Cookies

How we use cookies

When we provide services, we want to make them easy, useful and reliable. Where services are delivered on the internet, this sometimes involves placing small amounts of information on your device, for example, computer or mobile phone.

These include small files known as cookies. They cannot be used to identify you personally. These pieces of information are used to improve services for you through, for example:

  • enabling a service to recognise your device so you don't have to give the same information several times during one task
  • recognising that you may already have given a username and password so you don't 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 is enough capacity to ensure they are fast

Our use of cookies

1. Cookies for Managing Current Visit

  • site_session - randomly generated - expires when user exits browser

2. Cookies for Improving Service

  • _utma - randomly generated text - expires after 2 years
  • _utmb - randomly generated text - expires after 30 minutes
  • _utmc - randomly generated text - expires when user exits browser
  • _utmz - randomly generated number + information on how the site was reached - expires after 6 months

Google Analytics sets cookies to help us accurately estimate the number of visitors to the website and volumes of usage. This is to ensure that the service is available when you want it and fast.

For further information on the cookies set by Google Analytics please refer to Google Privacy Policy.