This accessibility statement applies to the Short Breaks website located at shortbreaks.essex.gov.uk.
This website is run by Essex County 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 400% 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)
We’ve 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.
How accessible this website is
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:
- some elements have no focus styles meaning they are not highlighted for keyboard only users
- some headings or labels provided, may lack description.
- websites should specifically identify the language of each page in a manner that can be understood by software such as screen readers 1.1
- not all content is included in landmarks making it difficult for users of assistive technologies to navigate between sections on the page
- some link text is generic and not descriptive of the destination
- the sequence of content is not always logical
- the text will sometimes overflow the page or elements when zooming in
- the text size does not always increase when attempting to increase text size
- some images have text with no alternative
- some text does not meet the minimum contrast ratio
- some information is repeated using assistive technologies
- error messages on forms are not always helpful in describing the reason for the error
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, email shortbreaks@essex.gov.uk or call 03330 139 889.
We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 20 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 shortbreaks@essex.gov.uk or call 03330 139 889.
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
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.
Compliance status
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.
Non-accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
The location of the keyboard is not visually obvious, so keyboard only users will not know where they are on a webpage. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.7 (Focus Visible).
We plan to add focus styles to all interactive elements by 1 March 2023
There are some parts of this website which has the heading or labels that lack proper description. This fails the success criterion 2.4.6
We plan to add meaningful descriptions to all headings and labels by 1 March 2023
Some webpages fail to properly designate the primary language, which would help applications like screen readers to understand and pronounce the content more accurately. This fails the success criterion 3.1.1
We plan to designate more appropriate primary language for all the webpages by 1 March 2023
There are some parts of this website that are not included in landmarks, so users of assistive technologies may find it difficult to navigate through the website. This fails success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and relationships)
We plan to add all landmarks by 1 March 2023
There are some links with the same text which lead to different destinations and some links with different text that lead to the same destination. Users may not be able to identify the right link. This fails success criterion 2.4.4 (Link purpose (In Context))
We plan to correct all link text by 1 1 March 2023 and ensure new links meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion.
The focus order of the page is not logical, users will miss important website information. This fails success criterion 2.4.3 (Focus Order).
We plan to improve the focus order of the page by 1 March 2023
You cannot zoom in to 400% without some content being lost or overthrowing, this could mean users miss out important content. This fails success criterion 1.4.10 (Reflow)
We plan to improve the responsiveness and reflow of the website by 1 March 2023
When text is resized to 200% some text is overlapped and is difficult to read. This fails success criterion 1.4.4 (Resize text)
We plan to improve the responsiveness and reflow of the website by 1 March 2023
Some images are graphics with text on and not alt text. This makes it difficult for users of assistive technologies to understand the purpose of the image. This fails success criterion 1.1.1 (Not-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.
Some items do not meet the minimum requirements for contrast making it difficult for users with visual impairments to see. This fails success criterion 1.4.3 (Contrast (Minimum))
We plan to improve the contrast ratios to meet the minimum requirements by 1 March 2023
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
PDFs and other documents
Most of our older PDFs and downloadable documents do not meet accessibility standards. However, we plan to ensure that moving forward all PDFs meet WCAG 2.1 Accessibility standards.
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.
For documents that are essential to providing our services, such as: -
- Information on how users can access our service
- Forms published in word documents and PDFs
we are developing a strategy to ensure that they are made accessible.
The strategy prioritizes PDFs that are opened/used regularly or have information that is a statutory requirement. We are also developing training and guidance to help all document creators develop accessible documents.
Our plans are to ensure that all essential PDFs meet accessibility regulations by 1 March 2023.
Live Video
We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 19 August 2022. It was last reviewed on 19 August 2022.
This website was last tested on 19 August 2022. The test was carried out by Essex County Council.