Accessibility

We are committed to providing a website that is accessible to as many users as possible.

This accessibility statement applies to the www.uttlesford.gov.uk website. It does not cover other uttlesford.gov.uk subdomains such as service subdomains (for example https://publicaccess.uttlesford.gov.uk or https://uttlesford.moderngov.co.uk).

This website is run by the Uttlesford District Council.

How you should be able to use this website

We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. You should be able to:

• change colours, contrast levels and fonts using browser or device settings
• zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen on all pages aside from those with tables
• 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 also try to make 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 know some parts of this website are not fully accessible. For example:

• you cannot modify the line height or spacing of text
• videos do not have captions
• some pages and document attachments are not written in plain English
• some tables do not have row or column headers that are clearly defined
• some information in tables cannot be reached with a keyboard
• some images do not have image descriptions
• some images used as links are not large enough to be accessible
• many documents are in PDF format and are not fully accessible using a screen reader
• some heading elements in documents do not follow a logical order

Feedback and contact information

Contact Website and Consultation.

In your message, include:

• the web address (URL) of the content
• your email address and name
• the format you need - for example, plain text, large print or audio CD

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

If you find any problems that are not listed on this page or you think we're not meeting the accessibility requirements, you can contact our website team.
 

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

Uttlesford District Council is 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 partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed.

Non-accessible content

Some content on this website is non-accessible. We have listed why this is.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

1. Images on some pages do not always have suitable image descriptions. Users of assistive technologies may not have access to information conveyed in images. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content).
2. Some tables do not have table row or column headers. This means assistive technologies will not read the tables correctly. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).
3. Some documents (particularly documents in PDF format) do not have headings that follow a logical order, so screen readers cannot understand the relationships between information in document. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).
4. Some headings do not display correctly. They may look like normal text or a different type of heading. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).
5. Some text does not contrast sufficiently with its background. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.3 (Contrast (Minimum)).
6. If a table is too wide to fit on the screen, the hidden information cannot be reached with a keyboard. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.1.1 (Keyboard).
7. Some headings don't accurately describe the content underneath. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels).
8. Some controls on a page are not large enough to be easily used. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.5.5 (Target Size (Enhanced)).
9. The change in the default written language is not correctly identified on some pages. This means screen readers will not read content correctly. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.1.2 (Language of Parts).
10. Some links open in a new tab or window but do not include an explanation in the text of the link. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.2.5 (Change on request).
11. The feedback buttons at the bottom of each page behave in an unexpected way that could be confusing for screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).

Many documents are in non-HTML formats, such as those in PDF format. They are not accessible in a number of ways including missing text alternatives and missing document structure.

You can contact our website team to report any problems or request documents in an alternative format.

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

Many of our older PDF documents do not meet accessibility standards, for example, they may not be structured so they're accessible to a screen reader. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).

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.

What we're doing to improve accessibility

We are working with:

• council departments to fix content which fails to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard
• suppliers to resolve any identified accessibility issues where we do not have direct control over their product

Some of our documents in PDF format are essential to providing our services. For example, we have a PDF form to apply to our Exceptional Hardship Fund.

We are working on either fixing these or replacing them with accessible HTML pages.
 

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 12 October 2022. It was last reviewed on 11 October 2024.

We tested this website manually taking a sample of pages using the Wave Accessibility Evaluation Tool. We also use the automated testing tools within the Silktide wed accessibility and quality assurance platform.

Silktide regularly checks the whole of our website and reports on:

• pages that conform to WCAG A, AA or AAA standards 
• issues with CSS validation
• issues with HTML validation
• PDF accessibility including problems with tagging, language definition, headings and labels