Our Accessibility Statement
This accessibility statement applies to somerset.gov.uk and beta.somerset.gov.uk.
These websites are run by Somerset County 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
- 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 have 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 are not fully accessible:
- you cannot modify the line height or spacing of text
- most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
- live video streams may not have captions
- some of our pages and online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard
- the skip to the main content link may not work on all pages
- you cannot skip tabbing through the main burger menu when using keyboard navigation and cannot tab through the sub menu on contact us page using keyboard navigation. This will be fixed in the next iteration of the site – April 2023.
Feedback and contact information
If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:
- Email: generalenquiries@somerset.gov.uk
- Phone: 0300 123 2224
We will consider your request and get back to you within 10 working days.
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We are 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, you can use our feedback form at the bottom of most pages, or email generalenquiries@somerset.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).
Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person
We provide a text relay service for people who are D/deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment.
Our offices have audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
Somerset County 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.
Non accessible content
Navigation and accessing information
You cannot skip tabbing through main burger menu when using keyboard navigation and cannot tab through the sub menu on contact us page using keyboard navigation. This will be fixed in the next iteration – April 2023.
The ‘skip to main content’ link may not work on all pages. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.1 (bypass blocks). This will be fixed in the next iteration – April 2023.
It’s not possible for users to change text size above 250% without some of the content overlapping. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.4 (resize text).
Interactive tools and transactions
Some of our interactive forms are difficult to navigate using a keyboard. For example, because some form controls are missing a ‘label’ tag.
Our forms are built and hosted through third party software and ‘skinned’ to look like our website. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (information and relationships)
| Issue and description | Where the issue was found | What we're doing about it |
|---|---|---|
| WCAG 2.4.7 Focus Visible | - Keyboard focus goes to menu options even when the user has not expanded the hamburger menu. This means keyboard focus on the menu options is not clearly visible and it is hard for the user to tell where they are on the page. - There is no visible keyboard tab focus on the 'Latest news' articles. - There is no visible keyboard tab focus on the 'What do you want to contact us about?' options - There is no visible keyboard tab focus on the 'What do you want to tell us about?' dropdown (when the user expands 'Feedback - was this information helpful?'.) - There is no visible keyboard tab focus on the 'Skip to main content' link. - Tab focus is lost between 'Term dates and holidays 2023/24' and the PDF link. - Tab focus is briefly lost when the user expands the '2023/24 term dates' accordion. - There is no visible keyboard tab focus on the hamburger menu when the page is zoomed in at 200% or higher. | This issue will be fixed with the launch of the new website on April 1st 2023 |
| WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (minimum): Elements must have sufficient colour contrast. | - Keyboard focus on the 'Accept' button on the cookies notice changes the colour of the button from pink to yellow. The yellow fails with white text. - Grey 'Search' placeholder text in the search bar fails with white. - White 'Somerset County Council' text in the banner fails against some of the lighter blue shades of the background image. - Keyboard focus on the council logo in the footer changes the colour of the 'Built by the SCC Digital Service' text from white to black. The black fails on dark grey. - The yellow keyboard tab focus indicator on the main navigation menu options, breadcrumb text, and footer options fails with the white text. | This issue will be fixed with the launch of the new website on April 1st 2023 |
| WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships: Certain ARIA roles must contain particular children. Issue found using Deque Axe. | - Refers to Tab navigation. A required ARIA child role is not present: tab. - Refers to Contact us tab navigation. A required ARIA child role is not present: tab. | This issue will be fixed with the launch of the new website on April 1st 2023 |
| WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value: Buttons must have discernible text. Issue found using Deque Axe. All buttons must have a descriptive accessible name so that screen reader users can understand the destination, purpose, function, or action of the button. If an image is used as a button, screen readers may not understand the use without a clear and accessible name. The title of an active image may not give enough information. Unnamed active images will have no details of the destination, purpose or action. | - Refers to the search button in the header. It does not have accessible text. | This issue will be fixed with the launch of the new website on April 1st 2023 |
| WCAG 2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide Content that moves, flashes or updates automatically can be a severe distraction for certain users, making it difficult to use the page. It can also cause problems for assistive technologies like screen readers. For any moving, flashing or scrolling information that: - starts automatically, - lasts more than five seconds, and - is presented in parallel with other content there should be a way for the user to pause, stop or hide it, unless it is part of an essential activity. There must be a method to allow the user to pause, stop, hide or control the frequency for content that automatically begins ‘auto-updating’ in parallel with other content unless it is essential to an activity. | - The carousel above the footer automatically updates and cannot be paused, stopped or hidden. | |
| WCAG 1.4.10 Reflow Reflow or ‘responsive web design’ helps users with low vision who may need to enlarge text on a webpage and read it in a single column without scrolling in more than one direction. It also helps users who are viewing the page on a mobile device. If a page does not support reflow it can appear smaller and more difficult to use or content may be cut off. Navigation menus often collapse into fewer items or into a single menu button to take up less space. All content and functionality must still be fully available. | - The 'In this section' options are lost when the page is zoomed in at 400% or in mobile view. | This issue will be fixed with the launch of the new website on April 1st 2023 |
Content that is not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
PDFs and other documents
Many of our older PDFs and Word documents do not meet accessibility standards – for example, they may not be structured so they’re accessible to a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (name, role value).
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. We plan to either try and fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages as part of our ongoing content audit for our next iteration releasing in April 2023.
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
Live video streams may not have captions. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.4 (captions – live).
We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.
How we tested this website
The site is automatically tested each week using Siteimprove. This is a third-party platform to test the accessibility quality and usability of the site.
We test:
- our main website platform, available at www.somerset.gov.uk
- our children and families site at beta.somerset.gov.uk
What we are doing to improve accessibility
We are currently working on a new release of our updated websites, which will improve the overall accessibility and usability of the site. We also have a large number of other websites and third party sites which we know do not meet the required level of accessibility. We have an ongoing project to decommission and evaluate these websites and where appropriate rebuild them to the required standards. If you have any issue accessing any of these legacy sites please contact us using the details listed above.
This statement was prepared on 13 November 2019 It was last updated on 27 October 2022. The whole of this website is tested daily. The test is carried out by using SiteImprove.