Carlisle City Council take the issue of access for the disabled seriously, we try and ensure accessibility for all on our website as part of our commitment to residents and visitors. This statement applies to content published on the www.carlisle.gov.uk domain only.
This website is designed to be used by as many people as possible. The text should be clear and simple to understand. You should be able to:
- zoom in up to 300% without problems
- navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
- navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
- We employ a third party accessibility tool "Recite Me" to provide a screen reader and further tools to help use the site. (more information below)
We’re constantly working to make CARLISLE.GOV.UK as accessible and usable as possible. We aim to meet all priority 1 and 2 checkpoints within the WAI recommendations on all our pages. (On occasion this is not possible where external third party applications do not pass all accessibility checks.)
Content and readability
All the content has been reviewed to use plain English and we have made the content easy to read and be read by accessibility tools.
Some parts of this website may not be fully accessible.
- some tables may not have row headers
- some heading elements are not consistent
- some links or buttons may not be correctly labeled
- 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
How to request content in an accessible format
If you need information in a different format then contact us and tell us:
- the web address (URL) of the content
- your name and email address
- the format you need, for example, audio CD, large print, accessible PDF
Mapping
We use third party mapping tools that are built upon google maps API's. Due the the graphics intensive nature of these tools it is not always possible to be presented in an accessible format.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
The following content does not need to comply with the accessibility requirement until September 2020, because it was published before September 2018.
- Images on pages may not always have suitable alternative text. Some images are missing alternative text, some have incomplete text, this may be due to third party modules used on the site.
- Headings on some pages may not be in a logical nested order. We plan to identify, re train users and implement by September 2020.
- 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 September 2020.
PDFs and other documents
Many documents are not accessible in a number of ways including missing text alternatives and missing document structure.
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 prominent position on every page and also from the header of the site. You can also save your most common 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 userguide on the tool bar
Audio:
You can use the built in screenreader 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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