Accessibility Statement for erewash.gov.uk
This accessibility statement applies to www.erewash.gov.uk.
This website is run by Erewash Borough Council. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:
- Change contrast colours, contrast levels and fonts.
- Navigate most of the website using just a keyboard.
- Zoom in to 200%.
- Navigate most of the website using speech recognition software.
- Access an HTML version of documents where possible.
We have also made the text as simple as possible to understand.
How accessible this website is
We know that some parts of the website are not fully accessible:
- Most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software.
- We don’t have screen reader software installed on the website.
- Live video streams do not have captions.
- There’s a limit to how far you can magnify the map on our contact us page.
Feedback and contact information
If you need information on this website in a different format such as an accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille; please contact the council as follows:
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Call: 0115 907 2244
We will consider your request and get back to you in three days.
If you cannot view the map on our contact us page, please call or email for directions.
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We are always looking to improve the accessibility of the website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think that we are not meeting accessibility requirements, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 0115 907 2244.
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 are not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).
Visiting us in person
Portable hearing loops are in place at both Ilkeston and Long Eaton Town Halls to help people with hearing difficulties, adjusting the sound to the individual's needs. We also have a ramp to allow access at Ilkeston Town Hall and low access desks at both Town Halls.
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
Erewash Borough 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
Non-compliance with accessibility regulations
There are some statutory documents that are on the website that are not accessible – these include the council’s Annual Governance Statement, Infrastructure Funding Statement and Letter of Representation to the council's auditors. These are not compliant under WCAG 2.1 A F25, WCAG2.1.A.1.3.1 and WCAG 2.1.a 3 1.1, meaning they cannot be read by screen readers.
There are a number of statutory documents relating to a planning inquiry - Sowbrook Lane Appeal - that will be hosted on the council's website temporarily in 2023. Some of these are pre-2018 and others are created externally and do not fall within the scope of 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 are not essential to providing our services. For example, we do not plan to fix the Erewash Core Strategy.
Any new PDF’s or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.
Content that is not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
There are published PDF documents that are third party content that is neither funded nor developed by, nor under the control of the council. These include representations submitted by members of the public as part of the Erewash Core Strategy and Local Plan which feature on the schedule of representations page.
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
In June 2021 the website was awarded the Shaw Trust 'Accessible' rating. The website will be audited on a monthly basis independently by the Shaw Trust Accessibility Services to ensure continuous improvement and ongoing commitment to tackle accessibility issues.
Most of our downloadable documents are in Portable Document Format (PDF) and can be read through the free Adobe Acrobat Reader
Blind and partially sighted users can access information on viewing PDF documents by visiting the Adobe access website.
There are some documents that have been published on the website that are not fully accessible. If you require any document in an alternative accessible format, please contact the council by email or alternatively call 0115 907 2244.
We aim to use plain language and avoid unnecessary jargon and acronyms on this website. There are however pages or documents including planning and council reports where complex or technical information is unavoidable.
We follow plain English guidelines as set out in the plain English website to try and make the content of the website as clear and understandable as possible.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 4 May 2021. It was last reviewed on 28 July 2023.
This website was last fully tested on 1 December 2020. The test was carried out by The Shaw Trust. Subsequent automated tests have been carried out by The Shaw Trust and Erewash Borough Council. The website underwent a further automated and manual reassessment test in May 2021.
In order to conduct a thorough accessibility audit, the council sought the use of both automated evaluation tools and manual user testing with assistive technologies to carry out a full accessibility test. Although automated tools are able to assess individual pages or entire websites much more quickly than a human counterpart, they can only test against a limited section of WCAG and are unable to analyse semantics where testing via users who have a disability provide a more accurate measurement of accessibility.
The scope of manual testing involved establishing a representative sample of pages by employing various methods including using a list of pages common to many websites, inspecting the site for variations in layout and functionality and selecting pages at random. Technical assessment involved testing the entire website for underlying technical errors or issues that could cause accessibility barriers using a range of automated tools.
