These websites are run by West Suffolk Council:
We want our websites to be easy to use for as many people as possible, regardless of ability or technology. We are continuously working to:
Although we try to work to the accepted standards for accessibility and usability, it may not always be possible on all of the websites. Sometimes the use of third-party applications may cause accessibility issues for some users. If you experience any problems please contact us so we can work to improve your experience.
Advances in technology mean that most devices and web browsers have their own built in accessibility aids or assistive technology to help you to access the internet.
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
We know some parts of these websites aren't fully accessible but we are working where possible to correct this and your help is welcome in spotting anything we have missed:
Our plans on how we are addressing these issues can be found in our What we're doing to improve accessibility section.
If you are having issues accessing information on this website or need it in a different format like accessible PDF or large print:
We'll consider your request and get back to you as soon as possible.
We're always looking to improve the accessibility of this our websites.
If you find any problems that aren't listed on this page or think we're not meeting accessibility requirements, email: communications@westsuffolk.gov.uk. Please include:
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).
Find out how to contact us.
West Suffolk 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.
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
We plan to make links and link destinations clear all pages by September 2020. When we publish new pages we'll make sure link text meets accessibility standards.
On some pages the headings are not nested correctly, which may confuse people using a screen reader. This doesn't meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (information and relationships).
We plan to make sure headings are set up correctly on pages by September 2020. When we publish new content we'll make sure heading use meets accessibility standards.
On some pages there isn't sufficient contrast between the colour of the text and the background, making it hard to read the information. This doesn't meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum). We plan to improve colour contrast by September 2020.
Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services, but may not be structured so they're accessible to a screen reader. This doesn't meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, role value).
By September 2020, we plan to either fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages. Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish should meet accessibility standards.
There's no way to skip the repeated content in the page header on some of our websites (for example, a ‘skip to main content' option). This doesn't meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.1 (bypass blocks). we are planning to add skip to content on all of our websites by September 2020.
On some pages tables do not have a description set using the caption element. This doesn't meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships. We plan for all tables to have descriptions by September 2020. When we publish new tables we'll make sure they meet accessibility standards.
We believe that the cost to fix some issues now would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. We will make another assessment in the future, for example when supplier contracts are up for renewal.
Some of our systems and interactive forms are built and hosted through third party software and ‘skinned' to look like our website, but are not fully accessible. We do not have direct control over these third party systems.
We've assessed the cost of fixing the issues with navigation and accessing information, and with interactive tools and transactions. We believe that doing so now would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. We will make another assessment when the supplier contract is up for renewal.
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. This doesn't meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (name, role value).
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. .
Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.
Live video streams don't have captions. This doesn't meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.4 (captions - live).
We don't plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.
This website is tested for accessibility, quality assurance and search engine optimisation every week. The automated tests are carried out by Siteimprove who produce reports detailing any issues which we then work to resolve. They have a scoring system and rate the results out of 100. The score can only be seen as a guide - some issues are minor but affect many pages, some are more major but only affect a few pages. We continually monitor the results and constantly work to resolve the issues.
We are continually working to improve accessibility. We regularly receive reports form SiteImprove, the automated system we use to check accessibility, quality assurance and search engine optimisation (SEO) and look to resolve issues on a weekly basis. We also respond to any issues identified by visitors to the websites and regularly review pages.
We work with our third party suppliers to make sure their systems are as accessible as possible, and to resolve issues as quickly as possible.
This statement was prepared on 20 September 2019. It was last updated on 02 August 2022.