Website accessibility and help

Accessibility Statement

This accessibility statement applies to westlancs.gov.uk, which is managed by West Lancashire Borough 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% without the text spilling off the screen
translate text into different languages
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 aim to make the website text as simple as possible to understand.

To help you access the information on our website more easily, we use Reach Deck:

Reach Deck

Our site uses Reach Deck to help website visitors who require online reading support and those who simply prefer to listen to information instead of reading it. Reach Deck is particularly useful for those with print disabilities such as dyslexia or mild visual impairments and those with English as a second language.

To access Reach Deck, select this icon at the top of the page:

AbilityNet has more advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

Tell us how you would like to access information here.

How accessible is this website?

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

some older PDF documents aren’t fully accessible to screen reader software
colour contrast on some text elements is not sufficient
some image elements do not have alternate text attributes
some forms content does not have associated labels
some links may not have distinguishable names
some online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard

Feedback and contact information

Please contact us on comms.team@westlancs.gov.uk if you have an accessibility query, including:

if you are experiencing issues with accessing information or using the website
If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille
if you find an accessibility problem not listed on this statement
if you have positive feedback on the accessibility considerations made

Complaints process

If you have reported a problem with our website or asked for an alternative format, but you are not happy with our response, you can use our complaints process to register your difficulty.

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 this website’s accessibility

West Lancashire Borough 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 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

We are aiming for these issues to be fixed by June 25.

Older images

Images uploaded to the site before 2018 may not have alt tags or captions. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content).

We will correct insufficient or needed alt-text over time as we review sections of the site. When we publish new content we’ll make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards.

Selective headings

Some web page headings don't cascade inside the features on the page. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.10 (Section Headings).

We correct the incorrect usage of heading as we review sections of the site. Some of the heading are on legacy systems we may replace in the future

Select link text

Some pages use the same link text more than once, but each goes to a different URL. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context)

Tables

Some older pages may use tables using incorrect markup or may be used incorrectly. We will correct usage of tables as we review sections of the site.

Insufficient colour contrast

Some images contain text that does not meet minimum colour contrast requirements.

Images with insufficient colour contrast are not compliant with WCAG guideline 1.4.3.

We will correct the contrast on these images over time as we review each page.

Disproportionate burden

1. Historical PDF conversion

Our site contains a large number of PDFs created in previous years, especially in our data and information publications.

Where these are no longer being updated, we do not intend to recreate them in accessible versions as this would be a disproportionate burden. 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.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations PDFs and other documents

Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs with information on how users can access our services, and forms published as Word documents.

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.

Third party content

Our website contains third-party content. We do not have control over and are not responsible for the accessibility of this content, but we endeavour to work with the third party to improve its accessibility. This may include:

links to other websites
content such as social media sites

What we're doing to improve accessibility

We are constantly working to improve the accessibility of our site and carry out manual and automated tests throughout the year through a scheduled crawl. We undertake these automated tests on a monthly basis to ensure we continually update any areas of non-compliance. We are also working with third-party suppliers to encourage them to bring systems out of our control to standard.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 19th October 2021. It was last reviewed on 6 September 2024.

This website was last tested in February 2023 in-house, using automated testing (browser accessibility tool SiteImprove) and manual checks.

Completing online forms

Online forms can be completed when it’s most convenient for you - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Browsers

Our website works best on the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Internet Explorer and other browsers. If you do not have the latest version we recommend upgrading.

Speak Text

Please select the Speak feature in Reach Deck tool to read the selected text or the whole text from the top of the page

Translate this website

You can translate our site by accessing the Reach Deck accessibility tool at the top of the page.

PDFs and non-HTML documents

Some of the PDF files on our website have been published historically and may not meet accessibility guidelines.

If you come across a document on the website that you are unable to view please use the website feedback form to let us know.

Make the internet work for you

Need help to get online? If you or someone you know needs access to a computer or help using the internet, there’s lots of support available to get you started.

Getting access to the internet

Many libraries have public computers and offer free wifi access, check out your local library to see what they have on offer
Community centres: staff at your local community centre can provide help and support while you take your first steps to be online

Developing your skills

Learn my way (external link) offers information on everything from keeping in touch with friends and family to looking for a job, shopping and managing money online.

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