Accessibility

This accessibility statement applies to https://go.walsall.gov.uk. As well as this statement we have a number of internal and external websites with their own accessibility statements. You can view a list of our other websites.

This website is run by Walsall 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 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 are working towards making the website text as simple as possible to understand.

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:

• page functionality being available to keyboard users, who may have cognitive impairment's.
• keyboard focus may be hidden or not be clearly visible on the Chatbot
• the tabbing order is not always logical
• many documents are in PDF format and are not fully accessible to screen reader software
• some of the keyboard focus indicators may not have suitable contrast
• some content does not have sufficient colour contrast
• buttons and interactive elements lack sufficient contrast against backgrounds.
• some links have been written out of context
• some section headings are missing or are not descriptive, making it hard to understand their purpose
• some images contain text that is not described
• videos on this website do not have a descriptive transcript or an audio description
• some images do not have image descriptions

Feedback and contact information

Tell us if you need information on this website in a different format. In your message, include:

• the web address (URL) of the content
• your name and email address
• the format you need (for example, BSL, large print, accessible PDF, audio recording, easy read or braille)

We’ll consider your request and get back to you as soon as possible.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

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

We are working on our content and will continue to make this more readable. All of our pages let you provide feedback to us and we encourage you to tell us what you think. 

If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, let us know via:

• feedback buttons on pages
• feedback button on a BETA banner at the top of the page to report how you find the look and feel and navigation of our pages
• email: webproject@walsall.gov.uk
• phone: +44 1922 650000
• visitor address: Walsall Council, The Civic Centre, Walsall, WS1 1TP

We will respond to feedback within 5 working days.

Enforcement procedure

If you contact us with a complaint and you’re not happy with how we respond, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

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’).

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Walsall 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

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) defines requirements for designers and developers to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. It defines three levels of conformance: Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA. 

Walsall Council website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 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

PDFs and non-HTML documents

Some of our PDFs and other documents are not formatted so they’re accessible to a screen reader. Some errors may include, missing:

1. Non-text content. All non-text content presented to the user should have a text alternative that serves the equivalent purpose. If these are missing this doesn’t meet WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 Non-text content. We plan to amend this by November 2025.
2. Colour contrast. Some parts of PDF’s do not have sufficient contrast between the text and background colours. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.3 Contrast minimum. We plan to amend this by November 2025.
3. Page titles. PDF documents should have titles that describe the topic or purpose of the page. If these are missing this doesn't meet WCAG success criterion 2.4.2 Page titled. We plan to amend this by November 2025.
4. Headings and labels. Headings and labels describe topic or purpose. If these are missing this doesn't meet WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.6 Headings and labels. We plan to amend this by November 2025.
5. Name, role, value. For all user interface components, some of which are essential to providing our services (for example, forms published as Word documents). If these are missing this doesn’t meet WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1.2 Name, role, value. We plan to amend this by November 2025.

Images

Some images don’t have a text alternative (alt text), so the information in them isn’t available to people using a screen reader. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 Non-text content. We plan to amend this by April 2025.

Some images contain text, so people with dyslexia or using a screen reader will not be able to read the information. This doesn't meet WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.5 Images of text. We plan to amend this by April 2025.

Broken links

On some pages the same link text is used for different link destinations. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.4 Link purpose (In context). We plan to amend this by April 2025.

Tables

On some pages tables do not have a description set using the caption element. This doesn't meet WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and relationships. We plan to amend this by April 2025.

Contrast

On some pages there isn't sufficient contrast between the colour of the text and the background, making it hard to read the information. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum). We plan to amend this by April 2025.

Visual information to identify user interface components, such as keyboard focus, does not always have a sufficient contrast ratio. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.11  Non text contrast We plan to amend this by April 2025.

Navigation

On some pages the tabbing order is not logical when navigating using a keyboard. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.3 Focus order. We plan to amend this by April 2025.

Not all page functionality is available to Keyboard only users, This may effect users who are blind or have low vision. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.1.1 Keyboard. We plan to amend the keyboard functionality by April 2025. 

Some elements on the page, the keyboard focus  was unclear. This would affect users with low vision and cognitive impairments. This doesn't meet WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.7 Focus Visible. We plan to amend keyboard focus by April 2025. 

Some page Headings do not describe the topic or purpose of the Heading. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.6 Headings and Labels. We plan to amend the headings by April 2025. 

Videos

Some videos do not have synchronised captions or audio descriptions. This may affect users with visual or cognitive impairments. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded) , 1.2.3 Audio description or media alternative (Prerecorded) , 1.2.5 Audio description (Prerecorded). We plan to add captions and descriptions for all videos by April 2025. 

Chat bot

Some parts of the Chatbot do not have sufficient contrast between the text and background colours. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum). 

Some content does not reflow when viewed at high browser magnification, which means people with visual impairments may be unable to access some content. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.10 Reflow. 

There are instances where focus order includes non-interactive elements. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.3 Focus order.

Some interactive elements have no permanent visual label. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions.

Third party content

Some of our content is provided by Third parties such as advertisements and livestreams. We are working with our suppliers to make this content more accessible. 

Advertisements

1. Non text content. In some advertisements, all non-text content should have a text alternative that serves an equivalent purpose. If these are missing, it fails WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 1.1.1: Non-text content.
2. Images of text. Some images contain text, making the information inaccessible to people with dyslexia or those using screen readers. This fails WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 1.4.5: Images of text.
3. Links. In some advertisements, the purpose of certain links cannot be determined from the link text alone, which fails WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 2.4.4: Link purpose (In context)
4. Keyboard focus. In some parts of the advertisements, it is unclear where the keyboard focus is, which fails WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 2.4.7: Focus visible.

Live streams

1. Keyboard navigation: Some parts of the live streams are not accessible to keyboard users, which may affect users who are blind or have low vision. This fails WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 2.1.1, Keyboard accessibility.
2. Name, role, and value: Some live stream frames do not have accessible names, which may hinder assistive technology users. This fails WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 4.1.2, Name, role, and value.

Compatibility with browsers and assistive technology

For optimal performance and experience, we recommend you use the latest version of a modern browser. Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 support is deprecated. We recommend that you use Microsoft Edge.

Walsall Council website is not compatible with:

• browsers older than Internet Explorer 8

Technical specifications

Accessibility of Walsall Council Website relies on the following technologies to work with the particular combination of web browser and any assistive technologies or plugins installed on your computer:

• HTML
• WAI-ARIA
• CSS
• JavaScript

We rely upon these technologies for conformance to accessibility standards.

My account online applications

Online applications within my Walsall account are only accessible on the most recent versions of the following browsers:

• Microsoft Edge
• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox
• Apple Safari
• Internet Explorer (not recommended)

If you are using an android phone, please download Google Chrome which is widely available for free on app stores.

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

PDFs and other documents

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. 

Live video

We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations

What we are doing to improve accessibility

Our service areas are urgently fixing content which fails to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA.

We have recently undertaken a complete rewrite of our website to deliver a more inclusive online experience. The following is a list of planned activity and estimated delivery:

• all newly published PDFs will be accessible

Testing approach

We run annual tests on all our microsites and digital applications. We try to fix issues as they are found.

Annual testing

This website is tested annually for accessibility. This is done manually and our web team test the most used customer journeys through the website and a sample of the different types of page. We test using tools such as Wave and AXE.

Our tests include:

• general accessibility testing and colour contrast checking using WAVE
• human testing for usability
• mobile browser retesting
• Nitro Pro and PDF-Xchange editor to test and fix PDF documents

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 18 September 2020. It was last reviewed on 3 October 2024.

Last updated on 3 October 2024.