What are cookies?

Cookies are small files that websites place on the device you’re using to browse the site. Cookies are commonly used to record some aspect of your visit to a site, such as choices you’ve made or preferences you’ve set during your visit.

How and why we use cookies

We use cookies to give you the best experience when you visit our website. By using cookies, we can make it easier for you to do many things, such as managing your login details. Cookies can also allow us to tailor the content of our website so we can show you service we think you might be interested in.

Keeping your personal information safe

Our cookies do not store personal information such as your name, address, phone number or email in a format that can be read by others. The cookies we use cannot read or search your computer, smartphone or web-enabled device to obtain information about you or your family, or read any material kept on your hard drive. We do use a small number of cookies that store encrypted versions of information where you have asked us to, such as the ‘Remember me’ function that allows us to remember your Account username for subsequent visits. However, this is encrypted so that only we can read this information. The website that places a cookie owns that cookie. This means only that website and other sites that it has agreed to share information with can read the information stored using a cookie.

Links to sites by other providers

If you follow a link from our website to another website, please be aware that the owner of the other website will have their own privacy and cookie policies for their site. We recommend you read their policies as we are not responsible or liable for what happens on their site.

How to manage and switch off cookies

Your web browser provides settings that allow you to manage or switch off cookies, remember that you may not be able to use all of the services on our websites.

You can find out more about managing and switching off cookies at the independent website allaboutcookies.org

Strictly necessary cookies

These cookies are essential for our online services and tools to work. They collect and record information that we need to make our site work.

Common uses for this type of cookie include allowing user to log in or access private areas of our site.

These cookies only last for a single browsing session when you leave our site they are removed.

Performance cookies

These cookies help us to monitor and improve how our website works:

Common uses include:

• Collecting information about which pages visitors go to most often
• Noting if visitors get any error messages from web pages
• Understanding which links visitors like to follow and which they choose not to.

The information collected using these cookies is anonymous and cannot be used to identify and individual visitor.

Functionality cookies

These allow us to provide you with enhanced features that need to remember your preferences and choices, such as your username, language or region. They also let us monitor how our website is performing so we can keep improving it.

Common uses include:

• Providing you with local information
• Remembering how you like to use our site
• Remembering topics, you’re interested in.

The information stored in these cookies is encrypted so we can only read it.

Google Analytics

This website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”). Google Analytics uses “cookies”, which are text files saved on your computer, to help the website analyse how you use the site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. If this website anonymizes IP addresses, your IP address will be truncated by Google within a EU member state or other EEA state before being transmitted to the US. Only in exceptional situations will your full IP address be transmitted to Google servers in the United States and truncated there. Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity for website operators and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website. By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above. You can also prevent Google from collecting information (including your IP address) via cookies and processing this information by downloading this browser plugin and installing it: http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

You can prevent data collection via Google Analytics by clicking here. An “Opt-out Cookie” shall then be applied to your website which shall prevent any future collection of your data when visiting this website.

Further information concerning the terms and conditions of use and data privacy can be found at the Google Analytics Terms of Service or at the Google Analytics Privacy Overview. Please note that on this website, Google Analytics is supplemented by “gat._anonymizeIp();” to ensure anonymized collection of IP addresses (IP masking).

reCAPTCHA

We use the reCAPTCHA service provided by Google Inc. (Google) to protect your submissions via internet submission forms on this site. This plugin checks if you are a person in order to prevent certain website functions from being (ab)used by spam bots (particularly comments). This plugin query includes the sending of the IP address and possibly other data required by Google for the Google reCAPTCHA service. For this purpose, your input will be communicated to and used by Google. However, your IP address is previously truncated by Google within member states of the European Union or in other states which are party to the agreement on the European Economic Area and is, as such, anonymized. Only in exceptional cases is a full IP address transmitted to a Google server in the United States and truncated there. On behalf of the operator of this website, Google will use this information to evaluate your use of this service. The IP address provided by reCaptcha from your browser shall not be merged with any other data from Google.

This data collection is subject to the data protection regulations of Google (Google Inc.). For more information about Google’s privacy policy, please visit: https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/

By using the reCAPTCHA service, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above.