Using this website

This website is run by Adult Community Learning (ACL) Essex on behalf of Essex County Council.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website aren’t fully accessible:

  • There is no ‘skip to main content’ function
  • There is no play/pause button on the homepage carousel
  • Keyboard accessibility is yet to be optimised on this website
  • Some linked images are missing alternative text
  • Certain link text may not make sense out of context
  • Some form controls have more than one label associated with them
  • There is low contrast between foreground and background colours on several elements
  • Multiple links go to the same URL
  • Some text may be difficult to read due to sizing
  • The heading structure on pages isn’t logical
  • Title attribute text is the same as text or alternative text
  • Some buttons are empty or have no value text
  • Most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
  • Some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard
  • Error messages aren’t descriptive enough

We are working to resolve issues that are within our control and will have released them to the website by 30 March 2020.

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 PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording, braille or help with directions to our centres, email acl.nostoppingme@essex.gov.ukor telephone 0345 603 7635.

We’ll consider your request and get back to you within 20 working days.

How we tested this website

This website has been tested using automated tools Siteimprove and WAVE and manual checks have been carried out.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Essex 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 not compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Keyboard accessibility

  • Keyboard accessibility has not yet been optimised, the ‘tab’ key does not navigate through the page logically, navigate through all interactive elements and many items do not receive keyboard focus. There may be difficulties for users who rely on keyboard navigation
  • We plan to optimise the functionality of the website so users can interact with pages with keyboards which are logical and intuitive by March 2020. When we publish new content we’ll make sure our keyboard accessibility meets accessibility standards

Images

  • Some images do not have a text alternative, so people using a screen reader cannot access the information. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content).
  • We plan to add text alternatives for all images by September 2020. When we publish new content we’ll make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards

Forms and buttons

  • Some form controls have more than one label associated with them, so assistive technology may not read the appropriate label
  • We plan to ensure that at most one label element is associated to the form control by September 2020. If multiple form labels are necessary, the use of aria-labelledby is needed. When we publish new content, we’ll make sure our use of form controls meets accessibility standards
  • Some buttons are empty or have no value text, so descriptive text presented to screen reader users may not indicate the function of the button
  • We plan to place text content within the <button> element or give the <input> element a value attribute by September 2020. When we publish new content, we’ll make sure our use of buttons meets accessibility standards

Colour contrast and text size

  • Some elements contain very low contrast between foreground and background colours, which may cause difficulty for users with low vision
  • We plan to increase the contrast between the foreground (text) colour and the background colour by September 2020. When we publish new content, we’ll make sure our use of element contrast meets accessibility standards
  • Some text small text may not meet accessibility guidelines, which may cause difficulty for those with low vision
  • We plan to increase the text to a more readable size (16 pixels) by September 2020. When we publish new content, we’ll make sure our use of font size meets accessibility standards

Heading structure

  • Some pages do not have a first level heading. This may cause difficulty in navigation for users of many assistive technologies. They also provide semantic and visual meaning and structure to the document.
  • Some pages have headings that are missing text. This may cause difficulty in navigating to the correct content on the page.
  • We plan to place main headings within a <h1> element and add other sub-headings as necessary by September 2020. When we publish new content, we’ll make sure our use of headings meets accessibility standards

Links and link text

  • We plan to reword the link text so that it is more descriptive of its destination when read out of context and remove any extraneous text (such as “click here”) by September 2020. When we publish new content, we’ll make sure our use of link text meets accessibility standards
  • Some adjacent links go to the same URL, so this may result in additional navigation and repetition for keyboard and screen reader user
  • We plan to combine the redundant links into one link and remove any redundant text or alternative text by September 2020. When we publish new content, we’ll make sure our use of links meets accessibility standards
  • Some title attribute text is the same as text or alternative text, so advisory information may be difficult to distinguish from element or alternative text
  • We plan to remove or modify the title attribute to provide advisory, but not redundant information by September 2020. When we publish new content, we’ll make sure our use of attribute text meets accessibility standards
  • Link text only identified by colour, this can make it difficult for users with visual impairments to identify link text
  • We plan to increase the colour contrast or add another identifier that indicates that the element is a link by September 2020. When we publish new content, we’ll make sure our use of links meets accessibility standards

Assistive technologies

  • Some elements share the same unique identifier, this may result in assistive technologies only acting on the first instance and useful information being overlooked
  • We plan to remove duplicated unique identifiers by September 2020. When we publish new content, we’ll make sure id’s or unique
  • Some elements have no title attribute, this may cause difficulty for users who rely on assistive technologies to describe what elements are
  • We plan to add title attributes to elements that require them by September 2020. When we publish new content we will make sure they have title attributes if they require them

Incorrect tags used

  • “I” (italics) tag Is used to format text. This could be confusing to users using assistive technologies
  • “B” (bold) tag Is used to format text. This could be confusing to users using assistive technologies
  • We plan to remove incorrect html tags by September 2020. When we publish new content, we’ll make sure the html tags we use meet accessibility standards

Landmarks

  • Some pages contain landmarks of the same type that have not been named, this may result in confusion between landmarks
  • Some content is not included in landmarks meaning users using assistive technology may lose track of content that is not included when navigating through landmarks
  • We plan to name landmarks of the same type and to include all content in landmarks by September 2020

Issues with technology

Many of our older PDFs and Word documents don’t meet accessibility standards – for example, they may not be marked up so they’re accessible to a screen reader.

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 aim to fix accessible documents or turn them into HTML content by 23 September 2020.

We understand that the regulations don’t require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018, if they’re not essential to providing our services. However, if you need information in an alternative format, email acl.nostoppingme@essex.gov.uk

Issues with 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.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

This statement was prepared on 30 January 2020.

We aim to provide an accessibility roadmap that shows how and when we plan to improve accessibility on this website.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

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, email acl.nostoppingme@essex.gov.uk

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing 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

If you contact us before your visit, we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter should you need one.
Telephone: 0345 603 7635
Email: acl.nostoppingme@essex.gov.uk