During the design of this website, we worked closely with our Local Authority customers and hope that we have produced a design that is user friendly and fully accessible.

We followed the Priority 1 and 2 guidelines relating to accessibility as set out by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). All pages on this website have also been validated for XHTML and CSS, with accordance to the web standards set out by the W3C.

• Auditory and visual content must have alternatives (e.g. text)
• Don't rely on colour alone for content accessibility
• Markup and style sheets must be used correctly
• Use plain language in content where possible
• Ensure that documents are clear and simple
• Content in tables must transform correctly
• Pages featuring new technologies must transform correctly
• Users must be able to control time-sensitive page updates
• Embedded interfaces must be directly accessible
• Consider and design for device independence
• Use W3C design technologies and guidelines
• Provide clear navigation mechanisms
• Provide context and orientation information

• Nothing in the design stops the user using operating system accessibility functions - magnifiers, on screen keyboards or touch screens
• The content on all pages is readable without the style sheets, colour, scripts and applets
• All images, animations and buttons have alternative descriptions that can be read by screen readers
• Any multimedia containing important information has an alternative or text-only version
• All tables used for layout have captions to clarify their layout-only use
• The pages do not rely on colour for navigation - for example 'click the red link'
• The site uses simple and straight-forward language where possible
• The site uses style sheets (CSS) to format text and layout
• Every link has a clear title
• Pages should resize according to the access method being used
• All events requiring a mouse do not hinder the user's ability to view information
• The user is aware when a pop-up or new window is opened
• All link phrases make sense when read out

If you have experienced a problem with the design of this website, please let us know and we will do our best to help. Contact us via our contact us page.

The DDA was passed in 1995, with the latest update in 2004. Its purpose was to end the discrimination facing many disabled people and covers design of internet sites.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) were set out by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) in 1999 to assist web site developers to produce internet sites that are accessible to as many people as possible.