Most of the content on this intranet is made up of ex county council information due to the county intranet being turned off. Please read the blog to find out more about how we have developed this new intranet and where you can go to find information that relates to you.
Web accessibility regulations
Public sector organisations have a legal duty to make sure their websites and mobile applications meet accessibility requirements.
The accessibility regulations aim to help make sure online public services can be used by as many people as possible. This includes those with impaired vision, motor difficulties, cognitive impairment or learning disabilities and deafness or impaired hearing.
People may not have a choice when it comes to using council websites, so it's important they work for everyone.
Common accessibility problems often include websites that are not easy to use on a mobile or cannot be navigated using a keyboard, inaccessible PDF documents that cannot be read out on screen readers or poor colour contrast that makes text difficult to read.
Our websites
In line with the regulations, this means that all our council websites must:
- meet the international WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards - although there may be valid legal reasons for not meeting accessibility standards
- publish an accessibility statement that explains how accessible a website or mobile app is
Accessibility monitoring
The cabinet office monitor all public sector websites and will routinely review our websites for accessibility issues. Any issues identified can then be reported to the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Updating our websites
To continue to meet the regulations all updates to our public website or any other council website will need to meet the accessibility standards. This includes updates to documents, adding an image or video, or updates to the web design and text.
Wherever possible, information should be created as web pages. This makes sure the content meets accessibility regulations. It's also easier for people to find, particularly when using the search.
We don't add new or replacement Microsoft Office documents to our websites as they can have accessibility issues for some people. Documents that cannot be made into accessible PDF or CSV files should be stored elsewhere, like EDRM.
The Digital Team will be able to advise if the updates need any changes to be made accessible.
Guidance for creating accessible websites
There is a range of free support, tools and guidance for creating accessible content from GOV.UK. including:
- an introduction to web accessibility
- how to make your online service accessible
- how to write for web accessibility
- how to design for web accessibility
- developing for web accessibility
Guidance is also available to help test and evaluate web accessibility and you can also read a sample accessibility statement.
If you need any further support or guidance on web accessibility please get in touch with the Digital Team.