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Accessibility Statement

Accessibility statement for West Lancs Homefinder

This accessibility statement applies to https://www.westlancshomefinder.co.uk/

This website is run by West Lancashire Borough 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 

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

  • You can select the Accessibility option to change the font size to large or extra-large without the text spilling off the screen.
  • You can also select a Text only option without images or the Graphical viewing option.
  • The website is more accessible in Mobile view.
  • We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:
  • Some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard
  • You cannot skip to the main content when using a screen reader
  • On some parts of the website users are not alerted to fresh content appearing
  • Some error messages appear underneath input fields.
  • On some forms screen readers is not notified of new content.
  • On some pages a screen reader user is autofocused on the first form element on the page, forcing the user to interact with the form without any context.
  • Not all elements on the website that can receive focus have visible focus styling.
  • Google translate is used on every page and inserts a H1 heading ‘Original Text’ into the page – we cannot amend this.

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:

We’ll consider your request and get back to you within 10 days.

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 the Housing Options Team:  

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).

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

We can provide alternative means of accessing services for those customers who need it, in any of the following ways:

 Hearing difficulties

  • You can contact the council via textphone on 01695 585029.
  • We can also accept type talk calls
  • Hearing loops available in all meeting rooms at 52 Derby Street. A portable hearing loop is available from Customer Services.  Hearing loop at the Customer Service Point, Skelmersdale
  • British Sign Language interpreters are available by appointment, on request - contact Customer Services on Tel: 01695 577177
  • Lip speakers are available by appointment - contact Customer Services  

Mobility difficulties

Access at 52 Derby Street, Ormskirk:  disabled parking bays, ground floor access with automatic doors, well lit rooms, hearing loops in all meeting rooms and a portable hearing loop in customer services, low level counters, seating available and a disabled toilet

Access at the Customer Service Point, Skelmersdale: disabled parking bays, access to car park and bus station on same level as Service Point, entrance door always open, wide doorways, low level counters, well lit room, hearing loop, seating available, and a disabled toilet, lift to other floors of the Concourse  

Visual difficulties  

We can provide most of our leaflets, publications, newsletters and other written information in the following formats upon request: clear print, large print and where available, Braille or audio tape/CD. Contact Customer Services on 01695 577177  

Language translation and interpreters

If you would like to speak to us through an interpreter, please contact Customer Services on 01695 577177

Most of our publications are available in other languages on request, please contact Customer Services on 01695 577177

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

West Lancashire Borough 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

We are working with our website provider and plan to have any accessibility non-compliance resolved by the first quarter of 2021. We will update this date when we know more.

1.1.1 Non-text Content Some Text alternatives need changing as they convey the same meaning as the image.

1.3.1 Info and Relationships On the social housing application headings are not in a hierarchal order and some radio buttons are not contained within a field set or have a legend. 

1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence the DOM order does not match the visual order. Users would also expect the dropdown for Property Search to be intractable straight after clicking on property search.

1.3.5 Identify Input Purpose Autocomplete not implemented on forms collecting personal information.

1.4.4 Resize text when page zoom is used to 200% the page then has two dimensional scroll and content is hidden off screen.

2.1.1 Keyboard on the Housing Options self-assessment:

Local connections as a keyboard only user and screen reader when trying to save my local connection it doesn’t do anything.

Required documents as a keyboard only user the button for “select one or more files to upload” receives no visual focus when I use my keyboard to navigate to the button.

2.1.1 Keyboard On the social housing application:

On the local connections form page as a screen reader user when trying to save local connections it doesn't do anything.

2.1.2 No Keyboard Trap On the Housing options self-assessment under 'Next steps' a popup appears after clicking 'See more' information about Private Rented and how it might be relevant to you. As a keyboard only and screen reader user there is no way to close the popup.

2.4.3 Focus Order Some pages autofocus out of sequence, for example, “Property search” in the header.

2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) Links on the page do not make sense when taken out of context.

2.4.5 Multiple Ways There is only one way to navigate to content. Inclusion of a Site Map would resolve this issue.

2.4.7 Focus Visible not all elements on the website that can be focused actually receive a visual indication that they are focused. 

3.2.1 On Focus Some pages refresh with error messages which aren’t announced to screen reader users as they interact with the page they are unaware of the issues, for example, on the forgotten password page after entering an incorrect login reference.

3.3.1 Error Identification Enter an incorrect login reference and then click “reset,” the page refreshes with error messages. When the page refreshes your mouse is auto focused on the login reference input field with the error message appearing underneath the input field.

The screen reader user is unaware of why the form didn’t submit successfully as the error message is not read out when focused on the input field. 

3.3.2 Labels or Instructions Help is positioned below or to the right of the input field, meaning the screen reader can only access this info after scrolling through forms.

3.3.3 Error Suggestion Errors are identified but the messaging does not provide a suggestion on how to enter correct information.

3.3.4 Error Prevention (Legal, Financial, and Data) it’s not possible to withdraw bid using screen reader / keyboard only. The final step is to submit without the opportunity to review, but the form is 20 pages so not practical. There is potential to add further explanatory text before submitting

4.1.1 Parsing Web page fails validation using w3 validator and there is duplicate ID use.

4.1.3 Status Messages where content is updated dynamically there should be a status message spoken by screen readers to alert to the new content. After successfully applying to reset password the page refreshes but the screen reader user is not made aware that the form has submitted correctly.

Disproportionate burden

We are currently reviewing the requirements to meet the accessibility non-compliance guidelines; we will update this section when we know more.

Navigation and accessing information

There's no way to skip the repeated content in the page header (for example, a skip to main content option). This doesn't meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.1 (bypass blocks).

It's not always possible to change the device orientation from horizontal to vertical without making it more difficult to view the content. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.4 (orientation).

It's not possible for users to change text size without some of the content overlapping. This doesn't meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.4 (resize text).

Interactive tools and transactions

Some of our interactive forms are difficult to navigate using a keyboard for the reasons above.

PDFs and other documents

We need to check our PDFs to see if they meet accessibility standards and will update this section of the accessibility statement once we have this information.

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 are working with our website provider to improve accessibility on our website.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 11th September 2020. It was last reviewed on 11th September 2020.