Accessible documents statement

Contents

- Using our documents

- Making our documents accessible

- If you can't use one of our documents

- Reporting accessibility problems with one of our documents

- Enforcement procedure

- Technical information about the accessibility of our documents

- Non-accessible content

- How we tested our documents

- What we're doing to improve accessibility

This statement explains how accessible the documents Uttlesford District Council publishes on www.uttlesford.gov.uk are. It covers PDFs, spreadsheets and text documents. HTML documents are covered by our main accessibility statement.

An accessible document is a document that can be used by as many people as possible.

This includes those with:

• impaired vision
• motor difficulties
• cognitive impairments or learning disabilities
• deafness or impaired hearing

A non-accessible document is a document which some people find hard or impossible to use.
 

Using our documents

We publish documents in a range of formats, including:

• PDF
• Microsoft Word
• CSV (Comma-Separated Values)

We want as many people as possible to be able to use those documents. When we produce a document, we make sure to:

• provide an HTML option where possible
• tag headings and other parts of the document properly, so screen readers can understand the page structure
• use alt text to describe non-decorative images, so people who can't see them understand what they're there for
• avoid using tables, except when we're presenting data
• write in plain English

Making our documents accessible

New documents we publish and documents you need to download or fill in to access one of the services we provide are as accessible as we can make them.

However, we know that some of our older documents (published before 23 September 2018) aren't accessible. Some of them are not:

• marked up in a way that allows screen reader users to understand them
• tagged up properly - for example, they don't contain proper headings
• written in plain English

This mostly applies to our policy papers, reports, planning background studies and some consultations. These types of documents are exempt from the regulations. We do not have any plans to make them accessible.
 

If you can't use one of our documents

If you need to access information in a document type that is not accessible, you can to ask for an alternative format.
 

Reporting accessibility problems with one of our documents

We're always looking to improve the accessibility of our documents. You can if you find any problems that aren't listed on this page or you think we're not meeting accessibility requirements.
 

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 the accessibility of our documents

We are committed to making our documents accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

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

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

1. Images in some documents 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 in documents 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 in documents 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 in documents does not contrast sufficiently with its background. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.3 (Contrast (Minimum)).

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.
 

How we tested our documents

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.

We tested:

• PDF documents
• Microsoft Word documents

These are the main type of non-HTML document formats that we publish.
 

What we're doing to improve accessibility

To improve accessibility, we're:

• updating corporate Word and PDF templates to be accessible
• replacing PDF and Word documents with HTML
• publishing reports in HTML where possible
• providing CSV alternatives to Excel spreadsheets
• testing documents with assistive technology software

We will continue to review and update this statement as our work progresses.

This statement was prepared on 23 October 2024. It was last reviewed on 21 January 2025.