Cookies and how we use them

What are cookies?

Cookies are text files containing small amounts of information which are downloaded to your device when you visit a website. Cookies are then sent back to the originating website on each subsequent visit, or to another website that recognises that cookie. Cookies are useful because they allow a website to recognise a user’s device and to target the content displayed to the user’s interests.

Do we use cookies?

Yes.

Types of cookies

There are two broad types of cookies – ‘first party cookies’ and ‘third party cookies’:

First party cookies are cookies that are served directly by the website operator to your computer and are often used to recognise your computer when it revisits that site and to remember your preferences as you browse the site. Basically, these are our cookies.

We don’t use any third-party cookies.

In addition, our cookies are ‘session cookies’. Your computer automatically removes session cookies once you close your browser. Persistent cookies will survive on your computer until an expiry date specified in the cookie itself, is reached. We use both session and persistent cookies.

How long are cookies kept for?

Temporary session-ID cookies are used to show when and for how long a visitor is on our website and therefore expires when you close your browser.
Persistent cookies show if the visitor has been to the website before, where the visitor is from and which search engine has been used, keywords etc. Such cookies expire after 6 months

Categories of cookies we use

Performance cookies: These cookies collect information about how the user makes use of the site, e.g. which pages the user visits most. These cookies do not collect information that identifies the user.
Functionality cookies: These cookies remember choices made by or attributes of the user and enhance the features and content you experience during your visit to our website, e.g. language, appeals visited or user’s location. This cookie is also used to remember a user’s preferences for a font size, or customisable parts of a web page.

List of cookies we use

Google Analytics (Persistent, Google Inc.)
Tracking cookies from Google Analytics used to examine how the website is visited and for statistics of how visitors navigate on the websites etc.

Google Analytics (Session, Google Inc.)
These cookies improve the validity of the statistics.

What information do we collect using cookies?

We may collect some, or all, of the information available from cookies when you visit our website, depending on how you use it. We monitor how people use our website, so we can improve it. We collect this information anonymously.

However, you can choose to use our website anonymously without giving us any information. Please see ‘Changing your cookie preferences’ below.

If you visit our website, we may use cookies to record information about:
the areas of the website you visit;
the amount of time you spend on the site;
whether you are new to the site, or have visited it before;
how you came to our website – for example, through an email link or a search engine;
the type of device and browser you use;
how you use the website and the quality of your experience – for example we may track your bandwidth when viewing videos;
any error messages that you receive on the site

Although not through cookies, we do measure the success of the emails we send – so we know what subject lines and stories people liked the most. We receive this information anonymously, we don’t share this information.

Website statistics analytics, testing and personalisation

Our website currently uses this web analytics services:

Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”). Google Analytics uses “cookies”, which (as discussed above) are text files placed on your computer, to help the website analyse how users use the site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the USA. Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity for website operators and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage.
Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google’s behalf. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser. By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above. For more details please read Google’s Analytics overview.

You can always opt-out of Google Analytics cookies by Google’s opt-out tool.

The “Help” menu in the toolbar of most web browsers will tell you how to change your browser’s cookie settings, including how to have the browser notify you when you receive a new cookie, and how to disable cookies altogether. Below is some helpful guidance about how to make these changes.

How to erase or disable cookies

If you do not wish to consent to our use of cookies, you can always change your browser settings. You may also delete stored cookies. It depends on your particular browser how you can change the settings or delete the cookies. If you use a computer with a newer browser, you may delete your cookies by using: CTRL + SHIFT + Delete. You may find further instructions in the guidance to your browser, which can be found under “Help” in your browser. You should be aware that if you delete or disable the cookies, you cannot log-in or use other functions, which may require that our website remembers the choices you make.

You may find the support for the most common browsers and a link to deleting cookies here: