Accessibility

This accessibility statement relates to this website.

It is important to make websites accessible to the widest possible audience. Therefore, this site has been designed to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 AA, but also satisfies many other checkpoints laid out in the Guidelines for level AAA.

These guidelines are intended to make website content accessible to people with disabilities. They also help to ensure that slower devices and Internet connections do not substantially impede navigating the website.

You should be able to:

Zoom in up to 300% without text spilling off the screen using your web browser settings. For example, in Chrome, hold down the ctrl key and press the + and - keys. In Safari, hold down the cmd key and press the + and - keys.
Navigate most of the website using a keyboard.
Navigate most of the website using speech recognition software.
Listen to most of the website with a screen reader.
Read most of the website with a Braille device.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have additional access needs.

What We Do to Improve Accessibility

The website administrator is responsible for the accessibility of this website. However, the developers regularly review design and functionality accessibility, including:

Improving layouts and colours to enhance simplicity and contrast.
Ensuring that text appears in a legible font size.
Ensuring that tap targets are an accessible size and not too small or close together.
Considering accessibility in all design and functionality decisions.
Publishing best practices for website administrators relating to content accessibility.

How Accessible is the Website?

Due to the devolved nature of content management, the responsibility for accessibility of content rests with the content creators. The developers are aware of potential issues that could arise, such as:

Images used as links.
Broken links.
Text as images in some locations, such as infographics and logos, without supportive descriptions.
Non-optimal images and PDFs, such as scanned letters.
Some historic images lack alternative text (prior to August 2016, when alt text became mandatory).
Not all videos feature subtitles and/or descriptive text.

The developers cannot take responsibility for content added to the website but strive to resolve issues where possible through functionality improvements and disseminated best practices. It is entirely possible for content creators themselves to resolve these accessibility issues.

Browser Accessibility

This website has been optimised for the latest versions of the following browsers:

Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox
Apple Safari
Microsoft Edge

If the website does not display correctly, please update to the latest version of your browser.

How to Request Information in an Accessible Format

This website has its own administrator, and if you need information in a different format, please contact that individual using the form or details on the Contact page in the menu. Alternatively, you can write to the address in the footer if one appears.

Reporting Accessibility Problems

This website has its own administrator, and if you find any problems that are not listed on this page or if you think the website is not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact the administrator using the form or details on the Contact page in the menu. Alternatively, you can write to the address in the footer if one appears. If necessary, information about structural or design accessibility issues will be passed to the developers to include in the development roadmap.

If you contact us with a complaint about accessibility and you are not happy with our response, you can contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).