Accessibility

There are an estimated 11.7 million disabled people in the UK and as technology is increasingly becoming an important part of our daily lives, people with disabilities frequently rely on hardware and software to access the web content.

Epping Forest District Council is committed to ensuring this website is accessible to everyone and we are constantly striving to improve the experience of all visitors and maintaining an acceptable level of Government conformance.

Summarised below are a variety of features used to achieve this:

Access Keys

PDFs and Alt Tags

Assistive Technologies

Links and Information

Access Keys

Access Keys have been set up on this site which allows easy navigation to the main pages on the website. These allow quick access to the main pages for anyone who prefers to use the keyboard and help those who have difficulty using a Mouse.

To use the access keys on this site please follow these steps:

1. Press and hold the Alt key
2. Press the required number
3. Press the return key and the browser will load the relevant page

For the Macintosh platform, hold down the left-hand Control and press the required number.

Details are shown below:

S - Skip navigation
1 - Home page
2 - What's new
3 - Site map
4 - Search
5 - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
6 - Help
7 - Complaints procedure
8 - Terms and conditions
9 - Feedback form
0 - Access key details

PDFs and Alt Tags

• Adobe PDF files (Portable Document Format) are used extensively on this Web site. Users with visual impairments who make use of text to speech software may encounter problems when using PDF files. To facilitate use with assistive technologies, they have been created as tagged Adobe Acrobat 5 files. Altenatively, you can click here to use Adobe's online PDF to HTML converter to view the PDF files as web pages.
  
• All content images used in this site include descriptive alt attributes. Alt tags are used to display a short text description of an image when the pointer is hovered over it.

To leave feedback please email the public relations team at pr@eppingforestdc.gov.uk

Assistive Technologies

Epping Forest District Council does not currently have any specialist assistive technologies, but there are many accessibility features built into all operating systems, with ways you can make your software, keyboard and mouse, and web browser better suit your needs.

Please click on the below links to view information on the Windows, Apple and Linux Operating Systems.

Microsoft

Accessibility features in Microsoft products include:

• Magnifier - a display utility that makes the computer screen more readable by creating a separate window that displays a magnified portion of the screen.
• Narrator - a text-to-speech utility that reads what is displayed on the screen - the contents of the active window, menu options, or text that has been typed.
• On-Screen Keyboard - displays a virtual keyboard on the computer screen that allows people to type data by using a pointing device or joystick.
• Utility Manager - enables administrator-level users to check an accessibility program's status and start or stop an accessibility programs - automatically, if required.

For more information, go to http://www.microsoft.com/enable/ 

Apple

Accessibility features in Apple products include:

• Zoom - With Zoom view you can magnify everything on screen making it larger and easier to see.
• Talking Alerts and Spoken Items - this provides an audible method for getting feedback from the computer.
• Speech Recognition & Talking Alerts - speakable items lets you command and control the computer using your voice, without requiring you to train the computer.

For more information, go to www.apple.com/accessibility 

Linux

Accessibility features in Apple products include:

• Screen Readers - are software applications that are installed on the computer to provide translation of the information on the computer screen to an audio output format.
• Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf (TDD) - TDD allows for the user you to communicate over the telephone using the computer as a text terminal.

For more information, go to www.linux.org/apps/index 

Links and Information

For further information and advice please view the following websites:

BBC My Web My Way

RNIB Web Access Centre

The Web: Access and Inclusion for Disabled

Guidelines for UK Government websites 

We would appreciate any feedback on the accessibility of this website. To leave feedback please email the public relations team at pr@eppingforestdc.gov.uk

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