Using this website
This website is run by Newcastle City Council. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website:
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
Newcastle City 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 (WCAG) version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.
What to do if you can’t access parts of this website
If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible an PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille let us know by emailing corporatecommunications@newcastle.gov.uk or calling the Communications Support Team on 0191 211 5094. We’ll consider your request and get back to you within 3 working days.
Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person
We’re always looking 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 the requirements of the accessibility regulations (that are not listed below), please let us know by emailing corporatecommunications@newcastle.gov.uk
Our contact centres have audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit, we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.
You can find all our contact details at www.newcastle.gov.uk/contact-us
Non accessible content
How accessible is this website?
We know some parts of this website aren’t fully accessible:
- the text won’t reflow in a single column when you change the size of the browser window
- you can’t modify the line height or spacing of text
- some PDF documents aren’t fully accessible to screen reader software
- some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard
Non compliance with the accessibility regulations
- There are some images with no Alt Attribute. These will be fixed within 3 months. [It’s important all images have the attribute for alternative text regardless of whether an alternative text is added. A screen reader knows how to handle both an empty alt attribute and one with a text. If there is no attribute some screen readers will compensate and read the path to the image instead, which will often give no value to the end user.
- The ID used for an element on the page is also used for another element on the page. These will be fixed within 12 months. [IDs must be unique.
- Link identified only by colour. These will be fixed within 12 months. [Make sure there are other visual indicators of links besides the colour, such as underline or bold.
- Device orientation. It’s not always possible to change the device orientation from horizontal to vertical without making it more difficult to view the content. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.4 (orientation).
When we publish new content, we’ll make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
PDFs and other documents
Some of our older PDFs don’t meet accessibility standards - for example, they may not be structured so they’re easy to read on a screen reader. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2.
Some of our PDFs are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs with information on how users can access our services. We plan to either fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages.
How we tested this website
This website was last tested on 16 September 2020. The test was carried out by Newcastle City Council using SiteImprove software.
We tested the Applications website, available at /https://community2.newcastle.gov.uk/apps/
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We carry out monthly accessibility check using software, if issues are identified we either fix them straight away, or if the issue requires resource or financial investment put plans in place to resolve. For issues we can’t resolve easily – we publish details in this accessibility statement under Non compliance with the accessibility regulations
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).
This statement was prepared on 16 September 2020. It was last updated on 28 September 2020.