Accessibility statement

This statement applies to content published on:

• www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk
• directory.buckinghamshire.gov.uk
• jobs.buckinghamshire.gov.uk

Other websites managed by Buckinghamshire Council will have their own separate accessibility statements.

As a minimum, you should be able to:

• zoom in up to 300% without problems
• navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
• operate most of the website using a screen reader

We’ve also tried to make the website text as simple as possible to understand.

For advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability, visit AbilityNet.

Specific issues relating to our other core websites can be found on their individual accessibility statements:

• www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk accessibility statement
• www.buckscc.gov.uk accessibility statement
• www.chiltern.gov.uk accessibility statement
• www.southbucks.gov.uk accessibility statement
• www.wycombe.gov.uk accessibility statement

www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk is partially compliant with WCAG 2.1 AA standards. However, we are constantly working to improve both our compliance and the experience of our users.

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

• Some online maps and mapping services cannot be easily navigated
• Some pages and documents are not clearly written or structured
• Some online tools may be difficult to use for assistive technologies
• Some videos do not have captions
• Some content such as images do not have good text alternatives

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille email [email protected].

We will consider your request and get back to you within 20 working days.

If you can't hear or speak on the phone we provide a text relay service: 18001 01296 395000

Or you can contact us.

We are 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: [email protected].

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 contact us with a complaint and you’re not happy with our response contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Buckinghamshire 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 following issues:

Parts of the website link to legacy county and district council websites. Some of these websites are not fully accessible.

1. Headings are not structured
   Some headings are not always properly structured. This may be confusing for people with screen readers. This Fails WCAG 2.1 Technique H42: Using h1-h6 to identify headings.
   
2. Visible label and accessible name do not match
   The ‘next page’ link on some pages contains a label which differs from the accessible title. This may cause confusion for assistive technology users when navigating the website. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.5.3 (Label in Name).
   
3. Element IDs are not unique
   Some navigation areas on tools and pages may have the same ID value. Users may find it difficult to distinguish the difference between those elements. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.1 (Parsing).
   
4. Invalid state or property
   On some pages an ARIA state or property hay have an invalid value. Users of assistive technologies may find this difficult to follow. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).
   
5. Empty headings
   Some header tags have been used on pages without any text. This may cause confusion for screen readers when trying to navigate a page. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (info and Relationships).
   
6. Form field is not labelled
   Radial button fields on some forms use unclear which may make it harder for assistive technology to understand what they are for. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.3.2 (Labels or Instructions).
   
7. Unhelpful image descriptions
   Images on some pages do not always have suitable image descriptions. Users of assistive technologies may not have access to information conveyed in images. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content).
   
8. Missing captions on videos
   Some videos do not have captions which can make them difficult to understand. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.2 (Captions).
   
9. Inaccessible documents
   Many documents are in less accessible formats, for example PDF. Non-HTML documents published on or after 23 September 2018 must have an accessible format.

1. Text not included in an ARIA landmark
   On the site's homepage some perceivable text content (text that can be perceived by users of assistive technology) is not included in an ARIA landmark. This could make it more difficult to navigate to for some users. This fails the WCAG 2.1 WAI-ARIA authoring best practices.
   
2. Hidden element has focusable content.
   Some elements on the page have been removed from the reading order, but not from the focus order, which could result in a confusing experience for screen-reader users. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).

Not applicable.

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.

Any new PDFs or other documents we publish will meet accessibility standards. Where we are unable to publish accessible documents we will provide alternative methods to access this information.

We plan to fix any remaining issues with documents or replace them with accessible HTML pages as we migrate content over to our new website.

Where we choose to feature third party content or functionality on our website, we are responsible for ensuring it meets accessibility standards. However, we are not responsible for the accessibility of third party platforms or content that is neither funded nor developed by us, or under our control. This includes:

• third party websites that we link to from this website and any of our other digital channels
• social media platforms
• data we supply to national databases
• third party content we are legally required to publish but is not in the control of Buckinghamshire Council

We monitor accessibility using automated checks via Siteimprove and manual checks. We also test this website regularly with real users.

This website has also been tested by the Shaw Trust. We will use this information to develop an accessibility roadmap that will show how and when we plan to make improvements on this website.

As part of the reorganisation of local government for Buckinghamshire, the county and district councils have been replaced by Buckinghamshire Council as of 1 April 2020.

Content currently hosted on the legacy council websites will be gradually transferred over to the new Buckinghamshire Council website where it will be republished as fully accessible content. Once this is complete, the current area websites for the district councils and county council will be decommissioned.

This is a gradual process and will take place over the next couple of years. In the meantime, we plan to improve the accessibility of our existing content alongside the migration of content to the new website. Furthermore, all new content published will be fully accessible.

We have begun hiring the team that will be carrying forward this content migration and hope to see significant improvements in the near future.

This statement was prepared on 19 September 2019. It was last reviewed on 10 September 2021.