This accessibility statement applies to dudley.gov.uk and sub-domains as specified later.
This website is run by Dudley Metropolitan Borough 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 (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)
We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.
AbilityNet's - My Computer My Way 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 promotional images include text
- Most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
- Live video streams of Council meetings do not have captions
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:
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, please contact Corporate Web Services using the website feedback form.
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).
Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person
Within Dudley Council Plus we provide a text relay service for people who are D/deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment.
Dudley Council Plus and key contact offices have audio induction loops. If you contact us before your visit we have a British Sign Language (BSL) service that can provide an interpreter.
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
Dudley Metropolitan Borough 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 on www.dudley.gov.uk.
For specific non-compliance on sub-domains, please follow the links at the end of this section.
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
A - 1.3.1 Info and relationships
- Slider promotion page feature
Feature uses aria-hidden attribute. Hidden sliders can still be accessed using the next and previous links on each slider.
AA - 1.4.13 Content on hover or focus
- Site drop down highlight navigation
Focus on site drop down can only be removed using mouse. Navigation only available on desktop. Site drop down navigation is due to be rewritten to address keyboard access issues.
A - 2.1.1 Keyboard
- Site drop down highlight navigation
Child page options on site drop down can only be accessed using mouse. Site drop down highlight navigation is due to be rewritten to address keyboard access issues. - News listing
Category and month filter options not accessible to keyboard. News content due to be replaced by a new 3rd party application.
A – 4.1.1 Parsing
- Council service icons on main four pages
Issue with a small number of svg icons. Images due to be replaced.
A – 4.1.2 Name, role, value
- Content management system (CMS) form
Date field within form. CMS form field code cannot be amended to include relevant label in this version. - Slider promotion page feature
Feature uses aria-hidden attribute. Hidden sliders can still be accessed using the next and previous links on each slider. - News listing
Category and month filter options are not identified to users of assistive technology. News content due to be replaced by a new 3rd party application. - Tab page feature
For assistive technologies, it is not clear when selecting a new tab that the content it holds changes. The tab feature is being withdrawn across the site as part of a content review.
Office documentation
Existing office documentation on the site is being corrected, replaced or withdrawn as part of a content review.
Disproportionate burden
Not applicable
Content that's not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
- The regulations do not require us to fix office documentation published before 23rd September 2018 if they are not essential. Existing office documentation across the site is being corrected, replaced or withdrawn as part of a content review irrelevant of the publish date.
- We do not plan to add captions to live videos.
Sub-domains or satellite sites specific non-compliance details
What we're doing to improve accessibility
The www.dudley.gov.uk site is monitored for accessibility by two automated tools;
- SiteImprove - a subscription service that also includes analytics, quality assurance for all pages. SiteImprove provides three levels of accessibility warnings based on the WCAG 2.1 Criterions are divided into errors, warnings and reviews.
- SilkTide - as part of a members agreement with the Society for Innovation, Technology and Modernisation (SOCITM), SilkTide provides a check all UK Local Authorities. Each month SilkTide analyses the first 125 random identified pages.
These tools are regularly monitored and issues addressed when identified. We also use manual checking tools like Axe DevTools, Accessibility Insights for the Web, Colour Contrast Analyser and SilkTide's Disability Simulator for checking individual pages.
Additionally, service page content is moderated by a technical team before they are made live in order to provide a manual check to catch any user rather than system issues.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 14th September 2020. It was last reviewed on 26th August 2022.