Accessibility

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Our aim is to maintain levels of accessibility that conform to the current W3C guidelines (the accepted standard for accessibility on the web). However, this is a large site and we update it regularly, so sometimes things may be missed. If you have an access problem using the site, don’t suffer in silence – get in touch .

Main accessibility features

You can return to the homepage from anywhere in the site by clicking on our logo in the top left corner of the page you’re on.

All text is resizable using your browser’s text-resize option. You can do this with the keyboard shortcuts as well as with the menu.

We do use Javascript on the site, but we have ensured that the site still functions properly when Javascript is turned off. There are three exceptions to this and we have put alternatives in place for these.

The animated Flash page headers require Javascript to make them load correctly. We have created static versions of these images that are visible when Javascript is not enabled.
The Toolbox search will not work unless Javascript is enabled. However, we have designed the site navigation to make it as easy as possible to find the information you need without using the search.

The text on each page is divided up with headings to make it easier to read and skim-read.

All hyperlinks have meaningful text so that they make sense if you’re using a screen reader.

If your browser doesn’t support stylesheets, or if you’ve turned them off, you can still read all the pages on our site. You can also apply your own stylesheet to make changes in the way the site looks for you.

The colour contrast on this site has been checked to ensure that the text is as easy to read as possible.