Cookie policy

What are cookies?

Cookies are files saved on your phone, tablet or computer when you visit a website.

They store information about how you use the website, such as the pages you visit.

Cookies are not viruses or computer programs. They are very small so do not take up much space.

How we use cookies

We only use cookies to:

  • make our website work
  • measure how you use our website, such as which links you click on (analytics cookies), if you give us permission

We do not use any other cookies, for example, cookies that remember your settings or cookies that help with health campaigns.

We sometimes use tools on other organisations' websites to collect data or to ask for feedback. These tools set their own cookies.

Cookies that make our website work

We use cookies to keep our website secure and fast.

List of cookies that make our website work
Cookie names and purposes
Cookie name Purpose Expiry
nhsuk-fdp-cookie-consent Remembers if you used our cookies banner 1 year
nhsuk-fdp-session Provides a unqiue id to remember your selections for the online forms When you close the browser
nhsuk-fdp-antiforgery To help prevent Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) attacks When you close the browser
CSRF-TOKEN To help prevent Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) attacks When you close the browser

Cookies that measure website use

We also like to use analytics cookies. These cookies store anonymous information about how you use our website, such as which pages you visit or what you click on.

List of cookies that measure website use
Cookie names and purposes
Cookie name Purpose Expiry
_ga Used by Google Analytics. Tells us if you've used our site before. When you close the browser
_ga_HE302BYY22 Used by Google Analytics. Tells us how you use our site. When you close the browser

We'll only use these cookies if you say it's OK. We'll use a cookie to save your settings.

Tell us if we can use analytics cookies

Save my cookie settings

Updated: October 2023