This website is run by Essex County 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 has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
• The location of the keyboard is not visually obvious on some links
• The interactive maps are not accessible
• There is no skip link to skip repeated content
• The cookie banner cannot be dismissed with some assistive technologies
• You cannot zoom in to 400% without some elements obscuring some page content
• When increasing the font-size of the page some of the navigation and some links are obscured
• The contrast for the sub-navigation on landing pages has low contrast
• Some graphics have low contrast making it difficult for some users to view
• There are some graphics with text with no suitable alternatives
• Some images have no alt text
• Not all content is included in landmarks making it difficult for users of assistive technologies to navigate between sections on the page
• Headings are used incorrectly and could confuse users as to the pages purpose
• Tables are used but no implemented correctly. Some tables are images meaning assistive technologies cannot read the content
• Some links use ambiguous text, and you cannot tell where the link takes you
• Some interactive elements that use an accordion technique meaning they are expandable do not give you any information if they can be expanded or if they are currently expanded
• email ECC.Equalities@essex.gov.uk
• We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 20 days.
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:
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).
Essex County 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.
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations - The location of the keyboard is not always visually obvious. This makes it difficult to navigate and interact with the website. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.7 (Focus Visible) - We plan to ensure all interactive elements have visually obvious by 1st June 2021
There is no mechanism to skip past repeated content. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.1 (Bypass blocks) -We plan to add skip links to all repeated content by 1st June 2021
There are instances where the visible label does not match the accessible name making it difficult for users of assistive technologies to interact with certain elements. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion (Label in name) -We plan to make the accessible name identical to the visible label by 1st June 2021
When zooming in to 400% the cookie banner overlaps most of the page and is fixed meaning you cannot use the webpage unless you agree with cookies. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion (Reflow) -We plan to ensure all elements reflow so that there are no negative effects on the webpage by 1st June 2021
When increasing text size to 200% some elements overflow their parent elements and make them difficult to read. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.4 (Resize Text) -We plan to ensure that all text can be read after being resized by 1st June 2021.
Some items do not meet the minimum requirements for contrast making it difficult for users with visual impairments to see. This fails success criterion 1.4.3 (Contrast (Minimum)) - We plan to improve the contrast ratios to meet the minimum requirements by 1st June 2021
Some graphics do not meet the minimum contrast requirements making it difficult for users with visual impairment to see. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.11 (Non-text contrast) - We plan to ensure all graphics mee the minimum contrast requirements by 1st June 2021
Some graphics include text making with no suitable alternative making it difficult for some users to understand their purpose. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.5 (Images of text) - We plan to ensure all graphics are free from text by 1st June 2021
Some images have no suitable alternative making it impossible for some users to understand the purpose of the image. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text content) - We plan to add accurate alternatives to all images by 1st June 2021
Some content is not included in landmarks and some landmarks do not exist making it difficult for users of assistive technologies to navigate. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) - We plan to add the correct landmarks to all content by 1st June 2021.
The heading structure of the page is confusing as there are empty heading tags and skipped heading levels. This can confuse users to the purpose of the page This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels) - We plan to ensure headings are all used correctly by 1st June 2021
Some links use ambiguous text making it difficult to understand the destination of the link. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.4 (Link purpose (in context)) - We plan to ensure all links are clear of their destination by 1st June 2021
Some interactive elements have no labels or controls to understand how they should be used or if they are currently in use. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion (Name, Role, Value) - We plan to ensure all interactive elements are marked up with the correct controls by 1st June 2021
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations.
PDFs and other documents. Most of our older PDFs and downloadable documents do not meet accessibility standards. However, we plan to ensure that moving forward all PDFs meet WCAG 2.1 Accessibility standards.
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 documents that are essential to providing our services, such as: -
• Information on how users can access our service
• Forms published in word documents and PDFs
We are developing a strategy to ensure that they are made accessible.The strategy prioritizes PDFs that are opened/used regularly or have information that is a statutory requirement. We are also developing training and guidance to help all document creators develop accessible documents. Our plans are to ensure that all essential PDFs meet accessibility regulations by 1st June 2021.
Live Video
We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.
This statement was prepared on 22/09/2020. It was last reviewed on 23/09/2020. This website was last tested on 15/09/2020. The test was carried out by Essex County Council.