Cookie Policy

Cookies

What is a cookie?

  • A cookie is a small text file that a website transfers to the browser on your computer's hard disk so that the site can remember who you are.
  • A cookie will typically contain the name of the website from which the cookie has come, the "lifetime" of the cookie, and a value, usually a randomly generated unique number.
  • We cannot identify you personally by using a cookie. Cookies store no personal data and are not used to gather personal information.

How does Oxfordshire County Council use cookies?

  • To collect statistics about your use of our website, such as when you last visited the site. This information is used to improve the user experience on our website.
  • To help us embed useful maps and videos from Google Maps, YouTube and Vimeo.
  • In order to deliver the best possible experience, the site needs to know if you have JavaScript enabled. Instead of querying your browser each time a page loads, a cookie is set instead.

Enabling or disabling cookies

  • We recommend that you allow all cookies set by this site as they help us provide you with a better service.
  • If you decide to delete or disable our cookies then you may not be able to access certain areas or features of our website.
  • Information about how to enable or disable cookies is available on the about cookies website.
  • Cookies used by Oxfordshire County Council, do not infringe on your privacy or threaten your computer's security.

Cookie pop-up

You may see a cookie pop-up welcome message when you visit. We’ll store a cookie so that your computer knows you’ve seen it and knows not to show it again.

Name: cookie_agreed

Purpose: This cookie sets whether the user has agreed to the Cookie Policy that appears in a popup when a visitor first comes to the site. The cookie has a duration of 100 days and does not store any personal data.

Expires: 100 days

There is no way to disable this cookie, but you can disable cookies from your browser. 

Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics to collect information about how visitors use our site. This information is used for reporting purposes and to help us improve the customer experience on our site.

Analytics uses its own cookie to track visitor interactions. The cookie is used to store information, such as what time the current visit occurred, whether the visitor has been to the site before, and what site referred the visitor to the web page.

The cookies set by Google Analytics are as follows:

Name: __ga

Purpose: Registers a unique ID that is used to generate stats on how the visitor uses the website

Expires: 2 years

Name: __gat

Purpose: Used by Google Analytics to throttle request rate

Expires: 1 day

Name: __gid

Purpose: Registers a unique ID that is used to generate stats on how the visitor uses the website

Expires: 1 day

You can opt out of Google Analytics cookies.

Youtube

When you watch a Youtube video embedded on our website, Youtube may add some cookies for storing user preferences and serve up related content or adverts within the video iframe.

Name: VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE, YSC, PREF, IDE, GPS


Oxfordshire maps

The Oxfordshire maps, which we embed on to the site to show the coverage map, the purpose is to allow you to return to the same configuration as you left it.

Name: Relaystate

Expires: When the browsing session ends

Learn how to disable cookies from your browser.