Accessibility

• our approach to making this website accessible, including what we have done and will do in the future;
• the facilities that we have provided for different disability groups;
• guidance on how to use particular features;
• what to do if you have any questions or feedback for us.

Approach

We believe the web pages on the site are, as a minimum, in line with all of the priority level 1 criteria of World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C's) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

Select the following links to access specific details for:

Screen reader / voice browser / screen magnifier users
Partially sighted users - changing the font size
Colour-blind users
Keyboard-only users
Changing the style sheet

Screen Reader / Voice Browser / Screen Magnifier Users

Our navigation mechanisms are accessible by screen readers and voice browsers. In addition, skip links allow the user to by-pass the navigation to the main content and also go directly to the site tools.

• ALT + M + ENTER will take the user to the top of the main content panel;
• Alt + S + Enter will take the user to the site tools;
• ALT + N + ENTER will take the user back to the main navigation.

Text equivalents of all images have been provided and the relevant page and table header tags inserted.

Alternative mechanisms have been provided where JavaScript is used within the site.

Partially Sighted Users - changing the font size

We have provided the facility to change the font size of the text used on our web pages. If you are using Internet Explorer, select "View" from the menu bar, then "Text Size" and select from "Smallest" to "Largest". In Mozilla Firefox, select "View" from the menu bar, then "Text Size" and select from "Increase" to "Decrease".

Colour-blind Users

We have checked the site font and background colour combinations for the different colour-blindness conditions and ensured that items are not referenced by colour alone. Should you wish to change the colour of text and background by introducing your own style sheet, please follow the instructions in changing the style sheet.

Keyboard-only Users

The web pages on the site have been tested for use in keyboard-only operation. When using the forms or controls for the tools, the keys to use are as follows:

• To select from dropdown boxes, use up and down arrow keys;
• To select/unselect a check box, use the space bar;
• To move forward between links, use the tab key;
• To move back between links, use the Shift + tab keys;
• To initiate an action button, use the Enter key when the action button is selected.

Changing the Style sheet

Users may import their own style sheet into the website. In Internet Explorer, select Tools, then Internet Options and then Accessibility. Next click on any or all of three checkboxes to ignore colours, font styles or font sizes. In the same window, you can change the style sheet by clicking the checkbox that says "Format document using my style sheet", then simply browse to your preferred style sheet and click OK. In Mozilla Firefox, you can change your font and colour settings by selecting "Tools" from the menu bar, then "Options" and select from "Fonts & Colours".