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Accessibility Statement

Accessibility statement for the Stockton Information Directory

This website is run by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
  • Navigate most of the site using just a keyboard
  • 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.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

 

How accessible this website is

We are working to make our website as accessible as possible. However, we know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

  • When you change the size of your browser the text will not reflow in a single column.
  • You cannot modify the line height or spacing of text
  • Some PDF and Word documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
  • Online forms are difficult to navigate using accessible technology such as a screen reader.
  • Some of the text is difficult to navigate using accessible technology such as screen readers. This is because headers in the text, images or tables are not tagged or labelled.
  • Some links do not explain their purpose and cannot be read by screen readers
  • The colour of some text does not sufficiently contrast with its background colour

 

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format such as accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:

We’ll consider your request and get back to you as soon as possible.

 

 

 

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, email sid@stockton.gov.uk.

 

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).

 

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

If you contact us before your visit we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.

Call us on 01642 526498 to start the process.

 

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council is committed to making the Stockton Information Directory accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

 

Compliance status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard. The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons:

PDFs and other documents

Some PDFs are not accessible. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.2.1.

The accessibility regulations don’t require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services. For example, we don’t plan to fix old PDF newsletters that might still be published and accessed through our website. We are ensuring all pdfs that are essential to providing a service are made accessibly by December 2021

Issues with text

The same link text is used for links going to different destinations (for example “click here” is used in our pages); this fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.4.

Some of the link text do not explain their purpose, this fails WCAG A success criterion 2.4.4). This also fails WCAG A 4.1.2 success criterion as they cannot be read by screen readers.

The colour of the text and the colour of the background are not in sufficient contrast to each other; this fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.3.

The colour of ‘link text’ does not always change when the link is selected, this fails WCAG2.1 success criterion 2.4.7.

Keyboard Navigation is non-compliant as controls do change appearance when selected, this fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.7.

 

Navigation and accessing information

Some of the text is difficult to navigate using accessible technology such as screen readers. This is because headers in the text or tables are not tagged or labelled. This fails WCAG A criterion 1.3.1

Alternative text for media items such as images is currently not provided. This fails WCAG A criterion 1.1.1

 

Issues with third-party applications

Some third party applications that we commission for the website may not be Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 AA compliant. Third Party applications are out of our control. However, accessibility will be a factor on procuring third-party applications in the future.

Video content from third-party applications (e.g. YouTube or Vimeo) may not be accessible.

 

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

Maps

Online maps and mapping services are exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.

 

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We are working on developing the site to add headers, labels and link text so that it’s easier to navigate with screen readers and keyboards.

We are also working on making pdfs accessible as well as colour contrasts. We are aiming to complete this by December 2021.

 

 

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 7th January 2021. It was last reviewed on 7th January 2021.

This website is tested every 5 days. The test is carried out by Silktide and the results are reviewed on an ongoing basis.

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