EU Cookie Directive

The new EU e-Privacy Directive, or EU ‘Cookie Law’ as it is widely referred to, has taken effect as of 26 May 2012.

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer by websites. They allow websites to offer a more personalised experience, such as remembering a user’s preferences. Cookies can also be used for tracking user behaviour, and also by website owners to track how often their pages are being visited and other interesting non-personal user information.

Our site uses Google Analytics (which does save a few ‘persistent’ cookies to your computer) but only for the purpose of analysing site usage: how users arrive at our site, what they do on the site, what browser they are using and on what operating system etc. This analytics data is not tied to personally identifiable information and is not being used for targeting or advertising.

We also use some ‘session’ cookies which are stored on your computer for the duration of your visit to our websites. These are essential to the proper functioning of our site where some memory of your activity on our web pages is needed. Again, these cookies do not provide us with personally identifiable information and we don’t use them for targeting or advertising.

We have reviewed the Directive and also the position that the UK’s data protection agency, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) appears to be taking in relation to its enforcement.

The Directive states that website users should be made aware of the kind of cookies set, varying from “essential” cookies, such as those used to remember which goods are in your e-shopping cart to “non-essential” cookies, like those used by this website to track user behaviour. (These details are provided in our Privacy Policy.)

Some websites have introduced intrusive pop-up boxes to ask for the consent of users to use cookies but the ICO’s latest guidance states that “implied consent” from website users to accept cookies will often suffice.

The ICO has also stated that it wants to “focus its regulatory efforts on the most intrusive cookies or where there is a clear privacy impact on individuals”. We do not believe that our use of cookies is either intrusive or impacts on the privacy of individuals.

Our response to the Directive is therefore a pragmatic one: we have not provided any options to selectively opt in or out of particular cookies, this is still up to you. By highlighting our position, we feel that if you continue to use this website you are giving us your implied consent to accept cookies from the site.

If you don’t wish to accept cookies from this site, please change your browser settings. http://www.aboutcookies.org/

To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics visit: http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

We have also updated our Privacy Policy which is available as a persistent footer on our website so it is visible and accessible at all times.