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Website Accessibility Statement

Accessibility statement for Hartlepool Council’s Website: Hartlepool Now 
 

This accessibility statement applies to Hartlepool Council’s Website called Hartlepool Now: www.hartlepoolnow.co.uk 
 

Our Commitment to Accessibility  

Hartlepool Council is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for everyone. We are continually improving the user experience and applying the relevant accessibility standards, including the upcoming Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2. 

This website is run by Hartlepool Council. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this app. For example, that means you should be able to: 

  • Find content in two or more ways. 
  • Control distracting flickering or movement. 
  • Navigate most of the website using just a keyboard. 
  • Access the content in a logical order even if styling is removed. 
  • Change the website's text size.  
  • Change the contrast / colours of the website 

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. 
 

How accessible this website is 

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

Third-party plugins (Google Maps, Google Recaptcha, Google Translate, YouTube embeds) which currently do not meet certain WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1.1 (Parsing) and/or 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value) and anticipated WCAG 2.2 criteria.  

We are actively seeking solutions and alternatives. 
 

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: 

Call: 01429 523652 

Email: [email protected]  

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 7 working days. 

If you cannot view the map on our ‘contact us’ page, call or email us for directions. 
 

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, contact us on the details above. 
 

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 

Hartlepool 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 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below. 
 

Non-accessible content 

  • 1.4.5 Images of Text - Some images on our website contain text that is not accessible to screen readers. We are working on replacing these images with accessible alternatives. 
  • 2.4.2 Page Titles - Some pages do not have descriptive titles, which can make navigation difficult for users with assistive technologies. 
  • 1.1.1 ALT Text - Some images lack alternative text, which is necessary for users who rely on screen readers to understand the content of the images. 
  • 2.1.1 Keyboard - There are issues with keyboard accessibility for certain components, making it difficult for users who rely on keyboard navigation.

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons. 
 

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations 
 

We have done everything within our power to make the website comply but some third-party plugins (Google Maps, Google Recaptcha, Google Translate, YouTube embeds) currently do not meet certain WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.1 (Parsing) and/or 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value) and anticipated WCAG 2.2 criteria. We are actively seeking solutions and alternatives. 

Additionally, our search functionality uses a library (typeahead.js) that creates an accessibility issue due to a hint input without an accessible name. This issue arises from an external library and is beyond our immediate control. We acknowledge this as a known limitation and are exploring solutions. 

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. 

Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards. 
 

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’re doing to improve accessibility  
 

We continuously monitor website and application accessibility trends and aim to resolve the third-party compliance issues as soon as possible. We are also committed to making all new website content and features accessible.  

We have recently conducted a full WCAG 2.2 accessibility audit, completed on 28th August 2024, to identify any additional issues; the problems identified from the audit will be actioned appropriately.  

If you would like to provide feedback about the accessibility of the website, then please contact us using our online form: https://www.hartlepoolnow.co.uk/enquiries/new 

Developments to the website in line with user feedback about accessibility will be evaluated in line with what is likely to make the largest impact to our users and the cost of achieving these objectives.  
 

Preparation of this accessibility statement  

This statement was prepared on 19th October 2021. It was last reviewed on 29th August 2024. 

The website's last accessibility test was conducted on 28th August 2024 against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard. The test was carried out by This is Focus Limited. As recommended by Gov.uk we used this approach to test a sample of key pages, actions and user journeys against the above checklist.