Our Commitment

The goal of this website is to ensure that its content and services are accessible to individuals with disabilities who may require additional access support. Resources have been dedicated to enhancing the website's user-friendliness and accessibility so that every user may experience and engage with digital content, equally.

Measures to Support Accessibility

This website is committed to ensuring accessibility for all users. We take the following measures to support accessibility:

• Include accessibility as part of our mission statement.
• Embed accessibility considerations into our internal policies.
• Integrate accessibility requirements into our procurement practices.

Physical Accessibility

CAO is committed to providing accessible services for everyone. However, please note that our office is located in an older building, which may not be fully accessible to individuals with reduced mobility. If you require assistance upon arrival, please:

• Call our office directly, or
• Use the intercom at the building entrance to contact Reception.

Our staff will be happy to assist you.

Conformance Status

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) define requirements for designers and developers to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. It defines three levels of conformance: Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA.

This website aims to conform with WCAG 2.1 level AA. In addition, we are proactively working to incorporate techniques from WCAG 2.2 to further enhance accessibility. While not a legal requirement, we view this as an important step towards ensuring a more inclusive and user-friendly experience for all visitors.

Accessibility Efforts & Disclaimer

We remain dedicated to the ongoing enhancement of the accessibility of our website and services. This commitment is rooted in the belief that ensuring a smooth, inclusive, and unrestricted experience for individuals with disabilities is a shared ethical responsibility.

We are always striving to enhance the accessibility of all pages and materials on our website. It's possible that some content has not yet been fully aligned with accessibility standards. This could be attributed to the fact that we may not have identified the most suitable fix to improve a user's experience.

Known Limitations

Whilst we try to maintain a high standard of accessibility on our website, there are some known limitations. These are documented below.

• Some videos may not have captions.
• We do not provide audio descriptions for videos.

Non-accessible Content

We are currently reviewing our website to identify any content that does not meet the WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA accessibility standards.

Over the coming weeks, we will publish a list of any known accessibility issues identified during this review.

We are committed to improving accessibility and ensuring our digital services are usable by everyone.

Reporting Accessibility Problems with this Website

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of our website. If you encounter content that you cannot access, then please contact us using the Contact Form below and we will provide you with an accessible alternative as soon as possible.

Go to Contact Form (subject: Accessibility Issue)
We aim to respond to accessibility feedback within 5 working days if a response is requested.

If you are not happy with how we have responded to the issue you have raised with us about the accessibility of our website, then please contact us using the Contact Form below and we will provide you with a response.

Go to Contact Form (subject: Accessibility Complaint)
If you are not satisfied with our response, you can make a complaint to the Ombudsman under the Disability Act.

Third-party Content and Functionality

We may use third-party resources that embed content on our website. Wherever possible, we strive to ensure these resources conform to accessibility standards.

If you encounter an accessibility barrier with any third-party content, please contact us using the Contact Form located in the section titled "Reporting Accessibility Problems with this Website" (Subject: Accessibility Issue).

We will do our best to explore alternative formats or remediation options.

Technical Information About this Website’s Accessibility

Our organisation is committed to making its website accessible to all visitors, in line with regional regulations and we aim for conformance with the WCAG 2.1 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1) at level AA.

Technical Specifications

This website relies on the following technologies to work with browsers and assistive technologies:

• HTML
• CSS
• JavaScript

These technologies are relied upon for conformance with the accessibility guidelines used.

What We Are Doing to Improve Accessibility

We are committed to ensuring our website is accessible to all users. As part of our ongoing accessibility journey, we regularly review our site and its content to identify and address any issues.

To support this effort, we use the Recite Me Accessibility Checker to run regular audits of our website. This helps us proactively identify areas for improvement and implement necessary updates.

Our current website aims to conform with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA. Looking ahead, we plan to renew our website, with Accessibility as a core design and development principle from the outset.

We understand that accessibility is not a one-time goal, but a continuous process and we are committed to making our website inclusive for everyone.

This statement is reviewed at least once per year and updated.