Website accessibility statement for Vale of White Horse District Council
This accessibility statement applies to the Vale of White Horse District Council website (https://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/)
On this page you can find out how accessible our website is, how to report issues and what to do if you can’t access parts of it.
This website is run by Vale of White Horse District Council. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:
- change colours, contrast levels and fonts
- zoom in up to 300 per cent without the text spilling off the screen
- navigate most of the website using Browsealoud, our screen reader and accessibility software
- 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 has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
We have designed this website with features that make it easier to use by everyone, including those with visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, or neurological disabilities. We aim to reach the level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). These are the international standard for accessible websites and content.
How accessible this website is
We know some parts of this website aren’t fully accessible, for example:
- some heading elements are not consistent
- some images do not have good alternative text
- many documents are in PDF format and are not accessible
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We’re always looking to improve the accessibility and usability of this website. If you find any problems that aren’t listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact the Communications Team by emailing communications@southandvale.gov.uk
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: communications@southandvale.gov.uk
Call: 01235 422400 (Text phone users add 18001 before dialing)
Address: Abbey House, Abbey Close, Abingdon, OX14 3JE
We’ll consider your request and get back to you as soon as we can – this may vary depending on your method of communication. You can find out more information about our customer service standards.
Enforcement procedure
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018. 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
Please note – our offices are currently closed as a result of the pandemic. Our staff are working from home, so please contact them via email or phone. Find out how to contact us.
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
Vale of White Horse 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.
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
- Some PDFS do not have a set default language, which doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criteria 3.1.1. Training procedures have begun to ensure new PDFs meet this requirement, during which trainees are instructed to review historic PDFs they’re responsible for and update the default language where possible. The target end date for this work is 29 July 2022. We have set out exceptions in the disproportionate burden section below.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
PDFs and other documents
Many of our older PDFs and Word documents don’t meet accessibility standards. For example, they may not be structured so they’re accessible to a screen reader, which doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (name, role value), and/or they .
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, posters or campaign materials that might still be published and accessed through our website.
We believe that it would be a disproportionate burden to change all historic PDFs and other documents to meet accessibility standards given the number on the website. However, any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.
Disproportionate burden
We believe that the cost required may be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. There are more than 3,400 PDFs and other documents on the site and they would all need to be checked to see if they meet the accessibility standards, and amended if not. The majority of these documents have never been viewed, therefore they are not negatively impacting users with disabilities or impairments. For this reason, we don’t believe the cost of time, effort and resource to fix all the documents, including the default language issue outlined above, is justified.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We’re working to fix the issues outlined in The Shaw Trust accessibility report.
We continually monitor the accessibility compliance of our site and have weekly automated updates. Improving our site is part of the Communications Team’s daily work. We are creating a training programme for colleagues and web editors to ensure content for the website meets accessibility criteria.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 1 February 2020. It was last reviewed on 21 March 2022.
The test was carried out internally using the third party web accessiblity charity The Shaw Trust, which reviewed a sample of the site in line with WCAG 2.1A succession criteria. You can read the sample approach in the full accessibility test report.
This website was tested on November 2020. The test was carried out by The Shaw Trust. You can read the full accessibility test report (PDF).
This website was last tested in November 2021. The test was carried out by the Central Digital and Data Office. You can read the full accessibility test report (PDF).
