Accessibility statement

This accessibility statement applies to www.sandwell.gov.uk.It does not apply to content on subdomains (for example, my.sandwell.gov.uk).

This website is run by Sandwell 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 problems
  • navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
  • navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
  • use most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

Go to the accessibility settings page.

How accessible this website is

Parts of this website are not fully accessible. For example:

  • images contain text which you may not be able to read
  • links don't make sense on their own
  • PDF documents aren’t fully accessible to screen readers
  • videos don’t have captions or audio description
  • interactive tools are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard

Feedback and contact information

If you need information in a different format contact us and tell us:

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

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. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact us.

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

Sandwell 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

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

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 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content). We are working on a new website that will fix these issues. When we publish new content we’ll make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards.

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 success criterion 1.4.5 (Images of Text). We are working on a new website that will fix these issues. When we publish new content we’ll make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards.

Links
On some pages the same link text is used for different link destinations. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context). We are working on a new website that will fix these issues. When we publish new pages we’ll make sure link text meets accessibility standards.

On some pages the purpose of each link can't be determined from the link text alone. This doesn't meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context). We are working on a new website that will fix these issues. When we publish new pages we’ll make sure link text meets accessibility standards.

Tables 
On some pages tables do not have a description set using the caption element. This doesn't meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships. We are working on a new website that will fix these issues. When we publish new tables we’ll make sure they meet accessibility standards.

PDFs and other documents
Some of our PDFs and other documents are not formatted so they’re accessible to a screen reader. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, role value). Any new documents we publish should meet accessibility standards where they are required for essential services or users who are likely to have disabilities or impairments. 

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 2.1 success criterion 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum). We are working on a new website that will fix these issues.

Language
On some pages the language has not been set in a way that can be understood by a screen reader. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.1.1 (Language of Page). We are working on a new website that will fix these issues.

Navigation
On some pages the tabbing order is not logical when navigating using a keyboard. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.3 Focus Order. We are working on a new website that will fix these issues. 

HTML
On some pages HTML is used to format content rather than CSS. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 Information and Relationships. We are working on a new website that will fix these issues. 

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We are in discussion with our site provider to produce a new accessible website that will be available soon.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 18 August 2020. It was last reviewed on 28 August 2020. This website was last tested on 18 August 2020. The test was carried out by Jadu.