What is a cookie?

A “cookie” is a small text file that’s stored on your computer, smartphone, tablet, or other device when you visit a website or use an app. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.

How we use cookies

We use two types of cookies, essential cookies and performance cookies. Here we explain a bit more about each of these types and how you can control their use.

Essential Cookies

These cookies are essential for us to provide a secure online environment. Even if you say “No” to cookies on this website we’ll continue to use this ‘essential’ cookie. This essential cookie allows us to identify individual clients behind a shared IP address and apply security settings on a per-client basis. This cookie does not store any personally identifiable information.

Performance Cookies: Tracking website performance

We use this type of cookie to understand and analyse how visitors use our online services and look for ways to improve them. For example, a cookie might tell us that lots of people give up on a process at a particular step – so we can try to make that step easier to complete.

We use Google Analytics to help us analyse how our visitors use the site. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system. Find out more about how these cookies are used on the Google privacy site.

How to control or restrict cookies

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. If you want to restrict or block the cookies we set, you can do this through your browser settings. The ‘help’ function within your browser should tell you how. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.

Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.