Accessibility

South Cambridgeshire District Council, in partnership with Tagish Ltd, has designed this site to be as accessible as possible to all our citizens. We continually review our site and modify pages to remove accessibility problems for people with disabilities and to make information more accessible for all users. All of our content is checked for plain English, and we aim to use a written style which is straightforward and understandable.

Shaw Trust Accessibility Logo

In February 2008 we were awarded The Shaw Trust Accessibility accreditation certificate. This means that the site meets accessibility standards, and has been tested by users with a variety of disabilities and undergone a thorough technical audit. We will continue to look at ways to improve the site further, working with The Shaw Trust to achieve the highest possible accessibility standards.

November 2009: We are currently undergoing a re-test of the site to ensure that we continue to meet accessibility standards; we hope to achieve re-accreditation within the next few months.

Access Keys

Access keys enable keyboard navigation to specific areas of the site. The following keys have been employed:

 
Links toAccess key
Skip to ContentS
Accessibility info0
Listen to page1
Search (advanced)2
A to Z of services3
Contact us4
Home5

 

  • If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer, hold down the Alt key, hit the appropriate access key and then hit the Return [enter] key.
  • If you are using Netscape or Mozilla Firefox, hold down the Alt and Shift keys and hit the appropriate access key.

Text Size

Some users with certain visual impairments may find that the default text size of websites make them difficult to read. All of the text elements of the South Cambridgeshire site can be expanded by making use of browser functionality, as set out below:

Internet Explorer 7

  • If you have your menu bar showing: Select "View"
  • Alternatively Select "Page"
  • From the drop-down menu, select "Text Size".
  • (Alternatively, press Alt - V - X in succession).
  • Select the required size.

Internet Explorer 6

  • Select "View" from the menu at the top of your browser.
  • From the drop-down menu, select "Text Size".
  • (Alternatively, press Alt - V - X in succession).
  • Select the required size.

Mozilla Firefox 3.0

  • Select "View" from the menu at the top of your browser.
  • From the drop-down menu, select "Zoom".
  • Select "Zoom In" or "Zoom Out" as required.
  • (Alternatively, simultaneously press 'Ctrl' and '+', or 'Ctrl' and '-' )

Mozilla Firefox 2.0

  • Select "View" from the menu at the top of your browser.
  • From the drop-down menu, select "Text Size".
  • Select "Increase" or "Decrease" as required.
  • (Alternatively, simultaneously press 'Ctrl' and '+', or 'Ctrl' and '-' )

Netscape 7.1

  • Select "View" from the menu at the top of your browser.
  • From the drop-down menu, select "Text Zoom".
  • Select "Larger", "Smaller" or a percentage,as required.
  • (Alternatively, simultaneously press 'Ctrl' and '+', or 'Ctrl' and '-' )

Other browser software will make use of similar functionality, most likely available from the "View" option or equivalent.

Text Contrast

Certain users may need to alter the default combination of black text on a white or light green background that is used on the South Cambridgeshire website. If necessary, the combination of background and text colour can be controlled in the following way:

Internet Explorer 6.0 and 7.0

  • Select "Tools" then "Internet Options" from the menu at the top of your browser.
  • Press the "Accessibility" button and check the box marked "Ignore Colors Specified on Web Pages". Press "OK".
  • From the "Internet Options" box, press the "Colors" button
  • Select the required colour scheme, press "OK" here, and then again on the "Internet Options" box.

Mozilla Firefox 2.0 and 3.0

  • Select "Tools" then "Options" from the menu (or Preferences on Mac)
  • Select "Content"
  • In the "Fonts & Colors" section, click the "Colors..." button.
  • Set default text and background colours, as well as default colours for visited and unvisited hyperlinks. You can also specify whether hyperlinks should be underlined.

    NOTE: To override the colours defined by web pages, uncheck the "Allow pages to choose their own colors, instead of my selections above" option.

Netscape 7.1

  • Select "Edit" then "Preferences" from the menu at the top of your browser
  • Expand the "Appearance" category in the left hand section of the dialogue box
  • Check the box marked "Use my chosen colours..."
  • Select the required colour scheme and click "OK"

Showing 'Alt (alternative) Text in the Mozilla Firefox Browser

If you would like to see the Alt (alternative) Text on images in the Firefox Browser, there is an add-on you can download for free, called Popup ALT Attribute from Firefox (This link will open in a new window).

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Screen shot of the BBC's website That's My Web My WayMy web my way!

Do you need help in making the web easier to use? The BBC's My Web My Way site explains the many ways you can change your browser, computer, keyboard and mouse settings to make the web more accessible for you. Visit their site now (This link will open in a new window).

Adobe Acrobat Reader

In order to view some of the documents on this site you will require Adobe Acrobat Reader. The Adobe website (This link will open in a new window) gives instructions on how to download/install the viewer for free.

The most recent version of Adobe Acrobat Reader includes support for screen readers (Accessibility) via the Microsoft Active Access API (MSAA).

Adobe also offer an online conversion tool which enables vision impaired users to read PDF documents by converting them back to ASCII text or HTML. Visit the Adobe Accessibility web pages (This link will open in a new window) to find out more.

Microsoft Office viewers

We may also provide our documents in other formats such as Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint - all are part of the Microsoft Office Suite. Microsoft provide viewers (This link will open in a new window) for all of these types of software, for free, so that you can view them without having to purchase their software.

 

Documents in other formats

South Cambridgeshire District Council will try to provide key documents in other formats such as large text, Braille, audio or in other languages. Email: scdc@scambs.gov.uk (This link will open in a new window) or call: 03450 450 500.

Web page translation services

The following websites provide a free page by page website translation service.

Google

Google translation services currently translate to the following languages;

Babel Fish

Babel Fish translation services currently translate to the following languages;

 

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