Accessibility Statement for Pontypool Community Council

Updated: December 2023

This website is run by Pontypool Community Council. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. On our website 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 (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

We have also used clear, simple language which is easy to understand.

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

General

Pontypool Community Council strives to ensure that its services are accessible to people with disabilities. Pontypool Community Council has invested a significant amount of resources to help ensure that its website is made easier to use and more accessible for people with disabilities, with the strong belief that every person has the right to live with dignity, equality, comfort and independence.

Accessibility

Pontypool Community Council makes available the UserWay Website Accessibility Widget that is powered by a dedicated accessibility server. The software allows Pontypool Community Council to improve its compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1).

Enabling the Accessibility Menu

The Pontypool Community Council accessibility menu can be enabled by clicking the accessibility menu icon that appears on the corner of the page. After triggering the accessibility menu, please wait a moment for the accessibility menu to load in its entirety.

Disclaimer

Pontypool Community Council continues its efforts to constantly improve the accessibility of its site and services in the belief that it is our collective moral obligation to allow seamless, accessible and unhindered use also for those of us with disabilities.

Despite our efforts to make all pages and content on Pontypool Community Council fully accessible, some content may not have yet been fully adapted to the strictest accessibility standards. This may be a result of not having found or identified the most appropriate technological solution.

Here For You

If you are experiencing difficulty with any content on Pontypool Community Council or require assistance with any part of our site, please contact us during normal business hours and we will be happy to assist.

What to do if you can’t access parts of this website

If you need information on this website in a different format please contact at: Email: pontypool@pontypoolcc.gov.uk or Call: 01495 365951.

We will consider your request and get back to you in 15 working days.

If you are unable to view the map on our contact us page, please call or email us for directions.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that are not listed on this page or think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact the Clerk.

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

Pontypool Community 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 currently partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 (link to https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/) 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

Some images do not have a text alternative, so the information in them is not available to people using a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content).

We plan to add text alternatives for all images by April 2024. When we publish new content we will make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards.

Disproportionate burden

There are currently no distinct issues the website fails on. These would fall in the disproportionate burden as the cost of addressing the issues on the existing site would not be economically sound.

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

PDFs and other documents

Many of our older PDFs and Word documents do not meet accessibility standards – for example, they may not be structured so they are accessible to a screen reader.

This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (name, role value). 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. Accessible versions are available from the Clerk.

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. For example, we do not plan to fix outdated information or historical information such as details of past Chairs.

If new PDFs or Word documents we publish do not meet accessibility standards, accessible versions may be obtained from the Clerk.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on Wednesday, 1 November 2023. It was last reviewed on Friday, December 1 2023.