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Introduction

This accessibility statement applies to western-gateway.co.uk.

We have developed this website to ensure that it is usable by everybody, regardless of age or disability. Our site is developed to comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.2 Level AA and we keep the site under review to improve both its accessibility and usability.

This website is run by Western Gareway. We have built our website to be accessible with common assistive technologies and different ways of using websites. This means that you can:

  • Navigate the menus and all interactive functionality without a mouse and using assistive technology such as a screen reader.
  • Increase the font size or zoom in on content.
  • Navigate a page using headings throughout our written content.
  • Navigate our websites with assistive technology via embedded landmarks and ARIA functionality.

We’ve also tried to make the website text as simple as possible to understand, within the constraints of the subject matter.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

We do not provide built-in accessibility tools as we believe it is more important to support everyone’s personal device settings and assistive technologies.

How accessible this website is

Whilst we have endeavoured to ensure the accessibility of our site, there are some known limitations. These are documented below, along with suggested workarounds, and/or our long-term strategy for addressing these limitations.

The following are some potential problems that we are working to improve:

  • Embedded video and audio players can sometimes be difficult to use with assistive technology.
  • PDFs and documents are not always accessible.
  • We aim to provide captions and/or transcripts with all our videos but that might not be available for older videos.
  • We do not provide audio descriptions for videos but aim to provide visual content in alternative formats where possible.

If you encounter any content that you cannot access, then please contact us and we will endeavour to provide you with an accessible alternative.

We make use of third-party resources such as audio and video players to embed content in our website. Wherever possible we will ensure these are conformant.

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 older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
  • some pages include heading elements that are not in a sequentially descending order
  • screen readers may be able to browse and read outside modal windows.
  • NVDA screen readers may struggle to access faceted filter dropdowns on our News page

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Western Gateway 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

The website has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard.

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

 

Accessibility Features

The following feature have been incorporated into the design of this website to make it more accessible.

Keyboard features

  • Users can navigate interactive elements of the website using the tab key
  • Non-interactive elements are not reached using the tab key including those that are hidden or off screen
  • Users can move in reverse order using shift + tab key
  • Users can access interactive elements using the enter key.

Focus feature

  • Focus indicators are included on interactive elements including links, buttons, form controls, input fields, radio buttons and checkboxes
  • The focus indicator is visible and meets contrast requirements
  • The focus indicators move in a logical order from top to the bottom of the page.

Element interaction

  • Buttons can be clicked with Space
  • Buttons can be clicked with Enter
  • Links can be opened with Enter
  • Radio button navigation can be performed with arrow keys
  • Checkboxes can be checked with Space
  • Checkboxes can be unchecked with Space
  • Select can be opened with Enter key
  • Select can be opened with Down arrow key
  • Option navigation can be performed with up/down arrow keys
  • Choose option can be performed with Enter
  • Close option dropdown can be performed with Esc.

Display & Orientation

  • 200% zoom – no information or functionality loss
  • 300% zoom – no information or functionality loss and no horizontal scrolling
  • Landscape orientation on device works as expected
  • There’s no information or functionality loss when changing orientation.

Screen Readers JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver

  • 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)
  • Keyboard operability works as expected
  • Content order works as expected using down arrow key
  • Each interactive element has role, name (according to the site’s main language) and state
  • Visually hidden content is not read by a screen reader
  • Any information that appears dynamically on the screen is conveyed to the user. (e.g. “Thank you” message after submitting the form)
  • Meaningful images have an appropriate alt text in the site’s language
  • Decorative images have an empty alt text (so screen readers would ignore them).

Brand Colours

  • Check the contrast between each text element and its background
  • The contrast for “Regular Size Text” should be at least 4.5:1
  • The contrast for “Large Text” should be at least 3:1
  • Large text is defined as either greater than 24px or than 18.5px bold”
  • Not textual elements (e.g. icons / graphs / buttons) should have a contrast ratio of at least 3:1 to their background

Accessible Theme

This site uses a bespoke custom WordPress theme developed with accessibility ‘baked in to it’. This includes correct coding standards of html semantics used to build each custom component.

Non-accessible content

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Documents

Downloadable documents and PDFs may not be fully accessible. We are working to ensure those still in use are available in an accessible format and are moving away from using PDF format for future documents.

 

Disproportionate burden

We do not provide audio descriptions for videos as this would be a disproportionate burden to produce and not all video players support the additional audio description track. Where possible we provide visual content in accessible format alongside the video. (WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.2.5)

 

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

Audio and video

When videos are hosted on YouTube then automatic captions are available and we aim to improve these where possible. If you encounter a video without captions and need assistance accessing the content, then please get in contact and we will provide a transcript.

Documents

Downloadable documents and PDFs published before September 2018 may not be fully accessible. We are working to ensure those still in use are available in an accessible format and are moving away from using PDF format for future documents.

 

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 19th August 2024. It was last reviewed on that date.

This website was last tested on 19th August 2024. The test was carried out by Milk & Tweed and involved automated testing and manual testing of pages using Chrome and Windows 10 with NVDA an screen reader.

 

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 us and we will do our best to assist:

  • email
  • write to us at Western Gateway, South Gloucestershire Council,Badminton Road, Yate, Bristol, BS37 5AF

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any barriers not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact us via the Contact page.

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).

Further resources

While we’ve done our best to make the site accessible,  you might enhance your experience by adjusting your computer settings to better suit your needs. You can change things like colours, text size, or even have the site read aloud.

For assistance with customising your experience using accessibility features already on your computer or by installing additional assistive technologies, check out these helpful sites: