A working draft for legal review. The cookie table below must be replaced with the result of an actual cookie audit of the live site, and the consent banner issue flagged at the bottom of this page must be resolved before launch.

Cookies are small text files that a website puts on your device. They do useful things like remembering what you typed into a form, and less useful things like following you around the internet. This page explains which ones we use and why.

How we handle the personal data behind them is covered in our privacy policy.

The rules we work to

In the UK, cookies are governed by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) as well as UK GDPR. In practice that means we must ask your permission before setting any cookie that isn't strictly necessary for the website to work — and analytics and marketing cookies are not strictly necessary.

Types of cookie

Strictly necessary

These make the website function — keeping your session, remembering form progress, security. They don't need your consent because the site cannot work without them.

Functional

These remember choices you make, such as a preference you have set. The site works without them, so they need consent.

Analytics

These tell us how people use the site — which pages get read, where people give up. We use this to make the site better. They need consent.

Marketing

These track visits across websites so advertising can be targeted. They need consent. CONFIRM whether Bellus intends to run any advertising pixels — Meta, Google Ads, LinkedIn. If not, say so plainly here; it is a genuine trust signal.

Cookies on this website

A REAL COOKIE AUDIT IS REQUIRED. The table below is a structure, not a finding. Run the audit against the published site — the website platform, its chat widget, the embedded forms and any analytics will each set their own cookies. List every one with its actual name, purpose, provider and lifetime.

Name	Purpose	Type	Expires
NAME	Session management	Strictly necessary	?
NAME	Live chat widget	Functional	?
NAME	Analytics	Analytics	?

How to control cookies

You can change your mind at any time. ONCE A CONSENT BANNER EXISTS, describe here how to reopen it and change preferences.

You can also block or delete cookies through your browser settings. Every major browser has a privacy or cookies section that lets you do this. Blocking strictly necessary cookies will stop parts of the site working.

If you would rather not be tracked at all, most browsers offer a "do not track" setting, and private browsing windows discard cookies when you close them.

Changes to this policy

If we add or remove cookies we will update this page and the date at the top.

⚑ Blocking issue: there is no cookie consent banner

This website currently sets cookies without asking. Under PECR that is only lawful for strictly necessary cookies, and platforms of this kind typically set more than that by default.

Before launch: run the cookie audit, then install a consent mechanism that blocks non-essential cookies until the visitor agrees, offers a genuine "reject all" that is as easy as "accept all", and records consent. A banner that only offers "accept" is not compliant.

This is separate from the privacy policy work and needs its own decision about which consent tool to use.