Website Accessibility Statement

We are committed to making our online resources as accessible as possible in order to achieve the widest possible audience.

This accessibility statement applies to this website (www.cannockchasedc.gov.uk). It also addresses some third-party sites which are accessed via this site, such as our online planning portal and online forms.

This website is run by Cannock Chase Council. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you will be able to:

display the text in a single column when you change the size of the browser window
change colours, contrast levels and fonts using device and/or browser settings
zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
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 (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

The website is designed to be used by all current browsers and devices. We try to make the content of the website as clear, concise and free of jargon as possible.

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:

most old PDF documents do not fully meet the latest accessibility requirements
some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard
you may not be able to skip to the main content when using a screen reader

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format such as accessible PDF, large print, audio recording or braille please contact the relevant department which will help where possible, or email us at infomanager@cannockchasedc.gov.uk

We will contact you regarding your request within 5 working 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 Corporate Support by emailing the issue to infomanager@cannockchasedc.gov.uk

We will contact you regarding your issue within 5 working days.

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).

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Cannock Chase 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.

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Older PDFs

Some old PDFs may not be accessible. They may have accessibility issues such as missing text alternatives and missing document structure. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content) and 1.3.1 (info and relationships).

We continue to remove or update these as part of our ongoing website maintenance. All new PDFs and documents will meet accessibility standards.

Content not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

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.

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

Third-Party Websites

Some services are built and hosted through third party software and are designed to look like our website but may not meet accessibility standards. New systems, such as the online forms provided by GOSS, will include accessibility requirements in the system specification. We will work with suppliers of older systems to try and improve accessibility.

Third party websites include the following.

Job Applications System
Online forms (GOSS) - WCAG 2.2 compliant
Payments System
Planning Applications System

Third Party PDFs and Documents

Some documents produced by third parties are not compliant. They may have accessibility issues such as missing text alternatives and missing document structure. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content) and 1.3.1 (info and relationships).

Disproportionate burden

The cost of fixing the issues with historical Councillors’ minutes and papers and the Planning portal would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations.

However:

With regard to Councillors' minutes and papers, all documents from the 1st February 2021 meet the required accessibility standards. In addition, historical documents such as minutes, agendas etc have always been created in a very basic manner and are therefore close to meeting accessibility standards. Also, any historic documentation may be requested by any member of the public in an accessible format.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

This website is automatically tested every 7 days by Sitemorse Software. It checks the website according to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, gives us an accessibility score and reports on all the issues found.

We continue to encourage web authors to publish website content on web pages (HTML) rather than in PDF format.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was initially prepared on 17 September 2020. It was last reviewed on 26 September 2024.

This website is tested every Wednesday evening. The test is carried out by Sitemorse.

We also use other accessibility tools such as Adobe Acrobat DC and the 'Wave web accessibility tool'.