Accessibility Statement

The standard we aim at

We aim to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 at level AA. That is the standard most public bodies use, and it is the one we measure this site against when pages are added or changed.

We are not claiming a perfect score. Some pages will fall short of it, and where we know about a problem it is listed further down. The aim is that no part of the site is a dead end, and that anything you cannot do on a page you can still do by calling.

What is built in

These are decisions taken when the site was built rather than adjustments bolted on afterward, so they hold on every page.

• Every page can be reached and used with the keyboard alone, and the focus outline is left visible rather than removed.
• A skip link at the top of each page jumps straight past the menu to the main content.
• One H1 per page, with the headings under it running in order, so a screen reader can move through the page by structure.
• Every image carries alternative text, and images that are decoration are marked as decoration so they are not read out.
• Body text meets the 4.5 to 1 contrast ratio against its background, and large text meets 3 to 1.
• Text reflows without a horizontal scrollbar down to a 320 pixel wide screen, and stays readable when zoomed to 200 percent.
• Form fields have real labels, and an error says in words what is wrong rather than only turning a box red.
• Nothing on the site flashes, auto-plays sound, or moves without being asked to.

What we know is not right yet

Two things fall short today. Some tables of prices and part sizes are wide, and on a narrow screen they scroll sideways inside their own box; the figures are all in the surrounding text as well, so nothing is only available in the table. And a few older blog pages were written before the current heading rules and may have a heading level skipped in the middle.

Both are on the list to fix. Neither of them stops you reaching the phone number, the contact form, or the price ranges.

Third-party content

The map on the contact page and the spam check on the contact form are supplied by other companies and rendered inside our pages. We do not control how those are built. If either one is a barrier for you, the same information is available by phone and a request can be taken over the phone instead of through the form.

Telling us about a barrier

Telling us about a barrier is the fastest way to get it fixed. Describe the page, the control or the text that gave you trouble, and what you were trying to do when it stopped working. A specific description, rather than a general one, lets a fix get made and checked instead of guessed at. This accessibility statement covers the pages a reader lands on and the ways a screen reader, a keyboard or a magnifier should be able to move through them, so a report about any of those is squarely in scope.

Phone is the only contact route on this site, and it is answered during the published hours. A message left outside those hours is picked up the next working day.