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Accessibility

This accessibility statement applies to www.swansea.gov.uk which is run by Swansea 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 per cent 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.

We've designed this website with features that make it easier to use by everyone, including those with visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, or neurological disabilities. We aim to reach the level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. These are the international standard for accessible websites and content.

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

  
How accessible is this website?

We know some parts of this website aren't fully accessible, for example:

  • many older PDF documents aren't fully accessible to screen reader software
  • some pages eg the rights of way map have a map display which screen reader users and keyboard users can find difficult to use
  • some pages show a Google map which screen reader users and keyboard users can find difficult to use

 
Feedback and contact information

We're always looking to improve the accessibility of this website.

If you have an accessibility query including:

  • if you are experiencing issues with accessing information or using the website
  • if you find an accessibility problem not listed on this statement
  • or if you have positive feedback on the accessibility considerations made

please contact the Web Team:
Email: webmaster@swansea.gov.uk 
Telephone: 01792 636910

Alternative formats

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:
Email: webmaster@swansea.gov.uk 
Telephone: 01792 636910

We'll consider your request and get back to you within 5 working days. If you cannot view the map on our 'contact us in person' page, please call or email us for directions.

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

The contact centre in Civic Centre has an audio induction loop. Find out how to contact us on www.swansea.gov.uk/contactus 

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

Swansea 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 with regulations

  • The Facebook video player is used to embed archived live video streams. The Facebook video player is partially conformant. Player controls are well labelled. There are some unlabelled items within the player that appear in the focus order. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2. This will be amended by 1 May 2022.
  • Some iframes on the site do not have a descriptive title for assistive technology. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2. These iframes will be amended by 1 May 2022.
  • A small number of pages skip heading levels eg from H1 to H3. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.6. These pages will be amended by 1 May 2022.
  • Some of our PDF documents published before 23 September 2018 are essential to providing our services and do not meet the accessibility standards for various reasons. We are in the process of identifying these and we have already started converting the highest priority PDFs in Social Care sections to accessible web pages. Conversion to accessible pages for the priority content will be complete by 1 May 2023. 
  • Some of our PDF documents published after 23 September 2018 are essential to providing our services and do not meet the accessibility standards for various reasons. We are in the process of identifying these and we will convert these to accessible web pages by 1 May 2023.

 

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

PDFs and other documents

Most of our older PDFs and Word documents do not meet accessibility standards - for example, they may not be structured so they're accessible to a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (name, role value).
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 example newsletters. 

Many of our policy documents are not written in plain English / Welsh. These types of documents are exempt from the regulations as they are not 'needed for active administrative processes relating to the tasks performed', so we do not currently have any plans to make them accessible.

Live video

Live video streams do not have captions. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.4 (captions - live).
We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.

Pre-recorded videos published before 23 September 2020

Most of our pre-recorded videos published before 23 September 2020 do not include captions. This doesn't meet WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.2.2 Captions (Pre-recorded). We may not add captions to these videos because pre-recorded video published before 23 September 2020 is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.
Some pre-recorded videos published before 23 September 2020 may require, but don't include, audio description. This doesn't meet WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.2.5 Audio Description (Pre-recorded). We will not add audio description to these videos because pre-recorded video published before 23 September 2020 is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.
Any pre-recorded video content we have published after 23 September 2020 now meet accessibility standards.

How we tested this website

This was a self-assessment done by Swansea Council's Web Team using browser extension tools such as axe and Silktide and informed by automated reports produced by Silktide and made available through SOCITM.

Different combinations of devices and browsers are regularly used in our website testing.

What we're doing to improve accessibility

We're doing our best to try fix the issues outlined above. We monitor the accessibility compliance of our site and improving our site is part of the Web Team's daily work.

  • Appropriate staff have received accessibility training and are working with our service areas to raise awareness of the need to meet the accessibility regulations.
  • We have controls in place to make sure that all new content published on the website complies with the accessibility regulations.
  • We publish content on our staff intranet about accessibility and how to achieve accessibility online or offline.

This statement was prepared on 18 August 2021 and last reviewed on 28 March 2022. It was last updated on 29 March 2022.
 
If you have any ideas or suggestions to help improve the site then please contact the Web Team.

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