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/. | The lifespan of a Google Analytics cookie depends on what it is and what it does. Some expire at the end of your browser session, whilst others can last for up to 24 months, although you can delete them at any time by clearing your cache. |
| comment_author_{HASH} comment_author_email_{HASH} comment_author_url_{HASH} | These cookies are used for your convenience. They avoid the need for you to re-type all your information each time you leave a comment. | These cookies are set to expire a little under one year after being set. They will also expire if your IP address changes. |
Can I refuse or opt out of cookies?
Please note that third parties (including, for example, advertising networks and providers of external services like web traffic analysis services) may also use cookies, over which we have no control. These cookies are likely to be analytical/performance cookies or targeting cookies.What about third-party cookies?
Most browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually change your browser settings to limit or prevent cookies. You can find out how to opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics by visiting https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
Unless you have adjusted your browser settings so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies as soon as you visit our website. If you set your browser to not accept cookies, it may result in certain sections of our website not working properly and certain personalised services not being provided to users of your computer.
More information about cookies generally can be found at: http://www.allaboutcookies.org/