When we provide services, we want to make them easy, useful and reliable. Where services are delivered on the internet, this sometimes involves placing small amounts of information on your device, for example, computer or mobile phone. These include small files known as cookies. They cannot be used to identify you personally. These pieces of information are used to improve services for you through, for example:

  • enabling a service to recognise your device so you don't have to give the same information several times during one task
  • recognising that you may already have given a username and password so you don't need to do it for every web page requested
  • measuring how many people are using services, so they can be made easier to use and there's enough capacity to ensure they are fast

 

Our use of cookies

Cookies for managing your current visit

  • Name: site_session
  • Typical content: randomly generated text
  • Expires: when user exists browser

 

Cookies for improving service

Google Analytics sets cookies to help us accurately estimate the number of visitors to the website and volumes of usage. This to ensure that the service is available when you want it and fast.

  • Name: _utma
  • Typical content: randomly generated number
  • Expires: 2 years

 

  • Name: _utmb
  • Typical content: randomly generated number
  • Expires: 30 minutes

 

  • Name:  _utmc
  • Typical content: randomly generated number
  • Expires: when user exits browser

 

  • Name: _utmz
  • Typical content: randomly generated number and info on how the site was reached (e.g. directly or via a link, organic search or paid search)
  • Expires: 6 months

 

For further details on the cookies set by Google Analytics, please refer to the Google Code website