Accessibility statement

Accessibility statement for watford.gov.uk

This statement applies to content published on the www.watford .gov.uk domain.

This website is run by Watford Borough Council. We want as many people to use this website, including those who use assistive technologies to browse the web.

We built our website to meet WCAG 2.1 AA requirements. 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
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader

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.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website aren’t fully accessible:

  • Most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
  • Some videos may not have captions or audio alternatives
  • Content and functionality provided by third party suppliers is not fully accessible
  • Maps are not accessible
  • The contrast and colour of some text and links could be improved

Feedback and contact information

If you need a document in a different format:

and tell us:

  • the web address - also called the URL - of the content 
  • your name and email address 
  • the format you need, for example, audio CD, braille, British Sign Language or large print, accessible PDF

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

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

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: webteam@watford.gov.uk

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

We are 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 listed below.

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

In Firefox, when webpages are zoomed to 200% the council logo disappears. We are working on this issue with our supplier.

​In Chrome, when the font size is changed the council logo is clipped away. We are working on this issue with our supplier.

PDF’s and other documents

Many of our older PDFs and other documents don’t meet accessibility standards. For example, they may not be structured in a way that makes them accessible to a screen reader. Where  these PDFs and Word documents are currently essential to providing our services we plan to either fix these or replace them with accessible documents, online forms or HTML pages by September 2022.

Online forms and My.Watford customer portal

Our online forms and My.Watford customer portal are are built and hosted through third party software and ‘skinned’ to look like our website. This third party software is not yet fully accessible. Some form fields are missing a label, which can make them difficult to navigate with a keyboard. Also when using the tab key to jump between elements, some links and buttons are not highlighted on focus.  We are in contact with the supplier about when issues will be fixed.

Disproportionate burden

Not applicable

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

PDFs and other 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. Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

Live video

We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.

Maps

It is not possible to make maps accessible, but we will provide the information in an accessible format.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

Testing

We will test the site on an on-going basis using both automated (using Axe and Wave accessibility evaluation tools) and manual testing to identify and assess problems.

We will undertake manual testing with real users with disabilities, some of whom use assistive technology such as screen readers.

Documents

We ensure that any new documents are either considered for HTML web content or are accessible before they are added to the website.

Fixing our online services

Where 3rd party customer platforms provide online services for our customers and aren't yet fully accessible, we're in contact with the supplier about when issues will be fixed.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 4th November 2021 and was last reviewd on 10th December 2021. This statement will be reviewed annually.

This website was last tested on 10th December 2021. We tested a sample of our most used webpages and other content, ensuring that the sample included examples of every component we use across the site.

We have Siteimprove web monitoring software in place to check and monitor the whole sites accessibility. These tests are carried out automatically each week. We refer to the Silktide accessibility index, that compares the accessibility of all UK council websites and regularly checks a sample of our web content. We have also used Axe 4.19.0 and Wave 3.1.6 to manually check the accessibility of individual pages on this website.

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