Accessibility

Accessibility

This page states our intention that our website is usable and accessible to all users and details some of the measures taken. This website's objective is to conform to the guidelines for UK government websites, which support the W3C's web content accessibility guidelines 1.0, Level AA, to ensure web accessibility standards have been achieved and are maintained.

Access keys

Access keys provide a keyboard shortcut for users wishing to go directly to specific parts of the site and help those who do not use a pointing device, such as a mouse. They are defined as follows:

  • 1 - Home page
  • 5 - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
  • 6 - Help
  • 9 - Contact us
  • 0 - Accessibility

How to use access keys

Access keys work slightly differently depending on which browser and type of computer you are using - this is a summary of the main different ways:

  • If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 on a PC, press 'alt' and the access key character at same time.
  • If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or higher on a PC, press 'alt' and the access key character at the same time, then press the enter key.
  • If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 on an Apple Macintosh, press 'control' and the access key character at the same time.
  • This accessibility initiative is also supported by Netscape 6; use the 'alt' key on a PC, or the 'ctrl' key on an Apple Macintosh.

Alternative text

All images on this site are accompanied by a brief alternative text which where appropriate identifies an image or its function. This alternative text (alt-text) is generally only visible when the browser's automatic image loading feature is turned off.

Links

All text links are written so that they make sense when read out of context.

PDFs

Most Adobe© Acrobat© Portable Document Format (PDF) files on this site are tagged to allow basic accessibility.

For more information about PDF accessibility see the Adobe website accessibility section.

For more help with Acrobat files generally and a link to download Acrobat Reader see the site help page.

Video

All video content is subtitled and available in Adobe Flash or mpeg formats. Downloadable transcripts are also provided. The Adobe Flash video players can be controlled via the keyboard as well as the mouse. The controls are as follows:

  • Space bar - play/pause
  • Left arrow - go to beginning of movie
  • Right arrow - go to end of selection or movie
  • Up arrow - increase volume
  • Down arrow - decrease volume

Text size

The text on this website has been styled using a non-fixed value in a style sheet. This means that users can easily change the text size using their browser settings.

More help

For more information and help about changing your browser settings please visit the BBC's My Web My Way pages.

If you any accessibility issues or problems, please contact the online team at websitefeedback@ico.gsi.gov.uk.