Cookie Policy
Last updated: 5 August 2026
This policy explains how this website uses cookies and similar technologies, what each one is for, how long it lasts, and how you can change your choices at any time. It should be read alongside our Privacy Policy, which explains how we handle personal information more generally.
What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files that a website stores on your device. They allow a site to work properly, to remember choices you have made, and — where you agree to it — to measure how the site is used.
Similar technologies such as local storage and session storage work in much the same way. For simplicity, this policy refers to all of them as “cookies.”
Your choices
When you first visit the site we ask whether you accept optional cookies. Optional cookies are switched off until you accept them: nothing beyond the strictly necessary cookie below is set, and no analytics code is loaded, unless and until you say yes.
You can accept everything, reject everything, or choose by category — and change your mind whenever you like. Rejecting optional cookies does not limit any part of this site.
Your choice is remembered for 182days (about six months), after which we will ask again. If you clear your browser’s cookies you will also clear the record of your choice, so the banner will reappear on your next visit.
Strictly necessary cookies
These are needed for the site to function and to honour the choice you have made. Under UK law they do not require your consent, and they cannot be switched off.
| Name | Provider | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12sh_cookie_consent | This website (first party) | Stores your cookie choices so you are not asked on every page. | 182 days |
Analytics cookies
We use Google Analytics 4 to count visits and understand which pages are read, so we can improve the site. These cookies are only set if you accept them.
The information collected includes pages viewed, approximate location derived from your IP address, the type of device and browser you use, and how you arrived at the site. We use it in aggregate; we do not use it to identify you, and we do not use it for advertising or profiling.
| Name | Provider | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|---|
| _ga | Distinguishes one visitor from another. | 2 years | |
| _ga_MCESBTLV7F | Maintains the session state for this property. | 2 years |
Google acts as our processor for this analytics data. It may be transferred outside the UK, in which case it is protected by the safeguards in Google’s data processing terms, including the UK addendum to the standard contractual clauses. You can read how Google uses information from sites that use its services, or install the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on to block it across every site you visit.
Cookies we do not use
This site does not use advertising, marketing or social media cookies, does not build profiles of visitors, and does not sell or share cookie data with third parties for their own purposes. There are no embedded third-party players, maps or chat tools on the site.
Legal basis
We rely on the following, in line with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) and the UK GDPR:
- Strictly necessary cookies: the PECR exemption for storage that is essential to provide the service you have asked for.
- Analytics cookies: your consent, which you may withdraw at any time. Withdrawing it does not affect anything done before you did so.
Controlling cookies in your browser
Separately from the choices offered here, most browsers let you view, delete and block cookies. Instructions are available for Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge. Blocking all cookies will also block the one that remembers your choice here.
How long cookies last
Cookies are either:
- Session cookies, which are deleted when you close your browser.
- Persistent cookies, which stay on your device until they expire or you delete them.
The tables above give the expiry of each cookie this site sets.
Changes to this Cookie Policy
We may update this policy to reflect changes to the site, to the technologies we use, or to the law. Any update is published on this page with a revised “Last updated” date. If we introduce a new category of cookie, we will ask for your consent again.
Contact and complaints
If you have any questions about this policy or how we use cookies, please contact us using the details in our Privacy Policy.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK supervisory authority for data protection, at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.