Cookie Policy

This cookie policy explains what cookies are, how this website uses them, and how you can control your preferences. It should be read alongside our Privacy Policy, which provides further detail on how we handle personal data.

What Cookies Are

Cookies are small text files that a website places on your device (computer, smartphone, or tablet) when you visit. They allow the website to recognise your device on subsequent visits, remember preferences, and gather information about how you use the site. Cookies are widely used across the internet and are a standard technology for website operation and analytics.

Cookies set by the website you are visiting are called first-party cookies. Cookies set by services other than the website you are visiting are called third-party cookies. Third-party cookies enable external features or functionality to be provided on or through the website, such as analytics, advertising, or embedded content.

How We Use Cookies

We use a limited number of cookies for specific, defined purposes. Our use of cookies complies with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR) as amended, which requires that non-essential cookies are only placed on your device with your informed consent.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are essential for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually set in response to actions you take that amount to a request for services, such as setting your cookie consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information. Because they are strictly necessary, they do not require consent under PECR.

Analytics Cookies

These cookies help us understand how visitors use the website by collecting information about which pages are visited, how long visitors spend on each page, and how they navigate between pages. All data collected by analytics cookies is aggregated and anonymised — we do not use analytics to identify individual visitors or build personal profiles.

Analytics cookies are only activated after you provide consent through our cookie notice. If you do not consent, these cookies are not set and no analytics data is collected from your visit.

We use analytics with the following privacy-protective settings enabled: IP anonymisation (the last octet of your IP address is masked before storage), restricted data retention (set to the minimum available period), no cross-site tracking, and no integration with advertising features.

Cookies We Do Not Use

For clarity, this website does not use advertising cookies, retargeting cookies, social media tracking cookies, or any cookies that build personal profiles for behavioural advertising. We do not participate in programmatic advertising networks and we do not track you across other websites.

Managing Your Cookie Preferences

You have several options for controlling cookies:

Cookie consent notice. When you first visit this website, a cookie notice gives you the option to accept or decline non-essential cookies. Your choice is stored in the cookie_consent cookie so the notice does not appear on every visit. You can change your preference at any time by clearing your cookies and revisiting the site, which will trigger the notice again.

Browser settings. Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can typically choose to block all cookies, block only third-party cookies, or delete cookies when you close the browser. The following links explain how to manage cookies in common browsers:

Google Chrome — support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647

Mozilla Firefox — support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/clear-cookies-and-site-data-firefox

Apple Safari — support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/safari/sfri11471

Microsoft Edge — support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge

Note: Blocking strictly necessary cookies may affect the functionality of this website. Blocking analytics cookies will not affect your browsing experience but will prevent us from collecting anonymised usage data.

Similar Technologies

In addition to cookies, websites may use other technologies such as web beacons (pixel tags), local storage, and session storage. We minimise the use of such technologies. Where they are used, they serve the same purposes described above and are subject to the same consent requirements.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this cookie policy from time to time, for example to reflect changes in the cookies we use or for regulatory reasons. The “last updated” date at the top of this page indicates when the most recent revision took effect. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Further Information

For more information about cookies in general, including how to see what cookies have been set on your device and how to manage and delete them, visit aboutcookies.org or allaboutcookies.org.

For information about your data protection rights, see our Privacy Policy. If you have concerns about how cookies are used on this website, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.