Accessibility
Accessibility Statement for Stroud District Council
This accessibility statement applies to the Stroud District Council website.
This website is run by the Stroud District Council. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:
· Change colours, contrast levels and fonts using browser or device settings;
· Zoom in up to 200% without the text spilling off the screen;
· Navigate most of the website using a keyboard or speech recognition software;
· Listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)
We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.
This website is designed to be compliant with the international standard Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 (WCAG) – Level AA.
How accessible is this website?
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:
· This website uses JavaScript to deliver certain features. Please make sure you have JavaScript turned on within your browser to deliver full features;
· Most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software;
· Live video streams do not have captions;
How to use this website?
Accessible Features
This website uses a widget that contains several Accessible features that can be used by users with specific requirements. The widget is available on the top right-hand side of the header menu.
These features include: -
Contrast & Font Size
Changing the contrast and font sizes of text can increase legibility for some users.
This website has two colour contrast settings, firstly, the “default colour theme” which provides a suitable level of contrast for most users and satisfies the accessibility standards. However, if a user feels the colour contrast is too low in areas the website also contains a “high contrast theme” which satisfies all accessibility standards for colour contrast.
A user can change the contrast settings by clicking on the icons at the top right of screen. For a user using voice recognition please say, “Switch to default colour theme” and “Switch to high contrast theme” respectively for the same result.
To increase the font size, click on the icons at the top right of the screen. For a user using voice recognition please say, “Switch to normal font size”, “Switch to big font size” and “Switch to biggest font size” respectively for the same result. The user can also use the browser’s own zoom facility. The website will work up to 200%
Further information on accessibility options
The RNIB has a webpage with information on options that computers have which can make it easier for people with low or no vision to use them. - RNIB Accessibility Options
Accessible Alternatives
Efforts have been made to create accessible alternatives for content that does not meet standards where possible.
Where appropriate we may be able to deliver content to users in accordance with their needs.
Please see Feedback and contact information section for further details.
Purpose of Links
The website will use links to navigate to content on the website. External links will open in a new window.
Where possible the action of an external link will be described by extra description within the link text, so all users can understand the link’s purpose. However, in certain areas of the website adding this extra description will become a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations.
We have provided the following definition for external links: -
External Links will be used for any content that has known limitations with assistive technologies OR navigates a user away from secure platforms. In summary, this means the following items are considered external links –
(A) Non-HTML Documentation (See “Issues with PDFs and other documents”)
(B) Redirection away from secure platforms
(C) External websites that are not part of council website.
Feedback and contact information[PF1]
If you find any problems that aren’t listed within this statement, or believe we are not meeting the requirements of the accessibility regulations please contact us at pressoffice@stroud.gov.uk
Further contact details are as follows:-
· Email - pressoffice@stroud.gov.uk
· Call - 01453 754102/4
· Post - Stroud District Council Ebley Mill, Ebley Wharf, Stroud. GL5 4UB
We’ll consider your request and get back to you as soon as possible.
Enforcement procedure
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
Stroud District Council are committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
Compliance Status
This website is not fully compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the following non-compliances and exemptions listed in the following chapter.
Non-accessible content
This sub-section lists issues that fail the current accessibility regulations. The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Keyboard navigation issues
There are also known keyboard focus issues within these pages. These pages fail WCAG 2.2 success criteria 2.4.7 Focus Visible and 2.4.1 Bypass blocks.
Keyboard focus will be set to use a web-browser’s default focus indicator.
Landmark issues
Some landmarks that appear on content pages are not appropriately labelled. This may cause issues for some screen reader users. Most landmarks that are used are correctly labelled and appear inside top-level landmarks. This fails Success Criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A).
Top-Level landmarks are used correctly on all page templates including the Search Directories
We would advise screen-reader users to use heading levels and bypass blocks to navigate around pages. We are currently reviewing these pages and providing feedback to our PPL web developers.
Content Issues
It has been discovered during testing that some content pages do not meet the required accessibility regulations.
Failures from these items include:-
· Lack of alt text on some images. This fails Success Criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content (A)
· Heading levels are not always used in the correct way. This fails Success Criterion 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (AA)
· HTML tables are not always clearly labelled. This fails Success Criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A)
· Link text is undescriptive on some pages. This fails Success Criterion 2.4.4 Link Purpose (A)
We are currently reviewing these pages and providing feedback to our PPL web developers.
We will ensure that future content published will adhere to accessibility standards.
Form Issues
It has been discovered during testing that some of our integrated forms do not meet the required accessibility regulations. This may cause issues for some screen reader users. Our website provider are currently in the process of fixing these issues.
Disproportionate burden
There are no issues that are considered a disproportionate burden in accordance with the regulations.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
PDFs and other documents
The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services.
Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.
Live video
We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
The new version of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, WCAG 2.2 were published on 5th October 2023.
This will replace WCAG 2.1 as the legally required accessibility standard in October 2024.
We are working with our website provider to ensure we meet this deadline by 30th September 2024.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on the 3rd May 2024. It will be reviewed every year in accordance with the regulations. It was last reviewed on that date.
This website was last tested on 16th April 2024.
To prepare this statement an accessibility test was carried out by People Places Lives QA Team. The most viewed pages were tested using automated testing tools by our website team. A further audit of the website was carried out to the WCAG 2.2 AA standard.