We aim to comply with the Guidelines for UK Government websites, which support the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 1.0.
Our aim is to meet or exceed the provisions of the "AA" WCAG Conformance Level. Many accessibility features can be measured, but many cannot. We have reviewed the guidelines and intelligently assessed each page, and continue to do so as we regularly update our site.
Let us know how we are doing
If you feel that we can do better, please let us know your thoughts via our website feedback form. We value your suggestions and continually seek to make improvements to our website.
Access Keys
Access keys provide keyboard shortcuts to common page items. Our keys are:
- s: Jump down to main page content (ignore navigation)
- 0: Accessibility statement (this page)
- 1: Homepage
- 3: Site map
- 4: Search (places cursor in search box)
- 7: Complaints procedure
- 9: Contact us
- i: Freedom of Information
- n: News
- r: Reporting crime
- l: Low graphics mode (toggle on and off)
Depending on your browser you may use these shortcuts by holding down the Alt key and pressing the desired access key. To use an access key:
- Internet Explorer, press the 'Alt' key plus the access key, and then press return.
- Mozilla browsers (FireFox, Safari...) press the 'Alt' key plus the access key listed above.
- If you use a different Internet browser, please refer to its help documentation.
Website technology and styles
We have built this site using web standards, together with style sheets (CSS) to separate style from content. Our site can be viewed perfectly with styles turned off. We have also taken care to place the content in the correct semantic order, so that it makes sense to a screen reader or other assistive technology.
- The site is designed to be viewed at any screen resolution from 800x600. Lower resolutions may require horizontal scrolling.
- Our design is flexible and is not dependent on fixed font sizes. Text can be increased or decreased in size by using the "view" option in your browser.
- Images that convey important information have alternative text. Where an image is used for a decorative purpose the alternative text will be left blank.
- We make use of PDF documents at various locations within the site. We recommend that you visit the Adobe Access website for help on PDF accessibility.
Low vision users
We have developed a high-contrast (or 'big fonts') stylesheet which shows the information on this site with much larger text and with only essential images. These are sometimes referred to as "zoom layout"
What does the high-contrast stylesheet look like?
The following image shows the difference between our default style and the big fonts / high contrast layout, (or zoom layout).
How to turn on low graphics mode
You can switch into the big fonts / high-contrast mode using the low graphics link, which is at the top of every page on this site. It is highlighted in the following picture:
How to turn off low graphics mode
When in low graphics mode a short list of links is presented at the top of every page on this site. You can switch into the regular design using the turn off low graphics mode link, which is highlighted in the following picture:
Will the site remember my settings?
The site will remember your preference for low graphics mode for the duration of your visit. If you close the browser window you will have to click the low graphics link again.
