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Accessibility statement for West Northamptonshire Council – South Northamptonshire area

This accessibility statement applies to the West Northamptonshire Council – South Northamptonshire area website, which is the website of the former South Northamptonshire Council. 

West Northamptonshire Council – South Northamptonshire area

This website is run by West Northamptonshire Council and is in the process of being closed with content being transferred to the main West Northamptonshire Council website as services align processes.

Many links within this site link to the main West Northamptonshire website and third-party sites implemented by West Northamptonshire Council such as some forms and the Committee Management Information System. Please see the Accessibility Statement for West Northamptonshire Council for information relating to these.

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 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 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 can’t modify the line height or spacing of text
  • most older PDF documents aren’t fully accessible to screen reader software
  • there’s a limit to how far you can magnify the map on our ‘contact us’ page
  • lists are not always used correctly, in the contents each item is a list, some lists have incorrect aria roles, and, on some forms, an unordered list is used when it should be ordered
  • on some form inputs there are no autocomplete values making it difficult for some users to fill in the forms
  • when increasing font-size to 400% there is no focus on the hamburger menu
  • we are aware that our pages do not always follow a logical order then tabbed
  • there is no option to adjust timings on our forms
  • we are aware that Recaptcha used to authenticate that a real user is completing our feedback form does not comply to accessibility requirements, we are working with our website supplier to establish a solution to fix this
  • we are aware that with our licensing form applications:
    • it is possible to enter data into the system and voice over software requires a descriptive label to enable the user to know what is required within that field
    • a keyboard-only user (someone who is unable to use a mouse) tabs through a screen, but the order of the cursor focus could be improved to avoid confusion and so it is very clear to the user where their cursor is

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:

We’ll consider your request and get back to you within 7 working days.

If you can’t view the map on our ‘contact us’ page, call or email us for directions, contact details are on our contact us page.

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 email webteam.ncc@westnorthants.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.

Please contact us to arrange a meeting.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

West Northamptonshire 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 the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Issues with interactive tools and transactions

We are aware that some internal applications and externally hosted systems do not comply with accessibility and usability standards.

We will work with our suppliers to improve the accessibility of these sites as much as possible.

We are aware that Recaptcha that we use to authenticate that a real user is completing our feedback form does not comply to accessibility requirements, we are working with our website host to establish a solution to fix this.

We are aware that with our licensing form applications:

  • a search input automatically updates the content of the page when text is entered. Screen reader users will not be aware that the page content has changed as there is no audible notification. NPS are reviewing whether to revert to a search with a submit button or provide accessible auto-complete
  • a keyboard-only user (someone who is unable to use a mouse) tabs through a screen, but the order of the cursor focus could be improved to avoid confusion and so it is very clear to the user where their cursor is

Northgate, our provider, are aware of these issues but have not yet given us a date of when they can expect them to be fixed.

Some parts of this site link to or use content provided by other websites and these are not always accessible as our site. Examples include

  • YouTube videos
  • Google Maps

Disproportionate burden

Issues with interactive tools and transactions

There is no option to adjust timings on our forms.

There’s a limit to how far you can magnify the map on our ‘contact us’ page

Navigation and accessing information

It’s not possible for users to modify text spacing or line height.

Lists are not always used correctly, in the contents each item is a list, some lists have incorrect aria roles, and, on some forms, an unordered list is used when it should be ordered.

On some form inputs there are no autocomplete values making it difficult for some users to fill in the forms.

When increasing font-size to 400% there is no focus on the hamburger menu.

Tabbing through page content it does not always follow a logical order which may be confusing for the user.

Users with assistive technology may find difficulty searching our site due to a misconfiguration of the ARIA attribute

We’ve assessed the cost of fixing the issues with interactive tools and transactions and navigation and accessing information. We believe that doing so now would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations as the website will be closing. If there is any information you require that you cannot access please call 0300 126 7000.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

PDFs and other documents

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 Local Plan saved policies 2007.

Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

Live video

We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

As this website will be closing, we do not plan to make any future improvements apart from those that third-parties are already aware of and working on.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 2 December 2019. It was last reviewed on 7 January 2022.

This website was last tested on 30 December 2021. The test was carried out by ourselves.

We tested the most commonly used web page templates using Axe and Wave accessibility tools.

We also receive weekly automated accessibility checks from Site Morse.