The 1-Minute Guide Interested in this issue but short of time? Here's what we think you need to know: We use cookies to make our website easier for you to use We use cookies to help stop our online forms from being used to send spam-email We use cookies to monitor usage so we can spot trends and make improvements We DO NOT use cookies to identify individuals (and never will) We DO NOT store personal information in cookies Information about what cookies are set We believe that our use of cookies is necessary for the smooth functioning of the website. We do not believe that they pose any threat to your personal privacy or online security and we recommend that you "allow" cookies. If you "disable" cookies the interactive functions of the website will not operate (data submission via forms, as well as user registration, user login, and many other features of the website can not work fully without using cookies). More Detailed Information Is this GDPR or PECR? The original EU legislation that became known as the “E-Privacy Directive“ was published in 2003 and implemented as European Directive - 2002/58/EC then amended by Directive 2009/136/EC that included a requirement to seek consent for cookies and similar technologies. The EU Directive entered UK law on 26th May 2011 as “The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) (Amendment) Regulations 2011” often refered to as PECR - and this is still in force today. PECR sits alongside the more widely known legistration GDPR - both are regulated by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). What Are Cookies? A cookie is used by a website to send 'state information' to a users' browser and for the browser to return the state information to the website. The state information can be used for authentication, identification of a user session, user preferences, shopping cart contents, or anything else that can be accomplished through storing text data on the user's computer. Cookies cannot be programmed, cannot carry viruses, and cannot install malware on the host computer. However, they can be used to track users browsing activities which was a major privacy concern that prompted European and US law makers to take action. Cookies are used by most websites for a variety of reasons - often very practical reasons to do with the operation of the website. However, they are also used to monitor how people are using the website (which pages are visited and how long is spent on each page). Each "visitor session" is tracked even though no effort is made to try to identify the user in person. The new legislation now states that you must be able to opt-out from having cookies stored on their computer. What Happens If You Opt-Out If you decide to disable cookies we record this so you don't get asked the question again. You will find that most of the website works as expected although functions that rely on cookies are obviously disabled. These functions include using online forms (e.g. our enquiry form) or any feature that requires login. We use a cookie to remember your cookie preferences, which has a couple of consequences: If you delete all your cookies you will have to tell us your preference again If you use a different device, computer profile or browser you will have to tell us your preference again "Essential" cookies let you move around the website and use essential features like secure areas and online billing. These cookies don't gather any information about you that could be used for marketing or remembering where you've been on the internet. Name Description Expiration Apache This cookie is set to provide a unique identification of the User and is passed back to the server with each subsequent request. The cookie allows us to distinguish between requests from multiple Users vs. multiple requests from the same User. The information is used by many features of the Content Management System as well as the systems responsible for protecting the website from abuse (e.g. a Denial of Service attack). one "session" (i.e. until the browser is closed) cookie_option_shown This cookie controls whether the "privacy options" tab has been shown to the use. The tab appears only once per session on the first page that the User lands on. one "session" (i.e. until the browser is closed) privacy_preference This cookie is set to record the fact that a User has opted to disable cookies. 1 year from set/update. privacy_cookie_status This cookie is set to record the fact that a User has opted to enable cookies. 1 year from set/update. Google Analytics We use Google Analytics to monitor usage of the website. Google Analytics collects information anonymously. It reports website trends without identifying individual visitors (not by name or IP address). Name Description Expiration __utma This cookie is typically written to the browser upon the first visit to your site from that web browser. If the cookie has been deleted by the browser operator, and the browser subsequently visits your site, a new __utma cookie is written with a different unique ID. This cookie is used to determine unique visitors to your site and it is updated with each page view. Additionally, this cookie is provided with a unique ID that Google Analytics uses to ensure both the validity and accessibility of the cookie as an extra security measure. 2 years from set/update. __utmb This cookie is used to establish and continue a user session with your site. When a user views a page on your site, the Google Analytics code attempts to update this cookie. If it does not find the cookie, a new one is written and a new session is established. Each time a user visits a different page on your site, this cookie is updated to expire in 30 minutes, thus continuing a single session for as long as user activity continues within 30-minute intervals. This cookie expires when a user pauses on a page on your site for longer than 30 minutes. You can modify the default length of a user session with the _setSessionCookieTimeout() method. 30 minutes from set/update. __utmc This cookie is no longer used by the ga.js tracking code to determine session status. Historically, this cookie operated in conjunction with the __utmb cookie to determine whether or not to establish a new session for the user. For backwards compatibility purposes with sites still using the urchin.js tracking code, this cookie will continue to be written and will expire when the user exits the browser. However, if you are debugging your site tracking and you use the ga.js tracking code, you should not interpret the existence of this cookie in relation to a new or expired session. Not set. __utmz This cookie stores the type of referral used by the visitor to reach your site, whether via a direct method, a referring link, a website search, or a campaign such as an ad or an email link. It is used to calculate search engine traffic, ad campaigns and page navigation within your own site. The cookie is updated with each page view to your site. 6 months from set/update. __utm* Any cookies with this prefix are related to Google Analytics 6 months from set/update. _gid, _ga* Any cookies with this prefix are related to Google Universal Analytics. This cookie assigns a client identifier by generating a random number to distinguish unique users. It is used to calculate visitor, session and campaign data and is included in each page request on a site. 2 years from set/update. Crazy Egg NameDescription_ceg.s, _ceg.u, _ce*CrazyEgg is product that provides detailed information about how a particular page is being used – it can monitor mouse movements and construct heatmaps to help us understand how better to structure our content. The product is a diagnostic tool so is usually only used for a few weeks at a time. More information from CrazyEgg Hotjar NameDescription_hjIncludedInSample, _hjidThese cookies are used to create a heatmap which shows how visitors use our site. More information from Hotjar Further Reading Information about what cookies are set