Site Accessibility - our accessibility statement

We're genuinely committed (rather than just paying lip-service) to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience - regardless of technology or ability. We are actively working to increase the accessibility and usability of our website, and in doing so, adhere to many (if not all) of the available standards and guidelines.

The WAI (Web Accessibility Initiative)

This website strives to achieve a high level of accessibility, using the W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (WCAG 1.0), employing best practice techniques where certain checkpoints have become outdated and counter-productive. Basically, the WCAG 1.0 explains how to make web content more accessible for people with disabilities, but conformance with these guidelines helps make the web more user friendly and accessible for everybody.

W3C Standards

This site has been built using code compliant with W3C standards for XHTML 1.0 Strict and CSS 2.1. Every page of the site displays correctly in all current (and many obsolete) browsers, and as we've used validated, standards compliant XHTML/CSS code, any (as yet unreleased) browsers in the future should also display the pages correctly.

Exceptions

Whilst our website complies with most known accessibility and usability guidelines, it is not always possible to do so to the letter of each checkpoint. Browsers and access technologies have outgrown many of the difficulties that once needed guidelines to overcome them, rendering some checkpoints obsolete.

In light of this, we are continually developing solutions that ensure the website conforms to the spirit of each checkpoint, bringing together a high standard of practical accessibility and usability throughout the website. The following exceptions are also in line with the recently released version of the accessibility guidelines (WCAG 2.0).

Sorry, no Access Keys...

Checkpoint 9.5 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 recommends providing keyboard short-cuts to important links, often called "access keys". However, these have caused problems in testing as they often interfere with browser and screen reader short-cuts, and it is now generally felt that these are best left off public websites.

Current Status


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