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We are committed to making the information we publish on the Internet as accessible to as many users as possible.  We have already made changes to our website to make it more accessible, and are continuing to do so, but we recognise that we still have some way to go. 

W3C Standards and text-only
Currently our website home page conforms to W3C Html 4.01 standards, W3C CSS standards and is Bobby AAA approved.  For those with visual impairments, or for those who prefer to view the site without images, there is a Text-Only section, which can be found on the top-right of your screen.  We are working on the rest of the website to make sure as much of it as possible reaches W3C standards.

Font colours, contrast and changing Font Sizes
The majority of the website is based on dark font colours against a white background, to ensure maximum contrast.  We are also avoiding where possible certain colours.

The website has been designed so that you can alter the text size on most pages, however this may vary according to your browser.

• For Internet Explorer (IE), click on View and then text size or text button (IE also has its own accessibility options – if you go to Tools/Internet Options and click on accessibility, you can override any style sheets and define your own font colours and styles)
• For Firefox, it is the same as IE but you can also use the shortcut Ctrl ++ for increase and Ctrl +- for decrease
• For Netscape Communicator 4, click on View and there is a tab called increase font and decrease font
• For Netscape 7 under View there is a tab called Text Zoom

We recommend that you use the text sizing options with the text only version of the website.

Altering your browser
This site is best viewed at a resolution of 800 x 600. If your screen is set to any other setting you may wish to adjust it. To change your browser, right click on your desktop background and choose ‘properties’. Click on the ‘Settings’ tab and in the Desktop Area, move the cursor to 800x600 pixels. Click on ‘Apply’ and ‘OK’ to test. If the settings view properly, click on ‘OK’.

Frames
This site doesn’t use frames to ensure ease of use and to avoid confusion.

Images and Alternative text (alt text)
We try to avoid using unnecessary images to ensure a quick download time. Alt tags have been added to images to describe the content of a picture. 

Using tabs
You can use the Tab button to move around the screen rather than use the mouse.  By pressing the tab button, you will be moved to the next link or section on a page.  Once you’ve got to the link or area you want to access, press the return (or enter) button and it will take you into it.

How to get the most out of this site
For further information on how to get the most from this site click here.