What cookies we use and how
They improve things by:
- remembering who you are after you login to the site
- prefill some of the online forms with information you already gave to us so you don’t need to keep entering it
- measuring how you use the website so we can make sure it meets your needs.
Apart from the ones related to the login process our cookies aren’t used to identify you personally. They’re just here to make the site work better for you. Indeed, you can manage and/or delete these small files as you wish.
To learn more about cookies and how to manage them visit AboutCookies.org.
Before you login (anonymous browsing)
No personal information is stored or collected by these cookies
Essential cookies
The areas of Lewisham Council website mentioned below would not work if you disable cookies in your browser
Online forms
When you transact with the council through one of our online forms we store a cookie on your computer containing information on what type of form is launched. In addition, as you go through different stages in the transaction, information is passed back to our backend systems and a session cookie is used to reference the transaction.
| Name | Typical content | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| TKDialog | information about the type of online transaction/form and map coordinates if needed | when closing the browser window |
| ASP.NET_SessionId | randomly generated number | when closing the browser window |
Interactive maps
Due to the design of the mapping application, access to our interactive mapping relies on saving a couple of session cookies on your computer. These are random numbers and strings.
| Name | Typical content | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| .ASPXAUTH | randomly generated string | when closing the browser window |
| ASP.NET_SessionId | randomly generated string | when closing the browser window |
Non-essential cookies
Lewisham website will still work without the non-essential cookies. However, some of the services would be affected, such as the personalised recommendations.
In addition, we would not be able to get a correct image of how our customers use our site (through the website statistics). It would be more difficult for us to improve our web services in the future without understanding the needs of our customers.
Measuring website usage (Google Analytics)
We use Google Analytics to collect information about how people use this site. We do this to make sure it’s meeting its users’ needs and to understand how we could do it better.
Google Analytics stores information about what pages you visit, how long you are on the site, how you got here and what you click on.
We do not collect or store your personal information (e.g. your name or address) so the analytics data cannot be used to identify who you are. We do not allow Google to use or share our analytics data.
The following cookies are set by Google Analytics on all www.lewisham.gov.uk sub domains:
| Name | Typical content | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| _utma | randomly generated number | 2 years |
| _utmb | randomly generated number | 30 minutes |
| _utmc | randomly generated number | when you close your browser |
| _utmz | randomly generated number and information on how the site was reached (e.g. direct or via a link, organic search or paid search) | 6 months |
Opt out of Google Analytics: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout
Library catalogue
Viewing planning applications
We store a random number to keep track of a user ID when logged in to the planning applications portal
| Name | Typical content | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| CASTGC | randomly generated string | when logging off |
Consultation portal
A session cookie is stored in order to identify a visit to Lewisham Council consultation portal (this is a platform shared with other local authorities).
| Name | Typical content | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| ServerID | number | when closing the browser window |
After you login (authenticated browsing)
Essential cookies
When you login on our website to access online accounts (Council Tax, Landlords, etc.) or to make secure online payments, we store a series of essential cookies to help us identify you and ensure all transactions and secure and efficient.
| Name | Typical content | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| FedAuth | Reference to an ID token in SharePoint – identifies the user | when you close your browser |
| TKDialog | This cookie gets updated with a user ID generated by our Customer Relationship Management system | when you close your browser |
Viewing planning applications
We store a random number to keep track of a user ID when logged in to the planning applications portal
| Name | Typical content | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| CASTGC | randomly generated string | when logging off |