This policy sets out how Warrington Borough Council (referred to as ‘we’ from now on) uses cookies on the website www.warrington.gov.uk and what this means for you.
A cookie is a small piece of text that a website asks your web browser to save to your computer. When you visit another page on the same website, or sometimes when you next visit the website, the web browser sends the cookie back to the website so it can remember your visit. Cookies can also improve your user experience, for example by remembering information you've already entered so that you don't have to type it again.
This helps web managers to see how you use their website, allowing them to analyse visitor numbers and make improvements to the way the site works.
Cookies aren't used to identify you personally.
Our website requests cookies to:
- enable logins and the filling in of forms (strictly necessary cookies)
- check and improve the website's operation (performance cookies)
- set language and page display options (functional cookies).
- strictly necessary cookies
Strictly necessary cookies
These cookies are essential in order to enable you to move around a website and use its features, such as accessing secure areas of the website. Without these cookies services you have asked for, like shopping baskets or e-billing, cannot be provided. The cookies contain an anonymous identifier that remains the same during the time you are on the website. Our website uses:
| Name | Provider | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|---|
| __cfduid | Siteimprove | Used by the content network, Cloudflare, to identify trusted web traffic | 1 Year |
| AWSALB | Granicus | Registers which server-cluster is serving the visitor. This is used in context with load balancing, in order to optimize user experience. |
6 Days |
Performance cookies
These cookies collect information about how visitors use a website, for instance which pages visitors go to most often, and if they get error messages from web pages. These cookies don’t collect information that identifies a visitor. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. It is only used to improve how a website works. Our website uses:
| Name | Provider | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWSELB | SiteImprove | Used to distribute traffic to the website on several servers in order to optimise response times. | When you close your browser |
| image.aspx | SiteImprove | Registers statistical data on visitors' behaviour on the website. Used for internal analytics by the website operator. | When you close your browser |
| nmstat | Granicus | This cookie contains an ID string on the current session. This contains non-personal information on what subpages the visitor enters – this information is used to optimize the visitor's experience | 999 Days |
| siteimproveses | SiteImprove | Registers statistical data on visitors' behaviour on the website. Used for internal analytics by the website operator. | When you close your browser |
Functionality cookies
These cookies allow the website to remember choices you make (such as your user name, language or the region you are in) and provide enhanced, more personal features. For example they can be used to remember the font, text size, text spacing and colour preferences you have set. The information these cookies collect may be anonymised and they cannot track your browsing activity on other websites.
Our site currently does not request functionality cookies.
Targeting cookies
These cookies are used to deliver adverts more relevant to you and your interests. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement as well as help measure the effectiveness of the advertising campaigns. They are usually placed by advertising networks with the website operator’s permission. They remember that you have visited a website and this information is shared with other organisations such as advertisers. Quite often targeting or advertising cookies will be linked to site functionality provided by the other organisation.
Our website does not request targeting cookies.
Third party cookies
When you visit a page with content embedded from third party sites, e.g. YouTube or Facebook, you may be presented with cookies from these websites. The council has no control over these cookies and you should check the third party websites for more information:
MyWarrington portal
| Name | Provider | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWSALBCORS and AWSALB | Granicus | Used to distribute traffic to the website on several servers in order to optimise response times. | 7 days |
| PHPSESSID | Granicus | This is used for temporarily storing information in a form so the user can move back and forth and not lose anything they have input, and to provide helpful messages. | When you close your browser |
| _gid | Used to distinguish users for returning visits stats | 24 hours | |
| _ga | Used to distinguish users for site stats | 2 years | |
| localtime | Granicus | To make sure that the time for the forms is set to current UK time | When you close your browser |
How to manage cookies
If you'd like to, you can set your browser to allow all cookies, or to allow only 'trusted' sites to send them, or to only accept cookies from websites you are currently using. We recommend that you don't block all cookies because parts of the website rely on them to work properly.
The way to manage your cookies depends on which browser you are using. Find out more:
If you prefer not to receive cookies then you won't be able to log in to this website, submit online forms, set text and colour preference or set the language. You can also choose to opt out of Google Analytics.
For more information you can also visit the About Cookies website or the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) has a page explaining cookies.