How we use cookies

This website site and some of the tools and services it links to use a number of cookies. These cookies are listed below with more details about why we use them and how long they will last.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.

Performance cookies

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site and will not be able to monitor its performance.

Marketing Cookies

Marketing cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Further detail on our cookies

Measuring website usage

We use Google Analytics to collect information about how people use our website. We do this to make sure it’s meeting people’s needs and to understand how we could meet those needs better.

Google Analytics stores information about what pages you visit, how long you are on the site, how you got here and what you click on. We do not collect or store your personal details such as your name or address. We cannot identify who you are.

We do not allow Google to use or share any information we collect with other third parties.

Remembering your settings

This website uses cookies to remember if you have received the cookie warning message so that this message doesn’t appear more than once.

Applications that we link to

We link to a number of external applications belonging to this Department. Where a launch page exists for an application, information about Cookies it uses are highlighted on that page.

‘Third-party’ cookies

Third-party cookies are cookies created by a website other than the one you are currently visiting. We currently embed services from third party websites to provide extra functionality.

Google Maps

This website uses Google Maps to provide visual geo-location information on various government organisations and services.

For more information please visit Google’s Privacy Policy

YouTube

This website embeds videos from YouTube channel using YouTube’s privacy-enhanced mode. This mode may set cookies on your computer once you click on the YouTube video player, but YouTube will not store personally identifiable cookie information for playbacks of embedded videos using the privacy-enhanced mode.