Accessibility
This page describes some of the steps we've taken to make this site accessible to, and usable by, as many people as possible. It describes:
- The industry and government standards we adhere to
- How you can alter the size of the site's text
Standards
We believe this site adheres to the accessibility guidelines documented by the W3C as described in its document "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0" to double-A standard. We have also implemented much, if not all, of the triple A standard. We are aware of just one exception. We require you to have Javascript enabled. The site will not work as intended, otherwise.
Adherence to the W3C standard means that we have taken steps to ensure the site is accessible to as many people as possible including those who are: sight, hearing or otherwise physically impaired.
It also means we can use automated tools to verify that each page conforms to a strict standard. That helps minimises the possibility of errors or problems while you are using it.
We believe this site also adheres to the standards set out in the e-Government universal accessibility handbook which, itself, makes considerable reference to the W3C standards.
We are keen to ensure this site is useful to as many people as possible. If you do encounter a problem please let us know.
Text sizing
You can easily alter the size of the text in the site to make it more readable:
- If you have a mouse with a scroll wheel, press and hold down your keyboard's Ctrl key and rock the scroll wheel backwards and forwards. Most browsers will change the text size for you. Some will zoom the entire page in and out.
- If you have a touch screen, try using your thumb and forefinger in a pinching motion to reduce sizing; spread them further apart to increase sizing.
- Most browsers give you an option to change text size from their toolbar. In Internet Explorer, for example, you can click 'View' and 'Text Size' to see options to change text size (you might need to press your alt key to see the toolbar).
- Most browsers - including Internet Explorer 7 and later - allow you to zoom entire pages - not just the text. Developers keep moving the zoom options around, look for them in the toolbar and settings menus.