Accessibility Information
This accessibility statement applies to carlisle.gov.uk
This website is run by Carlisle City 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 colours, contrast levels and fonts
- 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
We have 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.
We have a third party accessibility tool "Recite Me" to provide a screen reader and further tools to help use the site.
How accessible this website is
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:
- some tables may not have row headers
- some heading elements are not consistent
- some links or buttons may not be correctly labelled
- some images may not have good alternative text
- some third party modules may not be under our control
- many documents are in PDF format and may not be accessible
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 please contact:
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, contact:
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).
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
Carlisle City 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:
- non-compliances - this means the content in question is in scope of the regulations, but there is an accessibility problem with it
- an exemption - this means the inaccessible content is out of scope of the regulations, or it would be a disproportionate burden to make it accessible
Non-accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
Some images do not have a text alternative or incomplete text so people using a screen reader cannot access the information. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content). This may be due to third party modules used on the site.
We plan to add text alternatives for all images by November 2021. When we publish new content we will make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards.
Headings on some pages may not be in a logical nested order. We plan to identify, re train users and implement.
Buttons or links on some pages may not have a correct role identified, which affects how they work with assistive technology. This fails WCAG 2.1A success criterion (Name, Role, Value). We plan to identify and fix these by November 2021.
Disproportionate burden
Content that is not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
PDFs and other documents
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. By November 2021, we plan to either fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages.
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.
Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish from November 2021 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 are doing to improve accessibility
We plan to improve accessibility on this website by:
- Developing guidance and training for our web content editors. We aim to train our web content editors by June 2021.
- Reviewing this website to address any Level A and AA accessibility issues by November 2021. This includes the content and design of the website.
- Reviewing our third-party sites to identify accessibility issues and agree how these will be resolved.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared in December 2019. It was last reviewed on 16 December 2020.
This website was last tested on 3 December 2020. The test was carried out by Sitemorse .
Additional Accessibility Tools
We also provide a complete range of Accessibility tools to cover all disabilities, the tool is available via a large button in a prominent position on every page and also from the header of the site. You can also save your most commonly used settings so they are always available when next you visit our site.
Features of ReciteMe Accessibility toolbar
ReciteMe has a full range of tools and we briefly mention some of the most common below, you can get full information if required from the user guide on the toolbar
Language:
You can translate the website into over 100 different languages
Audio:
You can use the built-in screen reader to listen to the content on the page, you can choose whether you want a male or female voice.
- Back Button: Rewind to the previous paragraph of text
- Play Button: Click the Play button to read the text aloud.
- Forward Button: Skip forward to the next paragraph of text
- You can record and download an audio file
Text Options
- You can change the font type
- as well as increase and decrease the font size
- View in several text modes including plain text mode
- Alter the margins of the page
- Magnify your reading using the built in magnifier tool
Colour, Ruler & Screen Masking
- Colour: Change the background, text and link colours via the colour theme option
- Ruler: Click to enable the reading ruler
- Screen Mask: Will create a letterbox for focused viewing of a section of the page
Dictionary, Translation & Magnifier
- Dictionary: Highlight and click on this to find the definition of the word
- Language: Translate text into over 100 different languages
- Magnifier: Click and drag the magnifying glass to magnify text on the screen
Plain Text Mode, Margins & Audio Download
- Text Mode: Remove images and view in plain text mode
- Margins: Change the text dimensions by narrowing the width of the text column
- Download Audio: Highlight the text then click the button to download text as an audio file
Keyboard Shortcuts
- Tab to move to the next toolbar button.
- Shift+Tab to go backwards
- Spacebar to select a button and to change toggles
- ctrl+right - play next element
- ctrl+left - Play previous element
- ctrl+alt+p - play the current element
- ctrl+alt+f - show font menu
- ctrl+alt+c - show theme menu
- ctrl+r - Enable/Disable ruler
- ctrl+d - Enable/Disable dictionary
- ctrl+l - Show translation languages
- ctrl+x - Enable/Disable text-only mode
- ctrl+m - Show page margin settings
- ctrl+shift+o - Show/Disable settings menu
- ctrl+s - Save settings
Contact us
If you are or someone you know is experiencing problems accessing this website, or if you have any comments on its accessibility, please contact us and we will do our very best to help.
Get Further Help
AbilityNet provides further guidance about how to:
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