Standards

This site has been designed to reflect website design guidelines recommended by the World Wide Web Consortium and adhere to the standards set out in the Guidelines for UK Government websites and e-Government Interoperability Framework (eGIF), which is mandatory for all public sector bodies.

The site adheres to all the latest accessibility standards relating to visual impairment. Options to skip menu navigation are readily accessible at the top of the home page for users who may be accessing the site using assistive technology such as speech synthesis software, screen magnification or soft Braille displays. All text on this website can be expanded using your browser settings.

Access Keys

This website uses an access keys system. To navigate using your keyboard, please hold down your 'Alt' key and press the relevant key from the following list. If you are using an Internet Explorer browser, you will then need to press 'Enter'.

• s - Skip navigation
• 1 - Home page
• 2 - Register
• 3 - Site map
• 4 - Search
• 5 - Ask an expert
• 6 - About us
• 7 - Making a difference
• 8 - Services
• 9 - Contact us
• 0 - Access key details
• e - Sectors
• n - News
• p - Publications & events
• c - Careers
• i - International
• t - Terms & Conditions
• d - Disclaimer
• l - Links
• v - Privacy Statement
• r - Regulatory Notice

File Formats

Most of this site is viewable in an ordinary browser, like Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. These browsers will display information from files which are coded in the language of the web, such as HTML (Hyper Text Markup Lanaguage) and ASP (Active Server Pages) which are used extensively on our site. You do not need anything more to see pages built this way.

PDF files

Some of our documents are in Portable Document Format (PDF), indicated by this image:

To read these documents, you will need to have on your computer a program called a plug-in, which enables your browser software to display the document so you can see it on screen. The one you need to obtain to read PDFs is Acrobat Reader, which is available free. You can download the latest version from here: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readermain.html

If you are having trouble seeing our Acrobat PDF documents in your browser, have a look at these hints and tips on the Adobe Acrobat website. If you still have problems, please contact us.

If you are a reader with visual impairment, go to Access Adobe site http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/access_onlinetools.html to have the PDF document instantly converted and shown in your browser as HTML, for your speech reader to interpret (you will need to supply the full URL of the document).

RTF files

Some of our documents are in Rich Text Format (RTF), indicated by this image:

This is a generic format of Microsoft Word, which should be readable by people with most versions of Microsoft Word. However, if you are having trouble with this, visit the Microsoft website to obtain a free viewer for your particular version of Word. The viewer will also allow you to see the file even if you do not have any version of Word at all.

PowerPoint files

Some of our documents are PowerPoint Presentations (PPT), indicated by this image:

Most of these will have been created using the version of PowerPoint which is contained in Office97, and should be readable by most people who have Microsoft PowerPoint on their computer. However, if you are having trouble with this, visit the Microsoft website to obtain a free viewer for your particular version of PowerPoint. The viewer will also allow you to see the file even if you do not have any version of PowerPoint at all.

Zip files

Some of our documents maybe stored in a "Zip file" (ZIP), indicated by this image:

Zip files are "archives" used for distributing and storing files. Zip files contain one or more files and are usually compressed to save space. To open a Zip file you will need software such as WinZip to unpackage the files. To obtain a copy visit the WinZip website

Feedback

We appreciate your views on our website, particularly if you are having difficulty, as we want to improve it.

Please contact us with details of any problems or suggestions for improvement.