Cookie Policy
Last updated: 26 February 2019
[Please note that we will update this policy to comply with GDPR and the new Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations in the near future]
References in this policy to “NHS England”, “we”, “our” and “us” are references to the Health and Social Care Information Centre, a non-departmental public body established under primary legislation and known as NHS England (see Privacy Policy for more information on who we are).
Cookies make websites and applications work more efficiently and provide information to the owners of websites or mobile applications. They are small pieces of text sent from a website or mobile application to your device e.g. computer or mobile in order to recognise you and make your next visit easier.
Our Cookies Policy describes your choices regarding cookies, explains what cookies are, how we use cookies and if they are "persistent" or "session" cookies.
Changes to our Cookie Policy
The terms of our cookie policy may change from time to time. Please check this page at frequent intervals to view any changes. We will periodically ask you to review your cookie preferences.
What are your choices regarding cookies?
- If you decide to delete cookies or refuse to accept them, you might not be able to use the features we offer, you may not be able to store your preferences, and some of our pages might not display properly.
- The law states that cookies can be stored on your device if they are essential to the operation of a website or application but that for all other cookies, permission is needed.
- If you'd like to delete cookies or instruct your web browser to delete or refuse cookies, please visit the help pages of your web browser.
How we use cookies
We use cookies for the following purposes:
- Essential cookies
- Non-essential cookies
The tables below explain the cookies we use and why.
Essential cookies. These are cookies that are required for the operation of Our website(s). They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of Our website(s).
| Cookie Name | Cookie Expires After | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| antiforgery | Session | Security token to prevent malicious exploit of our website (Cross-Site Request Forgery) . |
| user-session | Session | Keep user logged into session |
| user-core-session | Session | Prevents multiple submission of form data |
Non-essential cookies. When you first visit our website, we generate a cookie that lets us know you have seen the cookie banner. We use this to hide the cookie banner on subsequent visits.
| Cookie Name | Cookie Expires After | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| seen_cookie_message | 90 days | Indicates you have seen the cookie banner |
How can I control my cookies?
You can use your web browser to:
- delete, block or allow all cookies
- block third-party cookies
- clear all cookies when you close the browser
- open a 'private browsing' / 'incognito' session, which allows you to browse the internet without storing local data and
- install add-ons and plug-ins to extend browser functionality
Where to find information about controlling cookies
Useful links
If you would like to find out more about cookies and their use on the Internet, you may find the following links useful:
New technologies such as Mozilla's Do Not Track allow you to tell websites not to track you.
Internet Explorer has a feature called Tracking Protection Lists which allows you to import a list of websites you want to block.
If you would like to contact us about Our cookies, please email us at enquiries@nhsdigital.nhs.uk