Accessibility

This site has been designed and built in accordance with the latest version of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 in force at the time the site was launched. This version of the guidelines are dated 11^th December 2008 and can be found at http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/REC-WCAG20-20081211/.

As this site is content managed it may be possible that accessibility errors are introduced from time-to-time. We review the site periodically to find and fix such errors as soon as possible. If you discover an error and would like to make us aware of it, then please get in touch using the feedback form.

Designing with all users in mind:

We are always looking for ways to improve our website and make it easier to use. We have tried to:

Provide a text alternative to non-textual content, for example through the use of ALT text or a textual alternative on the same page. The main image content is additional to the text content, and not required for understanding the site.
Ensure that the information, structure and relationships can be programmatically determined or are available in text.
Ensure that where the sequence of content affects its meaning, the correct sequence can be programmatically determined.
Avoid using colour to convey information visually.
Ensure that all functionality of content is operable through a keyboard interface. See the "Using the keyboard" for further information.
Ensure that it is possible to pause animated content in the gallery.
Ensure that pages do not flash at all.
Put meaningful titles on all pages.
Check that forms have a meaningful focus order.
Made sure that the purpose of each link can be determined from the link text.
Set the language of each page programmatically to indicate the language it is written in.
Made sure that the focus of elements does not change the context.

Made sure that changing any user elements does not change context.
Highlighted errors in form input using text.
Provided labels and instructions where input is required, for example on forms.
Checked that pages parse correctly.
Ensured that for all interface elements, the name and role can be programmatically determined and that the values of these elements can be programmatically set.
This site does not contain instructions relating to the operating of content.
This site does not make use of audio, and so no alternatives were found to be necessary.

We are also working hard to make sure our site has useful content that is laid out in an easy-to-navigate way, so that you can find what you are looking for. We have taken into consideration people with speech readers.

Using the keyboard:

Please see your browser documentation on the use of keys for navigating pages. In general the site can be navigated by holding down Alt and Shift (on a PC) or Ctrl and Shift (on a Mac) along with the respective key. The list of keys set-up for this site is as follows:

s - Skip navigation (this has been implemented in code for this site)
n - Skip to navigation (this has been implemented in code for this site)
m - Skip to sub navigation (section navigation and has been implemented in code for this site)
1 - Home page
2 - News
8 - Terms and conditions
9 - Feedback form
0 - Access key detail

Increasing the text size:

If you find the text on the site appears too small for you to read, you can customise your browser to make the text larger. Choose View, then Text Size and select Medium, Larger or Largest (in Internet Explorer), or in Firefox choose View, Text Size, then Increase or Decrease.