Cookies on ons.gov.uk

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Some parts of the ONS may use additional cookies and will have their own cookie policy and banner.

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Cookies are small files saved on your phone, tablet or computer when you visit a website.

We use cookies to store information about how you use the ONS website, such as the pages you visit.

Cookie settings

We use JavaScript to set our cookies. Javascript is not running on your browser so you cannot change your settings.

You can try:

turning on JavaScript in your browser
reloading the page in case there was a temporary fault with JavaScript

We use three types of cookie. You can choose which cookies you're happy for us to use.

Cookies that measure website use

We use Google Analytics to measure how you use the website so we can improve it based on user needs. Google Analytics sets cookies that store anonymised information about:

how you got to the site
the pages you visit on ons.gov.uk and how long you spend on each page
what you click on while you're visiting the site

Learn more about these Google Analytics cookies

Name	Purpose	Expires
`_ga`	This helps us count how many people visit ons.gov.uk by tracking if you’ve visited before	2 years
`_gid`	This helps us count how many people visit ons.gov.uk by tracking if you’ve visited before	24 hours
`_gat`	Used to manage the rate at which page view requests are made	10 minutes

We do not allow Google to use or share the data about how you use this site.

Do you want to allow usage tracking?

On
Off

This selection will expire after two years.

Cookies that help with our communications

Some of our pages may contain content from other sites, like YouTube, which may set their own cookies. These sites are sometimes called “third party” services. This tells us how many people are seeing the content and whether it’s useful.

In addition, if you share a link to a ons.gov.uk page, the service you share it on may set a cookie. We have no control over cookies set on other websites – you can turn them off, but not through us.

YouTube videos

We use YouTube to show videos on some ons.gov.uk pages. YouTube sets cookies when you visit one of these pages.

Learn more about these YouTube cookies

Name	Purpose	Expires
`_use_hitbox`	This is a randomly generated number that identifies your browser	When you close your browser
`VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE`	Lets Youtube count the views of embedded Youtube videos	9 months

Do you want to allow communications tracking?

On
Off

Cookies that remember your settings

These cookies do things like remember your preferences and the choices you make, to personalise your experience of using the site.

Do you want to allow settings?

On
Off

Strictly necessary cookies

These essential cookies do things like:

remember the notifications you've seen so we do not show them to you again
remember your progress through a form (for example, an ons study)

They always need to be on.

Learn more about these essential cookies

Your progress when filling in a survey or questionnaire

We’ll set a cookie to remember your progress through a survey or questionnaire. These cookies do not store your personal data and are deleted once you’ve completed the survey or questionnaire.

Name	Purpose	Expires
`licensing_session`	Set to remember information you’ve entered into a form	When you close your browser

Cookie message

You may see a banner when you visit ons.gov.uk inviting you to accept cookies or review your settings. We’ll set cookies so that your computer knows you’ve seen it and not to show it again, and also to store your settings.

Name	Purpose	Expires
`ons_cookie_message_displayed`	Lets us know that you’ve seen our cookie message	1 year
`ons_cookie_policy`	Saves your cookie consent settings	1 year