Cookie Policy

We use cookies to help make our websites more user-friendly. Cookies are used by nearly all sites on the internet and do not harm your system in any way.

This document will outline the main types of cookies we use, and what we use them for.

First things first, what is a cookie?

  • What we call a “cookie” is a unique piece of information that’s stored on your computer’s hard drive. Its function is to record how you move your way around a website. That way, when you revisit that website, the cookie can present tailored options to you based on the information stored about your last visit.
  • Cookies can also be helpful in analysing traffic, and for other advertising and marketing purposes.

Your cookie settings

You can view or change your cookie settings at any time. You’ll often find these options within your chosen browser. Here you can select which types of cookies you accept, or you can block them altogether. By not blocking cookies and continuing to browse this website you are authorising the use of cookies. Though please note, if you use your browser settings to block all cookies (including essential cookies) you may not be able to access all or parts of our site.

How do we use cookies on this website?

We use cookies to track how you use our website. This allows us to understand how you use the site and track any patterns. This helps us to develop and improve both our website user experience, and our products and / or services.

Cookies are either:

  • Session cookies. These are stored only on your computer during your web session and they’re deleted automatically when you close your browser. – they usually store an anonymous session ID allowing you to browse a website without having to log in to each page but they do not collect any personal data from your computer.
  • Persistent cookies. These are stored as a file on your computer and they are not deleted when you close your web browser. The cookie can then be read by the website that created it if you visit that website again. We use persistent cookies for Google Analytics.

Cookies can also be categorised as follows:

  • Strictly necessary cookies.  These cookies are essential to enable you to use the website effectively and therefore cannot be turned off. Without these cookies, the services available to you on our website cannot be provided. It’s important to note that these cookies do not gather information about you that could be used for marketing.
  • Performance cookies. These cookies collect information about how visitors use a website e.g. which pages visitors go to most often and where visitors are coming from. These cookies enable us to monitor and improve the performance of our website.
  • Functionality cookies. These cookies allow our website to remember  what choices you make and then provide enhanced features. For instance, we may be able to provide you with news or updates relevant to the services you use. They may also be used to provide services you have requested such as viewing a video or commenting on a blog. The information these cookies collect is usually anonymised.

Important notice. Third parties who advertise on our website (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.