Cookies on GOV.UK

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

We use cookies to collect and store information about how you use the GOV.UK website and government digital services, such as the pages you visit. 'Government digital services' means any page with service.gov.uk in the URL.

This page has a brief explanation of each type of cookie we use. If you want more details, read our detailed cookie information.

Cookie settings

We use Javascript to set most of our cookies. Unfortunately Javascript is not running on your browser, so you cannot change your settings on this page. You can try:

  • reloading the page
  • turning on Javascript in your browser

You can also remove any previously stored cookies through your browser. Look for 'Preferences', 'Settings', or 'Options' in your browser menu.

We use 4 types of cookie. You can choose which cookies you're happy for us to use.

Cookies that measure website use

We use Google Analytics cookies to measure how you use GOV.UK and government digital services.

These cookies collect information about:

  • how you got to these sites
  • the pages you visit and how long you spend on each page
  • what you click on while you're visiting these sites

We also use LUX Real User Monitoring software cookies from SpeedCurve to measure your web performance experience while visiting GOV.UK.

LUX software cookies collect and store information about how well pages performed on your device, including whether there were any performance bottlenecks or JavaScript errors.

We do not allow Google or SpeedCurve to use or share this data for their own purposes.

Cookies that help with our communications and marketing

These cookies may be set by third party websites and do things like measure how you view YouTube videos that are on GOV.UK.

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.

Strictly necessary cookies

These essential cookies do things like remember your progress through a form (for example a licence application)

They always need to be on.

Government services

Government digital services are run by different government departments, such as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

These services may set additional cookies and, if so, will have their own cookie policy and banner linking to it.