Cookies
Cookies are small text files that are automatically stored on your computer as you browse the web. Typically, they contain 2 pieces of information:
- Site name
- Unique user ID
They are widely used in order to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the site. The tables explain the cookies we use and why.
First party cookies
Cookie name | Essential or non-essential | Type of cookie | Session or persistent | Expiry time | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
_ga _gid _gat | Non-essential | Google Analytics | _ga: persistent _gid: persistent _gat: session | _ga: 2 years _gid: 1 day _gat: 1 minute | Google Analytics used to monitor traffic levels, search queries and visits to this website. Google Analytics stores IP address anonymously on its servers in the US, and Google does not associate your IP address with any personally identifiable information. These cookies enable Google to determine whether you are a return visitor to the site, and to track the pages that you visit during your session. These cookies are set only after the user has given consent to us to use cookies. _ga: This cookie is used for Google Analytics to distinguish unique users by assigning a randomly generated number as a client identifier. _gat: This cookie is used for Google Analytics to throttle request rate. _gid: This cookie is used for Google Analytics to store and update a unique value for each page visited. |
nmstat | Non-essential | Tracking / SiteImprove | Persistent | 1,000 days | This cookie is used to help record visitors' use of the website. It is used to collect statistics about site usage such as when the visitor last visited the site. This information is then used to improve the user experience on the website. This Siteimprove Analytics cookie contains a randomly generated ID used to recognize the browser when a visitor reads a page. The cookie contains no personal information and is used only for web analytics |
Third party cookies
Cookie name | Essential or non-essential | Type of cookie | Session or persistent | Expiry time | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
AWSELB | Essential | Functional / Amazon Web Services | Session | On browser close | This cookie is used by Amazon Web Services Elastic Load Balancing functionality for routing client request on the server. |
siteimproveses | Non-essential | Tracking / SiteImprove | Session | On browser close | This cookie is used purely to track the sequence of pages a visitor looks at during a visit to the site. This information can be used to create User Journeys and enable visitors to find relevant information more quickly. |
Report your cookie concerns
You can report your cookie concerns on the Information Commissioner’s website.