Cookie Policy

1. Introduction

This Cookie Policy explains how UK Health Insight (“we”, “us”, “our”, or the “Site”) uses cookies and similar tracking technologies when you visit ukhealthinsight.com (the “Site”). It should be read alongside our Privacy Policy, which explains more broadly how we collect, use, and protect your personal data. Where this Cookie Policy refers to personal data, it does so on the same basis and subject to the same principles set out in our Privacy Policy.

This Cookie Policy is intended to comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (“UK GDPR”), the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (“PECR”), and to reflect the transparency standards expected by Google and its advertising and analytics products, including Google AdSense and Google Analytics.

By continuing to use the Site, adjusting your cookie preferences through our consent banner, or continuing to browse after being presented with cookie information, you acknowledge that you have read this Cookie Policy. Where consent is legally required before non-essential cookies are placed, we will ask for that consent separately, as explained in Section 6 below.

2. What Cookies Are

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device (computer, tablet, or mobile) when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work, or work more efficiently, and to provide information to the owners of a site.

Cookies may be:

• Session cookies — temporary cookies that are deleted once you close your browser.
• Persistent cookies — cookies that remain on your device for a set period, or until you delete them.
• First-party cookies — set directly by ukhealthinsight.com.
• Third-party cookies — set by a domain other than ours, such as an advertising or analytics provider.

We also use similar technologies, such as pixels, tags, and local storage, which work in a comparable way to cookies. References to “cookies” in this policy include these similar technologies unless stated otherwise.

3. Why We Use Cookies

We use cookies for several purposes, including to:

• Ensure the Site functions correctly and securely.
• Remember your preferences and settings between visits.
• Understand how visitors use the Site, so we can improve content, structure, and performance.
• Support the display of advertising, which helps fund the free content we provide.
• Enable embedded third-party content, such as videos, to function correctly.

We do not use cookies to collect visitors’ medical records or sensitive health information. Any health-related information is only ever provided by you voluntarily, for example through a contact form, and is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy — it is never collected automatically through cookies.

4. Types of Cookies We Use

4.1 Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are essential for the Site to function and cannot be switched off. They are usually only set in response to actions you take, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in, or filling in forms. They do not require consent under PECR because they are necessary for the service you have requested.

4.2 Functional Cookies

These cookies allow the Site to remember choices you make (such as language or region) and provide enhanced, more personalised features. They may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we use on the Site.

4.3 Analytics Cookies

These cookies help us understand how visitors interact with the Site by collecting information anonymously or in aggregate, such as which pages are visited most often and how long visitors spend on the Site. We use this information to improve how the Site works. Our primary analytics provider is Google Analytics.

4.4 Performance Cookies

These cookies collect information about page load times, error messages, and technical performance so that we can identify and fix issues, and continue to improve the speed and reliability of the Site.

4.5 Advertising Cookies

These cookies are used to make advertising more relevant to you and your interests. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement and to help measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. They are usually placed by third-party advertising networks, including Google AdSense, with our permission. Where required by law, these cookies are only placed once you have given consent, as explained in Section 6.

5. Third-Party Cookies

5.1 Google AdSense Cookies

We use Google AdSense to display advertising on the Site. Google, as a third-party vendor, may use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this or other websites. Google’s use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads that may be personalised or non-personalised, depending on your consent choices and applicable settings.

Google may use various advertising technologies, including cookies, device identifiers, and similar tools, as part of its advertising products. You can find out more about how Google uses data from sites that use its services, and manage your advertising preferences, through Google’s Ads Settings and the “How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services” page, both of which are available on Google’s own website.

You can opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google’s Ads Settings, or by visiting www.aboutads.info if you would like to opt out of third-party vendors’ use of cookies for personalised advertising more broadly.

5.2 Google Analytics Cookies

We use Google Analytics to help us understand how visitors use the Site. Google Analytics uses cookies to collect standard internet log information and visitor behaviour information in an anonymous or pseudonymised form. This information is used to compile reports and help us improve the Site. Google’s use of this data is governed by Google’s own privacy policy and terms of service.

5.3 Other Third-Party Services

Depending on how the Site evolves, we may also use:

• Google Tag Manager, to manage the deployment of the tags and scripts described in this policy (Google Tag Manager itself does not typically set cookies but may facilitate the loading of scripts that do).
• Embedded YouTube videos, which may set cookies via YouTube/Google to remember your preferences and, depending on your consent choices, to personalise content.
• Social media embeds and share buttons (for example, from Facebook, X/Twitter, LinkedIn, or Pinterest), which may set their own cookies to enable the embedded content to work and, where applicable, to track engagement with that content.

Each third party is responsible for the cookies it sets and the data it collects. We encourage you to review the privacy and cookie policies of these third parties for further information.

6. Consent Management

Where required by UK law, we ask for your consent before placing non-essential cookies (such as analytics or advertising cookies) on your device. When you first visit the Site, you will be presented with a cookie banner or consent tool that allows you to:

• Accept all cookies.
• Reject all non-essential cookies.
• Customise your preferences by category (for example, allowing analytics cookies but not advertising cookies).

Strictly necessary cookies are placed regardless of your choice, as they are required for the Site to function. Non-essential cookies — including analytics, performance, and advertising cookies — are not placed before you have provided consent, where consent is required by law.

You can change or withdraw your consent at any time by revisiting your cookie preferences through the consent tool, typically accessible via a link in the site footer, or by adjusting your browser settings as described in Section 7.

Consent signals and Google Consent Mode: where implemented, our consent tool communicates your choices to Google’s services using recognised consent categories. In plain terms, these categories cover:

• Advertising storage — whether cookies related to advertising may be stored on your device.
• Advertising user data — whether user data may be shared with Google for advertising purposes.
• Advertising personalisation — whether that data may be used to personalise the ads you see.
• Analytics storage — whether cookies related to measuring site usage may be stored on your device.

Depending on your choices, Google’s tags and services will adjust their behaviour accordingly — for example, using less identifying, “cookieless” measurement where consent for a particular category has not been given.

7. Managing Cookies in Your Browser

In addition to the consent tool described above, most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can typically:

• View what cookies are stored on your device and delete them individually.
• Block third-party cookies.
• Block cookies from particular sites.
• Block all cookies from being set.
• Delete all cookies when you close your browser.

Please note that if you choose to block or delete cookies, some parts of the Site may not function as intended, and some content or features may not display correctly. Guidance on managing cookies is generally available in the “Help” or “Settings” menu of your browser.

8. Cookie Retention

Cookies remain on your device for different lengths of time depending on their purpose:

• Session cookies are deleted automatically when you close your browser.
• Persistent cookies remain for a set period (ranging from a few hours to several years) or until manually deleted, depending on the cookie’s function.

Specific retention periods for the cookies currently in use are set out in the table in Section 11 below.

9. International Data Transfers

Some of the third-party providers referenced in this policy, including Google, may process data outside the United Kingdom, including in the United States or other countries. Where this occurs, those providers are responsible for ensuring appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with UK data protection law, such as the UK’s International Data Transfer Agreement, an adequacy decision, or equivalent contractual protections. Further information is available in the relevant third party’s own privacy documentation.

10. Changes to This Cookie Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the cookies and technologies we use, legal or regulatory requirements, or the operation of the Site. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated “Last updated” date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we use cookies.

11. Cookie Table

The table below sets out examples of the cookies commonly used on the Site. The exact cookies present at any given time may vary as our use of third-party services evolves, is added to, or is discontinued.

12. Contact Information

If you have any questions about this Cookie Policy or how we use cookies, please get in touch via our Contact page.