Website accessibility

By law, we are required to publish an accessibility statement for this website.

Accessibility statement for NLC Democracy

Using this website

This website is run by North Lincolnshire 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 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

At the time of writing (20 September 2019), our website was 92.9 per cent accessible, according to Site Improve.

However, we know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

  •       the text won’t reflow in a single column when you change the size of the browser window due to some tables being in place
  •       you can’t modify the line height or spacing of text
  •       some older PDF documents aren’t fully accessible to screen reader software
  •       some recorded videos have automated captions and don’t have transcripts
  •       some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard
  •       some tables are formatted using HTML
  •       matching link text is used for multiple different destinations and needs separating

 

If you need information on this website in an accessible format email the Customer Services team at customer.service@northlincs.gov.uk.

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

We use SiteImprove to continuously check accessibility compliance for all content on all pages of our https://democracy.gisnorthlincs.co.uk website. The site is re-tested every five calendar days.

We test:

  • our main website platform, available at https://democracy.gisnorthlincs.co.uk.
  • all associated plugins that we use to enhance page content across the site. For example, the general layout of pages in how they look and are laid out, navigation menus, breadcrumbs, job listings and sliders.

The https://democracy.gisnorthlincs.co.uk website was rated as 92.9 per cent compliant by SiteImprove on 18 September 2019. This rating may fluctuate. We aim to be above 90 per cent compliant at all times, and above the industry average of 78 per cent.

SiteImprove highlights issues that cause reductions in compliance. We aim to fix these within 10 working days wherever possible. Any exceptions are noted within other sections of this Access Statement.

North Lincolnshire 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.

Issues with technology

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

  • Some link text is being used for multiple different destinations. This will affect assistive-technologies such as screen readers. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 2.4.4.
    • We plan to differentiate link text by September 2020. When we publish new content we’ll make sure our use of links meets accessibility standards.
  • Some HTML is used to format content such as table layouts and YouTube videos. This will affect assistive-technologies such as screen readers. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 1.3.1.
    • We plan to remove tables and make YouTube iframe styling user friendly, or create a screen reader friendly variant of tables by September 2020.
    • When we publish new content we’ll make sure our HTML styling meets accessibility standards.

Interactive tools and transactions

We require any new third party systems we commission to be Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 AA compliant. However, existing third party applications are partly or wholly out of our control and may not conform to the same levels of accessibility as the rest of the website.

We monitor the accessibility of these sites and ask suppliers to fix accessibility issues which arise.

Accessibility needs are actively considered as part of designing any new content, transactions and services. We follow GDS content design principles where possible and we understand the importance of inclusive design.

We’re also reviewing our existing content with an initial focus on the most popular tasks. For example, inaccessible PDFs on our most popular webpages will be made accessible before those on our less popular webpages.

We regularly monitor accessibility compliance using the SiteImprove product and we will resolve issues that arise wherever possible.

We also respond to customer feedback and use this to make things better wherever possible.

We’re working with the providers of third party systems and plug-ins to ensure they are either compliant, replaced or removed by September 2020.

This statement was prepared on 20 September 2019. It was last updated on 20 September 2019.

We want to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that aren’t listed on this page, or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, email Customer Services at customerservice@northlincs.gov.uk or call 01724 297000.
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).

Please email Customer Services at customerservice@northlincs.gov.uk or call 01724 297000

 

More information about accessing our website

If you have difficulty in using a mouse or similar devices, you can use keyboard shortcuts. We follow the government’s access key system.

You can use the following short cut keys to help you navigate around the site.

  • 0 – Access key details
  • 1 – Home page
  • 3 – Site Map
  • 4 – Search
  • 6 – Privacy
  • 7 – Website Disclaimer
  • 8 – Terms & Conditions
  • 9 – Contact us
  • S – Skip navigation

How do I use the access keys for my browser?

We know that users make use of a wide range of different internet browsers. To find out how to make use of access keys we have supplied instructions for the main browsers in use.

To use these access keys follow the instructions below.

Internet Explorer version 8 and below (PC)
Hold down the ALT key, press the number or letter of the access key, release both keys then press ENTER

Internet Explorer 9 and above (PC)
Hold down the ALT key and press the number or letter of the access key

Internet Explorer (Mac)
Hold down the CTRL key and press the number or letter of the access key

Netscape (PC)
Hold down the ALT key and press the number or letter of the access key

Firefox (PC)
Hold down the Shift and ALT keys and press the number or letter of the access key

Firefox (Mac)
Hold down the CTRL key and press the number or letter of the access key, for version 14.0.1 and higher Hold down the CTRL and Option keys and press the number or letter of the access key

Safari (PC)
Hold down the ALT key and press the number or letter of the access key

Safari (Mac)
Hold down the CTRL and Option keys and press the number or letter of the access key

Chrome (PC)
Hold down the Alt key and press the number or letter of the access key

Chrome (Mac)
Hold down the CTRL and Option keys and press the number or letter of the access key.

Although not strictly text-only, these pages are quicker to download and useful if you don’t need the images or if you are on a slow connection.
We aim to make our website as easy to read as possible and follow the Plain English principles. We are constantly working to improve our website and make it easier to understand.

We aim to provide content in html format where possible. Where we have to use different formats this will be because:

  • the information is too long or too complex for a webpage
  • the content is an official council document, for example a council strategy documents or meeting minutes
  • the document is needed in its original format – for example, bus timetables

We are working to improve the accessibility of our documents.

Where possible we try to provide downloadable documents in the following formats:

PDF – A reader can be downloaded free from the Adobe website (full instructions for downloading the reader are provided)
XLS/XLSX – A reader can be downloaded free from the Microsoft website – XLS viewer (full instructions for downloading the reader are provided)
DOC/DOCX – A reader can be downloaded free from the Microsoft website – DOC viewer (full instructions for downloading the reader are provided)