Manage Cookies
Date: August 2021
The website uses cookies. You can deactivate or block cookies either by changing the settings within our Privacy Preference Centre or within your Browser.
Please note that if you deactivate cookie groups from the Privacy Preference Centre and save your changes, then those groups will only be deactivated the next time you visit the site, or by refreshing the page. Additionally you can then remove the cookies from your machine using the methods described below.
About cookies
Cookies are files, often including unique identifiers, that are sent by web servers to web browsers, and which may then be sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server.
Cookies can be used by web servers to identity and track users as they navigate different pages on a website, and to identify users returning to a website.
Cookies may be either “persistent” cookies or “session” cookies. A persistent cookie consists of a text file sent by a web server to a web browser, which will be stored by the 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 on the website
We use both session cookies and persistent cookies on the website.
How we use cookies
Cookies do not contain any information that personally identifies you, but personal information that we store about you may be linked, by us, to the information stored in and obtained from cookies. The cookies used on the website include those which are strictly necessary cookies for access and navigation, cookies that track usage (performance cookies), remember your choices (functionality cookies), and cookies that provide you with targeted content or advertising.
We may use the information we obtain from your use of our cookies for the following purposes:
1. to recognise your computer when you visit the website
2. to track you as you navigate the website, and to enable the use of any e-commerce facilities
3. to improve the website’s usability
4. to analyse the use of the website
5. in the administration of the website
6. to personalise the website for you, including targeting advertisements which may be of particular interest to you.
For more information on managing advertising personalisation through your Google account please visit this page.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms.
You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.
Cookies used
• OptanonConsent
• OptanonAlertBoxClosed
Performance & Analytics Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site.
All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.
Cookies used
• _ga
• _gat
• _git
Blocking cookies
You can block cookies by group using our Privacy Preference Centre. In addition to this most browsers allow you to refuse to accept cookies. For example:
1. in Internet Explorer you can refuse all cookies by clicking “Tools”, “Internet Options”, “Privacy”, and selecting “Block all cookies” using the sliding selector.
2. in Firefox you can block all cookies by clicking “Tools”, “Options”, and un-checking “Accept cookies from sites” in the “Privacy” box.
3. in Google Chrome you can adjust your cookie permissions by clicking “Options”, “Under the hood”, Content Settings in the “Privacy” section. Click on the Cookies tab in the Content Settings.
4. in Safari you can block cookies by clicking “Preferences”, selecting the “Privacy” tab and “Block cookies”.
Blocking all cookies will, however, have a negative impact upon the usability of many websites. If you block cookies, you may not be able to use certain features on the website (log on, access content, use search functions).
Deleting cookies
You can also delete cookies already stored on your computer:
1. in Internet Explorer, you must manually delete cookie files.
2. in Firefox, you can delete cookies by, first ensuring that cookies are to be deleted when you “clear private data” (this setting can be changed by clicking “Tools”, “Options” and “Settings” in the “Private Data” box) and then clicking “Clear private data” in the “Tools” menu.
3. in Google Chrome you can adjust your cookie permissions by clicking “Options”, “Under the hood”, Content Settings in the “Privacy” section. Click on the Cookies tab in the Content Settings.
4. in Safari you can delete cookies by clicking “Preferences”, selecting the “Privacy” tab and “Remove All Website Data”.
Obviously, doing this may have a negative impact on the usability of many websites.
Privacy Preference Centre
The Privacy Preference Centre can be accessed either via the banner displayed when you first visit the site, or the “Manage Cookies” link in the footer of this page. It allows you to view the groups of cookies we store (as outlined above in How We Use Cookies), and manage whether the cookies for those groups are active.
Contact us
For more information visit our Help page for contact details.