Accessibility statement

This website is run by City of Wolverhampton 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

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

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

How accessible this website is

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

City of Wolverhampton Council is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

• some of our websites do not meet the required colour contrast ratio of 4.5:1, as can be seen from our Accessibility Roadmap, addressing this is an immediate priority
• most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
• most older video files do not have captions
• with most web forms users cannot review their content before submission

This statement was prepared on March 13, 2019. It was last updated on September 21, 2020.

Disproportionate burden

Interactive tools and transactions

Some of our interactive forms and applications are built and hosted through third party software and ‘skinned’ to look like our website. A number of these do not meet the same accessibility standards.

We’ve assessed the cost of fixing the issues and we believe that doing so now would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. We will make another assessment when the supplier contract is up for renewal.

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:

Email: webmaster@wolverhampton.gov.uk

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).

How we tested this website

This website was last tested in February and early March 2020. The tests were carried out by accessibility specialists in the City of Wolverhampton Council web team. The team tested the most used customer journeys through the website and a sample of the different types of page. The testing followed the WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines and considered the needs of users with sight impairment, physical disabilities, hearing impairment and cognitive disabilities.

The tools used are listed below.

Screen readers: ReciteMe and VoiceOver
Evaluation tools: WAVE, Accessibility Insights for Web and Accessibility Inspector
Other tools: Browser zoom tool

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

Our accessibility roadmap shows how and when we plan to improve accessibility on this website:

Accessibility Roadmap

• Address colour contrast issues - October to November 2020
• Address form issues - October to November 2020
• Create accessible PDFs - Beginning October 2020 and throughout 2021
• Reduce number of PDFs - Ongoing
• Ensure accessible video files - November 2020
• Assess all third party software and applications ahead of contract renewal to ensure accessibility standards are met
• Annual accessibility audit - March 2021

What to do if you cannot access parts of this website

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:

Email: customer.services@wolverhampton.gov.uk

We’ll consider your request and get back to you within 7 business days.

Visiting us in person

Users who are deaf or hard of hearing who need access to any council service should contact us before visiting so we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter. We can also arrange this as a virtual meeting. Under normal operating times, there is a weekly drop-in session supported by Zebra Access, and we also have a text phone 07500 125590. Full details can be found here.

Find out how to contact us here.