website accessibility statement

Introduction  

The Parish Council is required to have a website accessible for all users and a published Website Accessibility Statement, by the Public Sector Bodies and (Website and Mobile Applications) (No2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.    This website is run by Slyne-with-Hest Parish Council and hosted on the GoDaddy hosting platform.  

Accessibility of this website:    

We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means that you should be able to:  

Change colours, contrast levels and fonts using built in browser settings 

Navigate most of the website using just a keyboard 

Listen to most of the website using a screen reader such as NVDA 

Read Captions and Alt Text for all photographs.  

In addition, we have made the website text as easy as possible to understand.          

There is no video content on the website.    

Accessibility Tools for Users 

https://mcmw.abilitynet.org.uk has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.    

Website Compliance  

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, but not fully compliant for the following reasons. Currently you cannot:    

Zoom in to up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen on some web browsers 

Navigate most of the website using speech recognition software   

What to do if you cannot access parts of this website  If you need information on this website in a different format such as text, accessible PDF, large print, or audio recording, please contact the Clerk :     

Email the Clerk at brookes.slynewithhestpc@btinternet.com

Call the Clerk, Doreen Brookes on 01524 825464

Please note, the Clerk’s office is only open for part of the working week.  Messages and emails left outside these hours will be dealt with as soon as possible when the Office reopens.    

We will consider your request and get back to you within 5 days.    

Technical information about this website’s accessibility  

Slyne-with-Hest Parish Council is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.    

Issues with Technology    

1. Non accessible content  Scanned in documents and some older PDF documents may not be fully accessible to screen reader software. All documents that must be scanned in, for example such as those contained in the Annual Audits Documents provided by third parties Historical documents   

2. The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons:                

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations:  All documents that have to be scanned in such as those contained in the Annual Audits because it is not possible to make these .pdfs accessible by a screen reader because they are images. It is not possible to fix these documents. Documents provided by third parties because we cannot control the format of these documents as we are not the authors. It is not possible to fix these documents.  Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations  Historical documents because it is not possible to make these pdfs accessible by a screen reader because they are images. Also, it is not a requirement to make this type of document accessible.   

3. PDFs and other historic documents  Many of our older PDFs and Word documents do not meet accessibility standards – for example, they may not be  structured so they are accessible to a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2  The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they are not essential to providing our services.  Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards provided they do not need to be scanned and uploaded as images.   

How we tested this website  

We assessed this website using Accessibility Insights for Web and Support from the WC3 Web Accessibility Initiative.    

What we are doing to improve accessibility  

The Parish Council is in the process of identifying a list of specific areas where we recognise the website is non-compliant. The Parish Council will devise a plan to tackle these areas and, where accessibility improvements are found to be feasible and do not pose a disproportionate burden on a parish council of our size, will be implemented over a 24-month period from 1st May 2022 – 30th April 2024.    

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 the Clerk at brookes.slynewithhestpc@btinternet.com or call 01524 825464.  

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 are not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).    

Statement date  

This statement was prepared on 23 April 2022.