Accessibility

ODI accessibility statement and help

Accessibility Statement

This website is run by the Office for Disability Issues.

The Office for Disability Issues is committed to making this website as easy to use for as wide a range of visitors as possible.

Our objective is to conform to the guidelines for UK government websites, which support the W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0. We currently achieve level AA standards on all pages and AAA-level standards on most, and we commission regular independent accessibility audits to ensure our standards are maintained.

Accessibility help

Read about:

navigation aids
accessible formats
links
images
visual design
changes you can make to this website
further help

Navigation aids

Many features on the ODI website are designed to make it easier for you to find what you want:

Access keys have been set up to make it easy to jump directly to frequently used pages
The homepage has a search box and an advanced search options
Breadcrumb trails have been used on the website so that you always know where you are and can easily navigate back to the homepage or a specific page
All pages have an `forward by email' option. Clicking on this will let you send a link of the page. The address of the page (URL) is already filled in: all you have to do is fill in the email address and send it
All pages have a `print this page' option to open a `print-friendly' version of the page.

Accessible formats

On the homepage, you can access information in a range of alternative formats. Introductory information is available in British Sign language (BSL), audio and easy read.

Links

Wherever possible links are written to make sense out of context, so that you do not have to read the surrounding text to understand where the link will take you.

You will always be warned if clicking on a link opens a file or website in a new browser window. The warning is either contained in the link itself, the title or in the text immediately after the link.

Images

All graphics and images on the website have an alternative text attribute that describes the contents or function of the image. This description will be displayed when images are turned off, on a text-only browser or as a `tool tip' in certain browsers when the mouse pointer is moved over the image. Images that are purely decorative are given an empty alternative text attribute.

Visual design

A number of elements have been included in the design of the website to make it easier for everyone to use:

Text can be resized using the `text size' function on the homepage top task bar or in your browser
Where colours are used we have tried to make sure there is maximum contrast between foreground and background items. You can change colour contrasts using options on the homepage top task bar.
Active hyperlinks always appear blue and underlined. No other text is ever underlined.
If your browser or reading device does not support stylesheets, all content will still be readable.

Changes you can make to this website

How to change the size of the text on this website
Accessibility advice for Apple Mac users
Other ways of using PDF documents
Access keys

If you have more specialised needs read more help with accessibility. This page tells you how to change the colour of the text, change the colour of the background and how to remove images.

How to change the size of the text

To change the text size:

Text can be resized using the `text size' function on the homepage top task bar. Or otherwise:
Select Text Size from the View menu. (In some browsers Text Size may be called Text Zoom or Zoom)
Choose the size that you want from the Text Size menu.

Accessibility advice for Apple Mac users

The Apple Mac operating system includes many accessibility options including resizing text, text-to-speech and keyboard alternatives to mouse functions.

For full details visit the Apple website's section on accessibility.

Access keys

We have used government standard access keys, where they apply to this site. These are to help you navigate through the main areas of a website using keyboard shortcuts.

With Windows-based systems - Press the Alt key and the access key number or letter below. Then press Enter.

With Apple Mac-based systems - Press the Ctrl key and the access key number or letter below.

Access keys on this website:

S - skip navigation
1 - homepage
9 - contact us
0 - accessibility (this page)

Further help

More information on customising your browser settings.

If you are having technical difficulties while using our website, the site does not appear to working properly or you find broken links, please email office-for-disability-issues@dwp.gsi.gov.uk with a description of the problem, thank you.