Accessibility statement

This accessibility statement applies to content published on chichester.gov.uk.

• How accessible this website is
• Feedback and contact information
• Reporting accessibility problems with this website
• Technical information about this website's accessibility
• Compliance status
• What we're doing to improve accessibility
• Disproportionate burden
• Content that's not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
• How we tested this website
• Preparation of this accessibility statement

This website is run by Chichester District Council. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website.

We are always working to make our website as accessible and usable as possible. That means you should be able to:

• change colours, contrast levels and fonts
• zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
• navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
• navigate most of the website using 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.

AbilityNet (opens new window) 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 aren't fully accessible:

• some of our online services are hosted by third-party suppliers and you may find navigating these services difficult depending on their level of web accessibility - you can contact us using the details below to ask for alternative formats.
• most older PDF, Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
• many of our videos are embedded from YouTube and may feature labelling from YouTube itself, which is incorrect or not sufficiently descriptive
• some of our audio recordings of meetings do not have transcripts 

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille email webmaster@chichester.gov.uk and tell us:

• the web address (URL) of the content
• your name and email address
• the format you need, for example, audio, braille, BSL or large print

We'll consider your request and get back to you in 10 working days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We are constantly working to make our website as accessible and usable as possible for every user. There are times, however when we don't get it right the first time we publish something.

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, contact:

• webmaster@chichester.gov.uk 
• fill out our Website accessibility contact form
• or phone 01243 785166.

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 have reported problems to us and are not happy with how we have responded, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) (opens new window).

Technical information about this website's accessibility

Chichester 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 2.1 (opens new window) AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

Non-accessible content

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations includes the following:

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 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content).
2. Some lists have incorrect mark up and may cause problems for those using assistive technology. These are part of the Goss system and will be fixed when we next update the infrastructure. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships.   
3. Some Form element labels are not marked up correctly.  These are part of the Goss eforms system. This fails WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value.
4. Some YouTube video embeds across the site do not have audio descriptions (captions). This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.1 Audio-only and Video-only.   Where we provide audio recordings for council meetings we don't plan to provide transcripts as we also provide the minutes of these meetings. We will make another assessment for any other audio recordings we provide when the supplier contract is up for renewal.
5. We use Google Captcha on our eforms to prevent us from receiving spam. We are aware of a few technical issues with Google Captcha such as a text area having no description, a local link destination not existing, an iframe being used to format content and the iframe having no title. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and relationships, 3.3.2 Labels or instructions and 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value). We have tested Google Captcha on various devices and browsers, using keyboard only and on screen readers where we found it to still function well. Google Captcha has become commonplace across many websites and most of our users are familiar with it. Due to this, we have no plans to replace it. Google Captcha is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations because it is neither funded, developed by, or under the control of Chichester District Council.
6. Inaccessible Autocomplete.  Users are presented with a list of options when a search is entered, the options are not announced to screen reader users.  This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A)

Issues with interactive tools and transactions

The following services are based on a different technical platform but 'skinned' to look like our website.  Each of the third party systems have their own statements:

What we're doing to improve accessibility

• We have recently fixed colour contrast issues and focus styling across chichester.gov.uk, as this affected the most users.
• We are working to resolve all identified accessibility issues which are within our control. Our services are also working with suppliers to resolve any identified accessibility issues where we do not have direct control over their product.
• We are currently planning to upgrade the website and as part of this work we will fix the areas of non-compliance listed.
• We have written guidance on how to create accessible documents for all members of staff and offer training sessions and workshops to ensure this work is carried out effectively.
• We have created a checklist for the Web team to use when assessing content from service areas. 

Issues with PDFS and other documents

Many of our older PDFs and Word documents don't meet accessibility standards - for example, they may not be marked up so they're accessible to a screen reader.

Since August 2019, we have removed over 250 inaccessible PDFs and Word documents and made over 750 documents accessible. Where possible, we are actively avoiding adding PDFs and documents in most circumstances.  Due to the volume, we are continuing to work through the documents that remain on the website.

• Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.
• Some of our resource documents, such as posters, are designed to be downloaded and printed, so these may not be fully accessible.
• Some documents that are essential to providing our services, such as forms published as Word documents, may not yet be accessible. We are working through these to create HTML pages and accessible documents.

Documents to be made into online forms

We are currently in the process of converting all PDF and Word forms on the website into eforms. Any forms that remain on the website after the review will be accessible. 

Disproportionate burden

Chichester District Council believes all content should be accessible for everyone. We do not currently intend to claim disproportionate burden for any website content.

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

Chichester District Council believes all content should be accessible for everyone. Documents published before September 2018 unless they are crucial to delivering a service, are not in scope of the accessibility regulations, but we intend to make all our content accessible.

How we tested this website

We commissioned the Digital Accessibility Centre (opens new window) to review key templates on the website. This website was last tested on 6 September 2021. 

We also use the accessibility checking service from Siteimprove (opens new window) to automatically test and report on accessibility issues with our website.  We will update this page when issues are fixed.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 16 August 2019. It was last reviewed on 1 October 2021. This website was last tested on 6 September 2021. The test was carried out by the Digital Accessibility Centre (opens new window).