Consent for the use of cookies
In this document we explain how cookies are used in connection with our services and the type of cookies used.
How we use cookies
We want our services to be easy, useful and reliable. For services delivered on the internet, this sometimes involves placing small amounts of information on your device, for example, computer or mobile phone. These small files are known as cookies. They cannot be used to identify you personally.
These pieces of information are used to improve services by, for example:
- enabling a service to recognise your device so you do not have to give the same information several times during one task
- recognising that you may already have given a username and password so you do not need to do it for every web page requested
- measuring how many people are using services, so they can be made easier to use and there’s enough capacity to ensure they are fast.
Analytics cookies (Google Analytics cookies)
Cookies are also used for purposes such as performing statistical analysis relating to the use of a website or a mobile application which can help us improve the website and provide a better user experience. We use a third party service provided by Google Analytics to provide us with statistical analysis. When Google provides the service it places the cookie on your device and collects data on an anonymised basis to produce the statistical data. We have entered into a data processing agreement with Google to ensure that Google uses personal data that may be collected through the cookies only for the purpose of providing us with the statistical data. We have implemented other technical privacy protective measure in connection with the Google Analytics service such as masking or anonymising IP addresses and turning off data sharing. Google provides an opt-out option in relation to Google Analytics. If you wish your details not to be processed by the service, the opt-out option is available here.
Social media cookies
We may incorporate in our website or mobile application content from third party providers such as YouTube and Vimeo. Pages with embedded third party content may trigger the placement of cookies by the third party website. Similarly, where you use the sharing functionality on our website/mobile app, the service used for sharing (YouTube for example) may place a cookie on your device to enable the sharing or for other purposes. We do not control the placement of cookies by third party service providers and do not control the purposes for which third parties may use those cookies. For example, cookies can be used to trace your visits through other websites and services online. You should check the relevant third party cookie provider’s website for more information about these cookies.
You can manage cookies yourself including disabling them on your browser. You can learn more about them on http://www.aboutcookies.org/.
We use cookies to customise an optimal and personal experience for you on our website. Persistent cookies give a website operator the ability to understand who the user is to avoid the need for logging in in subsequent visits to the site. These cookies can be used to improve the quality of an online service by storing users’ preferences and tracking trends on the website. We do not use any persistent cookies on our website.
You can also set your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. If you do choose not to accept cookies, this may significantly undermine your use and your experience of the website. We cannot be held liable for any negative impact on your experience of our website resulting from the decision to block our website cookies.
The expiry period of cookies
Some cookies are saved on your device only for the duration of your visit to our website (session cookies). Others are placed for a longer period and usually expire after 30 days. This can allow us to recognise you or your device when you revisit our website at some time in the future. Our website only uses session cookies. As mentioned above, Google Analytics and social media services may place cookies that continue to operate after you leave the website.
The cookies we use on the website are described below:
Session cookies
Our website uses session cookies to remember that you have made a selection or chosen preferences. These cookies help to ensure that pages load more efficiently when you move around the website. Session cookies do not contain any personal information about you and they are deleted when you leave the site. Some services will not work if your browser does not have cookies enabled.
Cookies with the following purpose:
Keeping some meta data about certain user interface elements to help the web page load faster
Cookie names:
PHPSESSID (expires end of session)
_session_id (expires end of session)
set of “wordpress” (expires in less than 14 days)
set of “wp-settings-” (expires in 1 year)
Website statistics and analytics
We and our service providers use cookies to collect information about the use of our site – for example, the number of visits to each page. This helps us improve the site.
Cookies with the following purpose:
Google Analytics
Cookie names:
_ga (expires after two years)
_gid (expires after two days)
_gat (expires after one day)
eucookie (experies after one year)