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Our site uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our Web site. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our site and also allows us to improve our site.
Due to recent changes in law, all sites which operate across certain parts of the European Union are required to obtain consent using or storing cookies (or similar technologies) on your computers or mobile device. This cookie policy provides you with clear and comprehensive information about the cookies we use and the purposes for using those cookies. To review the privacy policies that apply to users of this website, please read our Privacy Policy.
A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we store on your browser or the hard drive of your computer. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies as soon as you visit our site.
You block cookies by activating the setting on your browser that allows you to refuse the setting of all or some cookies. However, if you use your browser settings to block all cookies (including essential cookies) you may not be able to access all or parts of our site. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies as soon as you visit our site.
If you wish to withdraw your consent at any time, you will need to delete your cookies using your internet browser settings.
For further information about deleting or blocking cookies, please click here.
Internet browsers allow you to change your cookie settings. These settings are usually found in the 'options' or 'preferences' menu of your internet browser. In order to understand these settings, the following links may be helpful. Otherwise you should use the 'Help' option in your internet browser for more details.
Cookie settings in Internet Explorer
To find out about specific cookies we use on this site, please see below for details.
The cookies used on our site are categorised as follows:
'Strictly necessary' cookies let you move around the site and use essential features like accessing your profile and posting feedback. Without these cookies, these services cannot be provided. Please note that these cookies do not gather any information about you that could be used for marketing or remembering where you've been on the internet.
We use these strictly necessary cookies to:
Accepting these cookies is a condition of using the site, so if you prevent these cookies we can't guarantee your use of our site or how the security on our site will perform during your visit.
'Performance' cookies collect information about how you use our site e.g. which pages you visit, and if you experience any errors. These cookies do not collect any information that could identify you and is only used to help us improve how our site works, understand what interests our users and measure how effective our content is.
We use Web Analytics performance cookies to provide anonymous statistics on how our site is used.
Some of our performance cookies are managed for us by third parties. However, we don't allow the third party to use the cookies for any purpose other than those listed above.
By using our site, you accept the use of 'Performance' cookies. Accepting these cookies is a condition of using the site, so if you prevent them we cannot guarantee how our site will perform for you.
First party cookies
Name | Description | Expiration |
---|---|---|
PHPSESSID | Acts as a session for a user to link their actions made across the site to provide them content. | Browser close. |
iCookies_accepted | Acts as a flag that you accept our cookie policy and are willing to receive cookies. | 1 year from set/update. |
Third party cookies
Google Analytics sets the following cookies as described in the table below. A default configuration and use of Google Analytics sets only the first 4 cookies in the table.
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 |
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. |
__utmv |
This cookie is not normally present in a default configuration of the tracking code. The __utmv cookie passes the information provided via the _setVar() method, which you use to create a custom user segment. This string is then passed to the Analytics servers in the GIF request URL via the utmcc parameter. This cookie is only written if you have added the _setVar() method for the tracking code on your website page. |
2 years from set/update. |
__utmx |
This cookie is used by Website Optimizer and only set when the Website Optimizer tracking code is installed and correctly configured for your pages. When the optimizer script executes, this cookie stores the variation this visitor is assigned to for each experiment, so the visitor has a consistent experience on your site. See the Website Optimizer Help Center for more information. | 2 years from set/update. |
__atuvc |
This cookie is associated with the AddThis social sharing widget which is commonly embedded in websites to enable visitors to share content with a range of networking and sharing platforms. It stores an updated page share count. | 1 day from set/update. |
__atuvs |
This cookie is associated with the AddThis social sharing widget which is commonly embedded in websites to enable visitors to share content with a range of networking and sharing platforms. This is believed to be a new cookie from AddThis which is not yet documented, but has been categorised on the assumption it serves a similar purpose to other cookies set by the service. | 1 day from set/update. |
For more information on Google Analytics see: https://developers.google.com/analytics/resources/concepts/gaConceptsCookies.