Cookies
A cookie is a small text file that is stored on your computer or mobile device by a website server. It can only be read by that server and it cannot be used to identify you personally.
Cookies are used on this website to help it work properly. Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but if you block cookies parts of this website will not work properly.
We also use analytics cookies to collect anonymous statistics about how people use our website to help us maintain and improve the website.
Opting out of using cookies
Most web browsers allow some control of most cookies through the browser settings. You can set your browser to refuse all cookies or to notify you before receiving a cookie so that you can decide whether to accept it. Your browser may have settings allowing you to manage cookies on a site-by-site basis. For example, Google Chrome’s settings allow you to delete existing cookies, allow or block all cookies, and set cookie preferences for websites. Google Chrome also has Incognito mode, which doesn’t store your Chrome history of visited sites or cookies on your device after you close all Incognito windows.
However, blocking cookies may affect how our site functions, the search will not work, some of the sections such as Find my nearest and the online planning system will not work, and the social media share icons on new items will not work.
- For more information about cookies visit the All About Cookies website.
- You can opt out of Google Analytics cookies
- Find out how to manage cookies on different browsers:
- Chrome cookies information
- Firefox cookies information
- Internet Explorer cookies information
- Microsoft Edge cookies information
- Safari cookies information
- Samsung Internet cookies information
- You can search for cookies information related to other internet browsers using a search engine, such as Google.
Cookies we use
We use Google Analytics and Siteimprove to collect information about how people use the website. These statistics are used to understand how people use our website and how we can make improvements so it continues to meet our users needs. The analytics tools record information about which pages you visit, how long you are on the website, and how you got there. We do not store any personal information and cannot be used to identify who you are.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Necessary | Necessary cookies help make a website usable by enabling basic functions like page navigation and access to secure areas of the website. The website and its subdomains cannot function properly without these cookies. |
| Preferences | Preference cookies enable a website to remember information that changes the way the website behaves or looks, like your preferred language or the region that you are in. |
| Analytics | Statistic cookies help website owners to understand how visitors interact with websites by collecting and reporting information anonymously. |
| Marketing | Marketing cookies are used to track visitors across websites. The intention is to display adverts that are relevant and engaging for the individual user and thereby more valuable for publishers and third party advertisers. |
| Unclassified | Unclassified cookies are cookies that we are in the process of classifying, together with the providers of individual cookies. |
Cookies used on the main website
https://www.westsuffolk.gov.uk
Category: Necessary
| Cookie name | Provider, type, expiry period and cookie purpose description |
|---|---|
| CFID | Provider: westsuffolk.gov.uk Type: Expiry: Cookie purpose description: (ColdFusion Identifier) used by Adobe ColdFusion applications to uniquely identify a client device (browser) and maintain user session variables. It is used in conjunction with the CFTOKEN (ColdFusion Token) to ensure that session variables are stored securely. ColdFusion uses two cookies for CFID and CFTOKEN, which helps in managing user sessions effectively. Additionally, ColdFusion can store client variables in cookies or a SQL database, but it is generally more efficient to use cookies for long-term information. |
| CFTOKEN | Cookie purpose description: Provider: westsuffolk.gov.uk Type: Expiry: Cookie purpose description: Cookie set by Adobe ColdFusion applications. Used in conjunction with CFID this cookie helps to uniquely identify a client device (browser) to enable the site to maintain user session variables. How those are used are specific to the site. CFTOKEN contains a random number to identify the client. |
| CSRFTOKEN | Provider: westsuffolk.gov.uk Type: HTTP Expiry: Session Cookie purpose description: Helps prevent cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks. |
| JSESSIONID | Provider: westsuffolk.gov.uk Type: HTTP Expiry: Session Cookie purpose description: Used to maintain an anonymous user session by the server. |
| WSUSERCONSENT | Provider: westsuffolk.gov.uk
|
| WS_ad_user_data | Provider: westsuffolk.gov.uk Type: Expiry: 1 year Cookie purpose description: Sets consent for sending user data related to advertising to Google. The ad_user_data consent type is required for measurement use cases, such as enhanced conversions and tag-based conversion tracking. |
| WS_ad_storage | Provider: westsuffolk.gov.uk Type: Expiry: 1 year Cookie purpose description: Enables storage (such as cookies) related to advertising |
| WS_ad_personalization | Provider: westsuffolk.gov.uk Type: Expiry: 1 year Cookie purpose description: Sets consent for personalized advertising. |
| WS_analytics_storage | Provider: westsuffolk.gov.uk Type: Expiry: 1 year Cookie purpose description: Enables storage (such as cookies) related to advertising. |
Category: Analytics
| Cookie name | Provider, type, expiry period and cookie purpose description |
|---|---|
| _ga _ga_ | Provider: westsuffolk.gov.uk Type: HTTP Expiry: 2 years Cookie purpose description: Registers a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the website. |
| _gat_gtag_ | Provider: westsuffolk.gov.uk Type: HTTP Expiry: 1 hour Cookie purpose description: Used by Google Analytics to set and get tracking data. |
| _gid | Provider: westsuffolk.gov.uk Type: HTTP Expiry: 24 hours Cookie purpose description: Registers a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the website. |
Category: Marketing
| Cookie name | Provider, type, expiry period and cookie purpose description |
|---|---|
| _gsas | Provider: westsuffolk.gov.uk Type: HTTP Expiry: 3 months Cookie purpose description: Google Provides ad delivery or retargeting. |
Google search
Cookies are set when you use search. These are necessary for the search to work.
We do not use adverts on our website.
personalizedAds is an attribute used when the cookie is set. It specifies whether users have consented to allowing the publisher to share personal information with Google for the purpose of personalized advertising.
We have set personalizedAds to false which returns only query targeted ads. This will not return any ads that are targeted with the user's Google cookies.
| Cookie name | Provider, type, expiry period and cookie purpose description |
|---|---|
| NID | Provider: google.com Type: HTTP Expiry: 6 months Cookie purpose description: Some cookies are used to maintain a user’s preferences. For example, most people who use Google services have a cookie called ‘NID’ in their browsers. This cookie contains a unique ID used to remember your preferences and other information such as your preferred language, how many search results you prefer to have shown on a results page (for example, 10 or 20), and whether you want to have Google’s SafeSearch filter turned on. |
| __Secure-3PAPISID __Secure-3PSID __Secure-3PSIDCC __Secure-3PSIDTS | Provider: google.com Type: Marketing Expiry: 2 years Cookie purpose description: Targeting cookies. Used to create a user profile and display relevant and personalised Google Ads to the user. Targeted advertisements may be displayed to you based on your previous visits to this website. For example, advertisements about a topic you have expressed an interest in while browsing our site may be displayed to you across the web. For more information, please visit Google - How Google uses information from sites or apps that use their service If you wish to disable DoubleClick cookies on your browser, please visit Google - Ad Settings. |
Social media sharing
Some of our news items have social media share icons. If you visit one of these pages the following cookies enable you to share news items on social media.
| Cookie name | Provider, type, expiry period and cookie purpose description |
|---|---|
| __atuvc | Provider: AddThis social sharing widget Type: Expiry: 2 years Cookie purpose description: This cookie is associated with the AddThis social sharing widget. This widget is commonly embedded in websites to enable visitors to share content with a range of networking and sharing platforms. It stores an updated page share count. |
| __atuvs | Provider: AddThis social sharing widget Type: Expiry: 2 years Cookie purpose description: This cookie is associated with the AddThis social sharing widget which is commonly embedded in websites to enable visitors to share content with a range of networking and sharing platforms. This is believed to be a new cookie from AddThis which is not yet documented, but has been categorised on the assumption it serves a similar purpose to other cookies set by the service. |
Cookies used on the systems linked to from the West Suffolk Council website
Find my nearest
https://maps.westsuffolk.gov.uk
Category: Necessary
| Cookie name | Provider, type, expiry period and cookie purpose description |
|---|---|
| __cfduid | Provider: siteimproveanalytics.com Type: HTTP Expiry: 30 days Cookie purpose description: Used by the content network, Cloud flare, to identify trusted web traffic. |
| ASP.NET_SessionId | Provider: maps.westsuffolk.gov.uk Type: HTTP Expiry: Session Cookie purpose description: Preserves the visitor's session state across page requests. |
| AWSELB | Provider: global.siteimproveanalytics.io Type: HTTP Expiry: Session Cookie purpose description: Used to distribute traffic to the website on several servers in order to optimise response times. |
| AWSELBCORS | Provider: global.siteimproveanalytics.io Type: HTTP Expiry: Session |
| CONSENT | Provider: google.com Type: HTTP Expiry: 6105 days Cookie purpose description: Used to detect if the visitor has accepted the marketing category in the cookie banner. This cookie is necessary for General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance of the website. |
Category: Analytics
| Cookie name | Provider, type, expiry period and cookie purpose description |
|---|---|
| _ga | Provider: google-analytics.com Type: HTTP Expiry: 2 years Cookie purpose description: Registers a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the website. |
| _gat | Provider: google-analytics.com Type: HTTP Expiry: 1 day Cookie purpose description: Used by Google Analytics to throttle request rate. |
| _gid | Provider: google-analytics.com Type: HTTP Expiry: 1 day Cookie purpose description: Registers a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the website. |
| image.aspx | Provider: global.siteimproveanalytics.io Type: HTTP Expiry: Session Cookie purpose description: Registers statistical data on visitors' behaviour on the website. Used for internal analytics by the website operator. |
| nmstat | Provider: uk1.siteimprove.com Type: HTTP Expiry: 999 days Cookie purpose description: 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 optimise the visitor's experience. |
Category: Unclassified
| Cookie name | Provider, type, expiry period and cookie purpose description |
|---|---|
| astun | Provider: maps.westsuffolk.gov.uk Type: HTTP Expiry: Session Cookie purpose description: unclassified |
Licensing public register
https://regulatory.westsuffolk.gov.uk/
No cookies are used.
MiHR - External access to employees self service system
https://selfservice.westsuffolk.gov.uk
No cookies are used.
Councillors and meetings system - Modern.gov
https://democracy.westsuffolk.gov.uk
Category: Necessary
| Cookie name | Provider, type, expiry period and cookie purpose description |
|---|---|
| ASP.NET_SessionId | Provider: democracy.westsuffolk.gov.uk Type: HTTP Expiry: Session Cookie purpose description: Preserves the visitor's session state across page requests. |
Online forms
westsuffolk-self.achieveservice.com
Category: Necessary
| Cookie name | Provider, type, expiry period and cookie purpose description |
|---|---|
| AWSALB | Provider: westsuffolk-self.achieveservice.com Type: HTTP Expiry: 6 days Cookie purpose description: Registers which server-cluster is serving the visitor. This is used in context with load balancing, in order to optimize user experience. |
| AWSALBCORS | Provider: westsuffolk-self.achieveservice.com Type: HTTP Expiry: 6 days Cookie purpose description: Registers which server-cluster is serving the visitor. This is used in context with load balancing, in order to optimize user experience. |
| PHPSESSID | Provider: westsuffolk-self.achieveservice.com Type: HTTP Expiry: Session Cookie purpose description: Preserves users session state across page requests. |
| SESS# | Provider: westsuffolk-self.achieveservice.com Type: HTTP Expiry: 1 day Cookie purpose description: Preserves users states across page requests. |
Category: Statistics
| Cookie name | Provider, type, expiry period and cookie purpose description |
|---|---|
| _ga | Provider: achieveservice.com Type: HTTP Expiry: 2 years Cookie purpose description: Registers a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the website. |
| _gat | Provider: achieveservice.com Expiry: 1 day Cookie purpose description: Used by Google Analytics to throttle request rate. |
| _gid | Provider: achieveservice.com Type: HTTP Expiry: 1 day Cookie purpose description: Registers a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the website. |
Category: Unclassified
| Cookie name | Provider, type, expiry period and cookie purpose description |
|---|---|
| APP_LANG | Provider: westsuffolk-self.achieveservice.com Type: HTTP Expiry: 1 day Cookie purpose description: Unclassified |
| authKey | Provider: westsuffolk-self.achieveservice.com Type: HTML Expiry: Session Cookie purpose description: Unclassified |
| council | Provider: westsuffolk-self.achieveservice.com Type: HTML Expiry: Session Cookie purpose description: Unclassified |
| localtime | Provider: westsuffolk-self.achieveservice.com Type: HTML Expiry: Session Cookie purpose description: Unclassified |
| SessionStorageTest | Provider: westsuffolk-self.achieveservice.com Type: HTML Expiry: Session |
| SiteSettingsCache | Provider: westsuffolk-self.achieveservice.com Type: HTML Expiry: Session Cookie purpose description: Unclassified |
| SiteSettings-CustomCssInline | Provider: westsuffolk-self.achieveservice.com Type: HTML Expiry: Session Cookie purpose description: Unclassified |
| SiteSettings-CustomIFrameCss | Provider: westsuffolk-self.achieveservice.com Type: HTML Expiry: Session Cookie purpose description: Unclassified |
Outlook forms
Category: Necessary
| Cookie name | Provider, type, expiry period and cookie purpose description |
|---|---|
| ClientId | Provider: outlook.office365.com Type: HTTP Expiry: 1 year Cookie purpose description: Determines the device used to access the website. This allows the website to be formatted accordingly. |
| OIDC | Provider: outlook.office365.com Type: HTTP Expiry: 6 months Cookie purpose description: Control cookie used in connection to the website’s Content Delivery Network (CDN). |
| amp_cookie_test# | Provider: outlook.office365.com Type: HTTP Expiry: Session Cookie purpose description: Registers statistical data on users' behaviour on the website. Used for internal analytics by the website operator. |
Planning applications system Public Access
https://planning.westsuffolk.gov.uk
Category: Necessary
| Cookie name | Provider, type, expiry period and cookie purpose description |
|---|---|
| JSESSIONID | Provider: planning.westsuffolk.gov.uk Type: HTTP Expiry: Session Cookie purpose description: Preserves users states across page requests. |
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a simple, easy-to-use tool that helps website owners measure how users interact with website content. As a user navigates between web pages, Google Analytics provides website owners JavaScript tags (libraries) to record information about the page a user has seen, for example the URL of the page. The Google Analytics JavaScript libraries use HTTP cookies to 'remember' what a user has done on previous pages and interactions with the website.
You can opt out of Google Analytics cookies.
| Google Analytics cookies | Domain, expiry period and description |
|---|---|
| __utma | Domain: westsuffolk.gov.uk Expires: 2 years from set or update Description: Used to distinguish users and sessions. The cookie is created when the JavaScript library executes and no existing __utma cookies exists. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to Google Analytics |
| __utmb | Domain: westsuffolk.gov.uk Expires: 30 mins from set or update Description: Used to determine new sessions or visits. The cookie is created when the JavaScript library executes and no existing __utmb cookies exists. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to Google Analytics |
| __utmc | Domain: westsuffolk.gov.uk Expires: end of browser session Description: Not used in ga.js. Set for interoperability with urchin.js. Historically, this cookie operated in conjunction with the __utmb cookie to determine whether the user was in a new session or visit. |
| __utmt | Domain: westsuffolk.gov.uk Expires: 10 minutes Description: Used to throttle request rate. |
| __utmv | Domain: westsuffolk.gov.uk Expires: 2 years from set or update Description: Used to store visitor-level custom variable data. This cookie is created when a developer uses the _setCustomVar method with a visitor level custom variable. This cookie was also used for the deprecated _setVar method. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to Google Analytics. |
| __utmz | Domain: westsuffolk.gov.uk Expires: 6 months from set or update Description: Stores the traffic source or campaign that explains how the user reached your site. The cookie is created when the JavaScript library executes and is updated every time data is sent to Google Analytics. |
Read the Google Analytics privacy document for more details about the data collected by Google Analytics.
Siteimprove
We use Siteimprove to monitor accessibility and quality of content on our websites, so we can deal with any issues as quickly as possible.
| Siteimprove - analytics cookies | Expiry time and domain |
|---|---|
| nmstat | Expires: Persistent – expires after 1,000 days Domain: westsuffolk.gov.uk |
| siteimproveses | Expires: end of session Domain: siteimprove.com |
| szcookiechoice | Expires: end of session Domain: siteimprove.com |
YouTube
We use YouTube to embed video on our website. YouTube inserts these cookies for keeping track of visitors, user preferences and collecting statistics about views. They can't be used to identify you. See Google privacy policy for information.
| YouTube cookies | Expiry time and domain |
|---|---|
| HSID | Expires: 20 years Domain: youtube.com |
| LOGIN_INFO | Expires: 20 years Domain: youtube.com |
| PREF | Expires: 20 years Domain: youtube.com< |
| SID | Expires: 20 years Domain: youtube.com |
| SSID | Expires: 20 years Domain: youtube.com |
| VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE | Expires: 6 months Domain: youtube.com |
| use_hitbox | Expires: end of session Domain: youtube.com |
For more information about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit the All About Cookies website