Nottinghamshire County Council is committed to equalities and in line with this commitment, we strive to make our website accessible to all. An accessible site allows all users to access it, regardless of their browser, resolution, settings or eyesight.

Our website is designed to meet Government guidelines and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines v1.0.(WCAG) see   www.w3.org.uk. Most pages conform with all priority 1 guidelines of WCAG and we are currently working towards priority 2:

If you experience any difficulty accessing information on the site please contact us.

How we support universal accessibility

There are a number of ways in which we aim to support universal accessibility:

• A common design throughout
• Use of cascading style sheets (CSS) for visual layout and print. If your browser or browsing device does not support stylesheets, the content of each page should nevertheless be readable
• Use of relative font sizes, compatible with the user-specified “text-size” option in visual browsers 
• All images have appropriate alternative text descriptions ("ALT text)
• Avoiding the use of frames
• Links are written in such a way that you can predict where a link is likely to take you. All links open in the same browser window unless otherwise specified
• Whenever Word and PDF files are provided on a page (usually for large, complex documents) their file size is indicated, together with help and advice on how to read them. Before you can read PDF files you will need the Adobe Acrobat viewer which can be downloaded from www.adobe.com or by using the Plug ins link at the bottom of any page. Useful information on PDF files and their accessibility is available at: http://access.adobe.com/
• Providing a text equivalent for multimedia formats. See plug ins and viewers for further information
• Use of valid html code (HTML 4.01 transitional) to support aural and Braille technologies.
• All of our forms are designed to follow WAI and RNIB guidelines. Each form field is labelled and you may use your tab button to move through the form. All forms are provided in a secure environment, using SSL (Secure Socket Layer). Any collection and storage of personal information conforms with the Data Protection Act (see Privacy statement).
• Providing access keys to aid navigation.
• Advice on changing your browser accessibility options

Further information on accessibility

1. W3 accessibility guidelines – a list of guidelines and the reasons behind each  
2. W3 accessibility techniques - how to implement the guidelines
3. W3 accessibility checklist, a busy developer's guide to accessibility
4. Web Accessibility Initiative, background information on the WAI initiative
5. RNIB web accessibility resources, details of accessible information services offered by RNIB

Accessibility software

JAWS - a screen reader for Windows. A time-limited, downloadable demo is available.

Home Page Reader - a screen reader for Windows. A downloadable demo is available.

Lynx - a free text-only web browser for blind users with refreshable Braille displays.

Links - a free text-only web browser for visual users with low bandwidth.

Opera - a visual browser with many accessibility-related features, including text zooming, user stylesheets, image toggle. A free downloadable version is available. Compatible with Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and several other operating systems.

Accessibility services

Bobby - a free service to analyze web pages for compliance to accessibility guidelines. A full-featured commercial version is also available.

HTML Validator - a free service for checking that web pages conform to published HTML standards.

Web Page Backward Compatibility Viewer - a tool for viewing your web pages without modern browser features.

Lynx Viewer - a free service for viewing what your web pages would look like in Lynx.

My Web, May Way - a partnership between the BBC and AbilityNet providing advice and help on changing your browser, computer and operating system settings, in order to be able to view the internet in a more accessible way.

Contact us

We are working to improve the accessibility of our site and welcome your suggestions and comments.

If you encounter any accessibility or technical problems when using this site, please contact us. If we cannot make the information accessible to you using your assistive technology, we will try to find an alternative way for you to access or be provided with the information.

Please note that although we continue to test and modify our site for accessibility there may be links to pages developed by third parties that are not compliant with our standards.