PCS Cookie Policy

Published: 21 October 2026

Parental Contribution Service (PCS) is operated by Right First Time UK Ltd (company number 17493370). This policy explains how cookies are used on pcs.rightfirsttimeuk.com.

Essential cookies

PCSSESSID: session cookie needed to keep parents signed in and protect access to private family cases. The server uses HttpOnly and SameSite=Lax settings, and Secure when HTTPS is detected. Essential session functions do not require optional analytics consent.

PCS may also use session information for security checks, including CSRF protection. Disabling essential session cookies may prevent account features from working.

Optional analytics preference

pcs_analytics_consent: a first-party preference cookie that records yes or no for optional usage analytics. It lasts up to 180 days. It is set when you choose Accept optional, Reject optional or Save preferences. It is used to remember your decision.

What optional analytics collects

Where optional tracking is enabled and the relevant consent controls are applied, PCS records first-party page views and successful logins using a page/tool label and timestamp. The existing analytics implementation may associate activity with your account ID when signed in; for public visits it uses a rotating pseudonymous visitor identifier derived from technical connection information. Analytics records are retained for up to 13 months in the existing implementation.

PCS analytics do not intentionally copy parent messages, uploaded evidence, agreement text, bank or card details, or form contents into its analytics table. We do not use optional analytics to decide an individual parent's contribution.

Your choices

You may accept or reject optional analytics without losing access to the main PCS service. Use Cookie settings in the footer at any time to change your preference. Rejecting optional analytics is intended to stop future optional collection by consent-gated tracking code; it does not automatically delete previously collected records. The consent setting must be honoured by the deployed tracker; a preference cookie alone does not enforce that choice.

Operational case reporting (separate from cookies)

Authorised PCS and Right First Time UK administrators may view aggregate counts derived from existing case records, such as agreement status, agreed contribution bands, shared-care bands, messaging safety pauses and their duration, case period endings, renewals, closure decisions and data-rights requests where recorded. These operational reports are separate from optional page-view cookies. They must not disclose private messages, case evidence, children's identities or bank details, and must not be treated as proof of events not recorded in the database. Case records may need to be retained for different periods from the analytics records.

Different records and retention

The stated 13-month period applies to the existing analytics events, not automatically to messages, agreements, payment evidence, case-closure records or legal compliance records. Requests to access, correct or erase personal data are reviewed under applicable data protection law; closing a case or hiding an agreement does not itself erase shared records.

Contact

Questions about privacy or cookies: pcs@rightfirsttimeuk.com. Also read our Privacy Information.