Accessibility Statement for

Reed Parish Council website

First published September 2020 with minor updates in July 2021. Reviewed September 2021. Next review: September 2022 This accessibility statement applies to the website at reedparishcouncil.gov.uk and any subdomains forming part of the site. This website is run by Reed Parish Council and is maintained by a volunteer. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. With that aim in mind we have • improved the contrast levels and fonts to maximise readability • added alternative text to all images • checked that the site is generally responsive, so that it will work on mobile phones and tablets as well as computer screens • checked that you can zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen You should also be able to: • 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 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 the website are not accessible. • Most older pdf documents are not accessible using screen reader software • Some “governance documents” are presented in tabular form, limiting their accessibility and responsiveness, so that the mobile variant does not work • The content of certain pages is too long for the mobile variant • The site does not include “Aria” landmarks or page regions

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format, or if you need something to be read to you over the phone • email webmaster@reedparishcouncil.gov.uk • or contact the clerk on 07763 167116 or clerk@reedparishcouncil.gov.uk If we cannot respond immediately we will consider your request and respond within 5 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 webmaster@reedparishcouncil.gov.uk or contact the clerk on 07763 167116 or clerk@reedparishcouncil.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

Reed Parish Council is a small organisation operated by volunteers supported by a salaried clerk. We do not have offices. You can contact the clerk on 07763 167116 or by email clerk@reedparishcouncil.gov.uk The website is currently maintained by a volunteer who is not a member of the Parish Council. He can be contacted by email webmaster@reedparishcouncil.gov.uk.

Technical information about this

website’s accessibility

Reed Parish Council is 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 and exemptions listed below.

Disproportionate burden

It is not possible to use Aria landmarks and page regions with the software currently used to build and maintain the website. Some of the header and footer content is repeated throughout the site. The way in which the software makes the website responsive, so that it renders appropriately on a mobile phone or tablet, means that some of the text is repeated, which is inconvenient when using a screen reader. We have assessed the likely cost of bringing the site into compliance in these respects, which are likely to mean replacing the site or buying in a tailor-made site. We believe that to do so now would constitute a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. This is because • Reed Parish Council represents a small rural parish with a resident population of a little over 300 and claims a small precept • The website usage statistics are low, suggesting that the costs of an upgrade would outweigh the likely benefits for persons with disabilities • The alternative means set out above of providing access to the information contained in the website (for example, offering to read content over the phone, making a Parish Councillor available to assist if required) represent a proportionate approach • The website is maintained by a volunteer, not by a professional web designer. This arrangement is proportionate to the needs of the residents of Reed Parish. We will make another assessment in a year’s time.

Content that’s not within the scope of

the regulations:

PDFs and other documents

Some of the information on the web site has been provided in the form of PDF or Word documents. These include agendas and minutes of Council meetings, planning notices and other communications. From September 2020 we will present these as accessible HTML pages. 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. For example, we do not plan to fix older Council agendas and minutes. Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

What we’re doing to improve

accessibility

We are looking at ways in which accessibility can be improved. For example, we have experimented with a “widget” that facilitates the use of screen readers, zooming the text, and other facilities.

Preparation of this accessibility

statement

This statement was prepared on 16 September 2020. It will be reviewed no later than 16 September 2021. The website was last tested on 16 September 2020 by members of Reed Parish Council and the volunteer “webmaster”. We used the WAVE (“Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool”) browser add-on to test the main “index” page and a selection of sub-pages; this helpfully identified a number of issues with the site which we were able to correct.