This ‘Cookie Policy’ explains how the Social Care Council uses cookies and similar technologies to recognise you when you visit our Websites and Mobile Apps (for a list of these properties please see Section 1 of our ‘Web Privacy Statement’). It explains what these technologies are and why we use them, as well as your rights to control our use of them.
What are cookies?
A cookie is a small file containing a string of characters that is sent to your computer when you visit a website. When you visit the site again, the cookie allows that site to recognize your browser. Cookies may store user preferences and other information.
Cookies provide a convenience feature to save you time, or tell the Web server that you have returned to a specific page. For example, if you personalise pages on our Websites, or register via our online portal, a cookie helps us to recall your specific information on subsequent visits. When you return to the same Website, the information you previously provided can be retrieved, so you can easily use the customized features.
Cookies set by the website owner (in this case, Social Care Council) are called “first party cookies”. Cookies set by parties other than the website owner are called “third party cookies”. Third party cookies enable third party features or functionality to be provided on or through the website (e.g. like interactive content and analytics). The parties that set these third party cookies can recognise your computer both when it visits the website in question and also when it visits certain other websites.
Why do we use cookies?
We use first party and third party cookies for several reasons. Some cookies are required for technical reasons in order for our Websites to operate, and we refer to these as “essential” or “strictly necessary” cookies. Other cookies also enable us to track and target the interests of our users to enhance the experience on our Websites. For example, Social Care Council keeps track of the Websites and pages you visit, in order to determine what portions of our Websites are the most popular or most used. This data may be utilised to deliver customized content to users whose behaviour indicates that they are interested in a particular subject area. Third parties serve cookies through our Websites for analytics and other purposes. This is described in more detail below.
What types of cookies do we use and how do we use them?
– Essential website cookies: These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our Websites and Mobile Apps and to use some of its features, such as access to secure areas.
– Performance and functionality cookies: These cookies are used to enhance the performance and functionality of our Websites and Mobile Apps but are non-essential to their use. However, without these cookies, certain functionality may become unavailable.
– Analytics and customisation cookies: These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our Websites and Mobile Apps are being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customise our Websites for you.
– Social networking cookies: These cookies are used to enable you to share pages and content that you find interesting on our Websites or Mobile Apps through third party social networking and other websites. These cookies may also be used for advertising purposes too.
How can I control cookies?
You have the right to decide whether to accept or reject cookies. You can set or amend your web browser controls to accept or refuse cookies. If you choose to reject cookies, you may still use our website though your access to some functionality and areas of our website may be restricted. As the means by which you can refuse cookies through your web browser controls vary from browser-to-browser, you should visit your browser’s help menu for more information.
Essential website cookies: Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the Websites to you, you cannot refuse them. You can block or delete them by changing your browser settings however, as described above.
What about other tracking technologies, like web beacons?
No. Not at this time.
Do you use Flash cookies or Local Shared Objects?
No. Not at this time.
Do you serve targeted advertising?
No. Not at this time.
How often will you update this Cookie Policy?
We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time in order to reflect, for example, changes to the cookies we use or for other operational, legal or regulatory reasons. Please therefore re-visit this Cookie Policy regularly to stay informed about our use of cookies and related technologies.
The date at the bottom of this Cookie Policy indicates when it was last updated.
[Last updated – 13 December 2019]