This website is run by Old Cleeve Parish Council. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:
- Zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the page and having to use the left and right tabs to view
- 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 most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver
- Understand the website text
- Change colours, contrast levels and fonts
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
We know that there are parts of this website and its content that are not fully accessible.
How accessible this website is – ‘things that work well’
- Contrast ratio tested automatically and is at 8.59:1
- Contrast responds well to plugin HighContrast for Chrome or NoSquint for Firefox
- Text to speech works with Google Selection Reader – although work needs to be undertaken on the text to ensure a better flow of words and sentences, for example, where there are commas or full stops
- Google’s Chrome Vox indicates that a screen reader would work, however this has not been tested. This includes the contact page
Please note that plugins are offered on a good faith basis without liability. It is your own responsibility to decide whether to install them.
How accessible this website is – ‘things that may be a problem’
- The website magnifies to 150% but then does not reflow and you have to scroll left and right
- PDF documents magnify to 150% but then do not reflow and you have to scroll left and right
- Not all linked images include linked text
- Tabs work on the main headings, but not the sub-menus and you cannot skip content
- Headings and heading levels have not been set up and cannot be accessed when using the keyboard
- Hyperlink texts are a combination of text and CLICK HERE. CLICK HERE needs to be changed to relevant and understandable text
- Google’s Chrome Vox indicates that the tab issues and lack of ‘skip links’ would not help a screen reader user
- Readability has been tested and is averaging the reading level of 18 to 21-year olds
What to do if you can’t access parts of the website
This website has been tested using basic online and manual accessibility checks. If you have any additional problems in accessing content which has been tested, the Clerk will be able to discuss alternative options with you if necessary.
Feedback and contact information
- Clerk’s Name: Andrea Johnson
- Email: clerk@oldcleeveparishcouncil.gov.uk
- Phone: 01278 734689
- Write to us at: Old Cleeve Parish Council, Jasmine Cottage, 66 Keenthorne, Nether Stowey, Somerset, TA5 1HZ
Reporting accessibility problems
If you have any issues with accessing the website content (that have not already been identified) or think that we are not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact:
- Clerk’s Name: Andrea Johnson
- Email: clerk@oldcleeveparishcouncil.gov.uk
- Phone: 01278 734689
- Write to us at: Old Cleeve Parish Council, Jasmine Cottage, 66 Keenthorne, Nether Stowey, Somerset, TA5 1HZ
The Clerk will contact you within three working days to see how this can be addressed and what options are available.
“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).”
Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person
The Clerk is home based and the best way to contact is by phone, email or in writing – see above contact information.
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
This website is not compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard.
The non-accessible sections are listed on the next page:
Non accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons:
- Reflow and magnification, to ensure that the page reflows up to 300% without having to tab left and right to read content. It can currently only magnify to 150% – needs to be fixed by the developer
- Many documents are not fully accessible and need to be re-written to enable this – can be fixed by the author
- Readability has been tested and content is averaging the reading level of 18 to 21- year olds which is above the average reading level in the UK – can be fixed by the author
- Page titles need to be under headings, otherwise they cannot be accessed by tabs – can be fixed by the author
- Meaningful hyperlink text to ensure users able to access links easily– can be fixed by the author
- Tab order, needs to be in the correct hierarchy to ensure the website is easily navigated – needs to be fixed by the developer
- Text alternative for images (where needed). To mark as decorative or add null alt text, to indicate if it is a link or not – can be fixed by the author
- Heading structure for pages, to ensure the flow of the pages make sense and are easily navigated – some can be fixed by the author; others need to be fixed by the developer
- Skip links needed to ensure that keyboard users are able to navigate the website and individual pages easily without have to go through the whole menu each time – needs to be fixed by the developer
- Keyboard accessibility for menus (must be easy to navigate for those who are unable to use a mouse) – needs to be fixed by the developer
- Screenreader accessible forms, for example the contact page, must be logical and easy to navigate – needs to be fixed by the developer
- Screenreader error trapping is not known, if there are any problems, contact the Clerk –would need to be fixed by the developer
With the issues identified, it is recommended that a new website that complies with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 is developed.
Non-compliance with accessibility regulations (legally required)
Although a new website is recommended, until this is available, the items identified as problematic will be made more accessible by the author. It is anticipated that the new website should be available in the first quarter of the 2021/2022 financial year.
Details about what we are doing to rectify the issues can be found on the next page:
- Reflow and magnification, to ensure that the page reflows up to 300% without having to tab left and right to read content – (see above re new website)
- Many documents are not fully accessible and need to be re-written to enable this – can be fixed by the author. Training will be undertaken in September 2020 to ensure accessible content is provided on the existing website and the new one when live
- Readability has been tested and content is averaging the reading level of 18 to 21- year olds which is above the average reading level in the UK – can be fixed by the author. Training will be undertaken in September 2020 to ensure readability is improved on the existing website and on the new one when live
- Page titles need to be under headings, as otherwise they cannot be accessed by tabs – author can fix, will need to check process to do this
- Meaningful hyperlink text to ensure users able to access links easily– the author can undertake this fix
- Tab order, needs to be in the correct hierarchy to ensure the website is easily navigated – needs to be fixed by the developer (see above re new website)
- Text alternative for images (where needed). To mark as decorative or add null alt text, to ensure it is clear if a link or not – author can fix, will need to check process to do this
- Heading structure for pages, to ensure the flow of the pages make sense and are easily navigated – some can be fixed by the author; others needs to be fixed by the developer (see above re new website)
- Skip links needed to ensure that keyboard users are able to navigate the website and individual pages easily without have to go through the whole menu each time – needs to be fixed by the developer (see above re new website)
- Keyboard accessibility for menus (must be easy to navigate for those who are unable to use a mouse) – needs to be fixed by the developer (see above re new website)
- Screenreader accessible forms, for example the contact page, must be logical and easy to navigate – needs to be fixed by the developer (see above re new website)
- Screenreader error trapping is not known, if there are any problems, contact the Clerk –would need to be fixed by the developer (see above re new website)
Disproportionate burden
Due to the number of non-compliance issues identified, the most time efficient and cost- effective solution would be to have a new website that conforms to the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
This will be addressed at the October 2020 finance meeting to review costings and detailed timescales. A provisional ‘go live’ date is likely to be in the first quarter of the 2021/2022 financial year.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
Many of our older documents do not meet the required accessibility standards, for example, they do not zoom more than 150% without having to scroll left and right and they may not be accessible to a screen reader.
There is no requirement to fix non active documents published before September 23rd 2018, for example, agendas and minutes published before this date.
Training will be undertaken on how to produce accessible Word and PDF documents by the Clerk to ensure all documents comply with the WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2
How we tested
The website was tested in September 2020, with basic manual and online testing by the Clerk. This was undertaken before, during and after the training sessions attended on the 9th and the 11th of September to ensure the results were as accurate as possible within the context of the tests available.
Pages tested included: Main Menus:
- Welcome Page
- Coronavirus Information
- Meetings
- Related documents
- Flooding
- Contact us
- Notices/Highways
Sub Menus including documents:
- Agendas
- Minutes
- Standing Orders
- Code of Conduct
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
The Clerk has attended training on how to test the website and identify the fixes that are required.
The Clerk will be attending training on September 28th 2020 to enable accessible documents to be produced for the website.
The Clerk will be undertaking any author fixes to ensure that whilst a new website is being developed that the existing website is as accessible as possible.
The Parish Council will need to have a new website. This will be the most time efficient and cost-effective way of ensuring compliance.
The Parish Council’s finance committee will meet in October 2020 to agree on the next course of action regarding a new website.
This statement was prepared on September 18th 2020