Cookie Policy

This Cookie Policy explains how Consoul Ltd (“we”, “us”, “our”) uses cookies and similar technologies on our website at consoulnlp.com, the choices available to you, and how to manage or withdraw your consent.

It should be read alongside our Privacy Policy and our Data Protection and Information Governance Policy. We use cookies in line with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

What cookies are

A cookie is a small text file that a website places on your computer, phone or other device when you visit. Cookies let a site remember your actions and preferences — such as the cookie choice you have made — over a period of time. Similar technologies such as local storage, pixels and web beacons perform comparable functions, and where we refer to “cookies” in this policy we mean all of these technologies.

Cookies may be set by us (first-party cookies) or by a third-party service we use (third-party cookies). They may also be “session” cookies, which are deleted when you close your browser, or “persistent” cookies, which remain until they expire or you delete them.

The categories of cookie we use

We group cookies into three categories. Strictly necessary cookies are always active because the site cannot work properly without them and no consent is required for them under PECR. All other categories are switched off by default and are only set if you give your consent.

• Strictly necessary — required for core functions such as page navigation, security, and remembering the cookie choice you have made. These do not require consent and cannot be switched off.
• Analytics — help us understand how visitors find and use the site so that we can improve it. These are only set if you consent, and the information is used in aggregate.
• Marketing — used to measure and improve the relevance of our advertising, and may be set by advertising partners across other sites. These are only set if you consent.

Cookies currently set on this website

We keep the number of cookies to a minimum. The public website sets the following cookies. Only the first is strictly necessary; the Google Analytics cookies are set only if you allow analytics:

• consoul_consent — first-party, stores the cookie preferences you select in the consent banner so we do not ask you again on every page. It contains no personal data and expires after six months, after which we ask for your choice again.
• _ga — first-party, set by Google Analytics to tell one visitor from another so that visits can be counted. Expires after two years. Only set if you allow analytics.
• _ga_WPRNFT1PQM — first-party, set by Google Analytics to keep track of the current visit. Expires after two years. Only set if you allow analytics.

Our fonts are served directly from our own website rather than from a third party, so viewing the site does not set any font-provider cookies. Apart from the analytics described below, we do not use Microsoft Clarity, social media pixels, advertising cookies or embedded booking widgets on the public pages. If we add any such service in future it will be listed here and, where it is not strictly necessary, will only load after you have given consent.

Our content management system may set additional cookies for members of staff who are signed in to edit the website. These are not set for ordinary visitors.

Analytics we use

If you allow analytics, we use Google Analytics 4, provided by Google Ireland Limited and Google LLC. It tells us how many people visit, which pages they read, how they found the site, roughly where in the world they are, and what kind of device and browser they use. It relies on the two cookies listed above.

Google Analytics 4 does not log or store IP addresses; your approximate location is worked out from your IP address and then discarded. We do not use its advertising features, so the data is not used to show you adverts. Google’s privacy policy is at policies.google.com/privacy, and Google offers a browser add-on that opts you out on every site at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

We also use Vercel Web Analytics, provided by Vercel Inc., the company that hosts our website, as a simple count of which pages are read and how people arrive at the site.

It records the page you visit, the website that referred you, your approximate country, and your browser, operating system and device type. It does not set cookies or store anything on your device. Visits are grouped using a short-lived identifier derived from your request, which is discarded within 24 hours, so it cannot be used to recognise you on a later visit or across other websites. We only see the results in aggregate.

Although it sets no cookies, we treat it as optional analytics: it only loads once you have allowed analytics, and if you withdraw that consent it stops recording straight away. Vercel’s privacy policy is available at vercel.com/legal/privacy-policy.

Both tools stop recording as soon as you withdraw consent through “Cookie settings” in the footer, and the Google Analytics cookies are deleted from your browser at the same time.

How we ask for your consent

When you first visit consoulnlp.com you are shown a cookie banner. You can accept all cookies, reject all non-essential cookies, or open “Manage preferences” to choose analytics and marketing separately. No non-essential cookie is set before you make a choice. Your selection is remembered for six months, and we will ask again after that.

Changing or withdrawing your consent

You can change or withdraw your consent at any time. Select “Cookie settings” in the footer of any page to reopen the preferences panel, adjust the categories, and save your new choice. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdrew it.

Managing cookies in your browser

You can also control and delete cookies through your browser settings, including blocking all cookies or removing those already stored. Please note that if you block strictly necessary cookies some parts of the site may not function correctly, and if you clear your cookies you will be asked for your consent again on your next visit. Guidance for the main browsers, and general information about cookies, is available at www.aboutcookies.org and from the Information Commissioner’s Office at www.ico.org.uk.

Third-party cookies

Where we use a third-party service that sets its own cookies, that provider processes the resulting data under its own privacy and cookie policies, and we encourage you to review them. We only allow non-essential third-party cookies to load after you have given consent, and any such providers will be listed in the “Cookies currently set on this website” section above.

Changes to this Cookie Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the cookies we use or for legal reasons. Any changes will be posted on this page, and we will ask for your consent again where required. Please check back periodically to stay informed.

Contact us

If you have any questions about this Cookie Policy or how we use cookies, please contact Conrad Mepham-Stone at conradmstone@consoulnlp.com, or write to Consoul Ltd, Nithsdale House, 159 Cambridge Street, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP20 1BQ.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), at www.ico.org.uk.