Cookie Policy

This cookie policy explains what cookies are, which cookies this website uses, why we use them, and how you can manage or disable them. This policy should be read alongside our Privacy Policy.

What Cookies Are

Cookies are small text files that a website stores on your device when you visit. They are widely used to make websites function efficiently, to remember your preferences, and to provide site owners with information about how their sites are used. Cookies are not programs and cannot carry viruses or access files on your device.

Cookies can be set by the website you are visiting (first-party cookies) or by third-party services embedded within it (third-party cookies). They can be session cookies, which expire when you close your browser, or persistent cookies, which remain on your device until they expire or are deleted.

Cookies We Use

We use cookies in three categories: strictly necessary cookies, analytics cookies, and (where applicable) third-party cookies from services embedded in our pages.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are essential for the website to function. They do not collect information about you that could be used for marketing or to remember where you have been on the internet. They cannot be switched off in our systems because the site would not operate without them.

Examples include cookies that manage your cookie consent preferences. These cookies remember whether you have accepted or declined non-essential cookies so that you are not asked for consent on every page visit.

Analytics Cookies

We use analytics tools to understand how visitors use this site — which pages are most visited, how long visitors spend reading articles, where traffic comes from, and which content is most useful. This information is collected in aggregate and is not used to identify individual visitors.

We use Google Analytics for this purpose. Google Analytics places cookies on your device that collect information about your browsing behaviour on this site and transmit it to Google servers. We have configured Google Analytics with IP anonymisation enabled, which means your IP address is truncated before transmission. The data collected by Google Analytics is used solely for improving our content and is not shared with third parties for advertising purposes.

The cookies placed by Google Analytics include:

  • _ga — identifies unique users and sessions. Expires after 2 years.
  • _ga_XXXXXXXXXX (where X is your Analytics property identifier) — stores and counts page views for the current session. Expires after 2 years.
  • _gid — identifies users over a 24-hour period. Expires after 24 hours.
  • _gat — used to throttle request rate to Google. Expires after 1 minute.

Information about how Google uses data collected through Google Analytics is available at policies.google.com/privacy. You can opt out of Google Analytics across all websites using the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, available at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

Third-Party Cookies

Some pages on this site may include links or embedded elements from third-party services. These services may set their own cookies independently of us. Third parties whose services may set cookies include Google (via Analytics or embedded maps if used), and any social sharing widgets if present. We do not control third-party cookies and recommend reviewing the privacy and cookie policies of any third-party service you interact with.

This site does not currently use advertising cookies or tracking cookies for the purpose of serving behavioural advertising.

Under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR), as retained and amended in UK law following the UK’s departure from the European Union, we are required to obtain your consent before placing non-essential cookies on your device. Strictly necessary cookies do not require consent.

When you first visit this site, you will be presented with a consent notice explaining the cookies we use and asking for your permission to place analytics cookies. You can choose to accept all cookies, decline non-essential cookies, or manage your preferences in more detail. Your choice is stored in a cookie so that you are not asked again on subsequent visits.

You can withdraw or change your consent at any time by clearing your browser cookies and revisiting the site, at which point the consent notice will reappear. Withdrawing consent for analytics cookies does not affect your ability to use or access any content on this site.

How to Manage Cookies in Your Browser

You can control and delete cookies through your browser settings. The following links provide instructions for the most widely used browsers:

Please note that disabling cookies may affect the functionality of this and other websites. Disabling analytics cookies will not prevent you from using any feature of this site, but it may affect aggregate data we use to improve our content.

You can also manage your preferences for online advertising cookies across multiple websites using the tools provided by the Internet Advertising Bureau UK at youronlinechoices.eu.

Do Not Track

Some browsers include a Do Not Track (DNT) feature that sends a signal to websites requesting that your activity not be tracked. There is currently no agreed technical standard for how websites should respond to DNT signals. We do not currently alter our data collection practices in response to DNT signals, though we continue to monitor developments in this area.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this cookie policy to reflect changes in the cookies we use, changes in third-party services, or changes in legal requirements. The most current version will always be available on this page. We recommend reviewing this policy periodically. If we make significant changes, we will reset your cookie consent preference so that the consent notice is displayed again on your next visit.

Further Information

For more information about cookies generally, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit the Information Commissioner’s Office guidance at ico.org.uk/for-the-public/online/cookies/.

Questions about this policy or about how we handle data more broadly are addressed in our Privacy Policy.