The Inquiry website puts small files (known as ‘cookies’) onto your computer to collect information about how you browse the website.
Cookies are small text files containing a string of characters that can be placed on your computer or mobile device that uniquely identify your browser or device.
Cookies tell us if your computer or device has visited the website before. They help us understand how the website is being used, help you navigate between pages efficiently, help remember your preferences, and generally improve your browsing experience.
Cookies help us remember what notifications we send you and make our general communications relevant to you and your interests.
Changes made to this policy can be identified by the ‘last updated’ date at the bottom of this page. Any changes to how your cookie data is processed will be promptly reflected in this policy and will immediately apply to you and your data. If these changes affect how your data is processed, the Inquiry team will take reasonable steps to let you know. Accepting all cookies via our website banner activates those cookie settings that are listed as optional on the cookie preferences page (that is, not ‘strictly necessary’). Your activation of all optional cookies lasts for 3 months and the banner will appear again. This gives you the opportunity to regularly re-visit and adjust your decision.
Find out more about how to manage cookies, including how to delete and block them, on the Inquiry website. To learn more about how we protect and process your information see our Privacy Notice.
Strictly necessary cookies
These cookies do things like remember your preferences and the choices you make, to personalise your experience of using the guidance area of the Office of the Inquiry website.
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| AWSALB | Allows us to deliver the service seamlessly from multiple services using a load balancer. The cookie records which server cluster is serving you | 1 week |
| AWSALBCORS | Allows us to deliver the service seamlessly from multiple services using a load balancer. The cookie records which server cluster is serving you. | 1 week |
Cookies message
You may see a banner when you visit this area of the Inquiry website inviting you to accept cookies or review your settings. We’ll set cookies so that your computer knows you’ve seen this banner and not to show it again, and also to store your settings.
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| cookie_policy | Lets us know that you’ve seen our cookie message | 1 year |
Every Story Matters
If you choose to use the Every Story Matters online form to share your experience of the pandemic with us, you will be visiting a separate website. Two cookies are set that ensure that service is secure and functions correctly.
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| aws-waf-token | Amazon Web Services Web Application Firewall uses this cookie to help protect this service from malicious traffic. The information gathered is non-unique and can’t be mapped to an individual human being. | 72 Hours |
| UXFORMS_EXEC | Keeps track of which form instances are currently assigned to the user’s browser. Lets UX Forms know which instance of a form belongs to who so it can store or retrieve information entered in the form. | Session |
Cookies that measure website use
We use Google Analytics software (Universal Analytics) to collect anonymised information about how you use the guidance area of the Inquiry website. We do this to help make sure the website is meeting the needs of its users and to help us make improvements.
We do not allow Google to use or share the data about how you use this area of the website.
Google Analytics stores information about:
- how you got to the website
- the pages you visit on the Inquiry website and how long you spend on them
- what you click on while you’re visiting the website
Google Analytics sets the following cookies.
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| _ga | This helps us count how many people visit the Inquiry website by tracking if you’ve visited before | 2 years |
| _gid | This helps us count how many people visit the Inquiry website by tracking if you’ve visited before | 24 hours |
| _gat | Used to manage the rate at which page view requests are made | 1 minute |
Find out more about opting out of Google Analytics cookies.