COVID-19
Coronavirus: Updates and advice
The site usage is optimised for Chrome, Edge and Firefox
Coronavirus: Updates and advice
The site usage is optimised for Chrome, Edge and Firefox
Dorset Council is committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of technology or ability.
This website should allow any user to:
We have also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.
This website is designed to be compliant with the international standard Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG) – Level AA.
This website uses a widget that contains several accessible features for users with specific requirements. The widget is available on the top right-hand side of the header menu.
These features include:
Changing the contrast and font sizes of text can increase legibility for some users.
This website has two colour contrast settings:
You can change the contrast settings by clicking on the icons at the top right of screen. If you are using voice recognition please say “switch to default colour scheme” or “switch to high contrast scheme”.
To increase the font size, click on the icons at the top right of the screen. For a user using voice recognition please say “switch to normal font size”, “switch to big font size” or “switch to biggest font size”. You can also use the browser’s own zoom facility. This website will work up to 200%.
The Search Directory allows users to filter results using category facets. There are 3 categories that you can search against:
These will open a drop-down of a list of checkboxes. For keyboard-only users, these can be navigated by tabbing down the list of checkboxes and selecting options by pressing the SPACEBAR key.
The 'I am looking for' category is the only category to have multiple lists of checkboxes. The different filter groups are on the left-hand side of the screen, and the checkboxes are on the right-hand side of the screen. By default, the focus is applied to the right-hand screen checkboxes. The TAB key can navigate these options.
When navigating the different filter groups on the left-hand side, a keyboard user must use the UP and DOWN arrow keys. If you are using a screen-reader, switch your screen-reader to BROWSE mode from Forms Focus Mode to be able to read the different filter groups.
RNIB has a page on accessibility options with information on options that computers have which can make it easier for people with low or no vision to use them.
Efforts have been made to create accessible alternatives for content that does not meet standards where possible.
Where appropriate we may be able to deliver content to users in accordance with their needs.
If you need information on this website in a different format, for example, an accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or Braille, please contact us.
We use links to navigate to content on the website. External links will open in a new window.
Where possible, the action of an external link will be described by extra description within the link text, so all users can understand the link’s purpose. However, in certain areas of the website, adding this extra description will become a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations.
We have provided the following definition for external links:
External links will be used for any content that has known limitations with assistive technologies or navigates a user away from secure platforms. In summary, this means the following items are considered external links:
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:
We are always looking for ways to improve our website. If you find any problems that are not listed within this statement, or believe we are not meeting the requirements of the accessibility regulations please contact us.
Make a comment, compliment or complaint.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the accessibility regulations. If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Services (EASS).
We are 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 2.1 (WCAG) AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.
During our last review of this website it has come to our attention that there are areas of the website that fail to meet WCAG 2.1:
Some link text doesn’t make sense when read on its own (for example, ‘click here’).
We plan to fix the existing links by September 2020. When we publish new content, we’ll make sure link text meets accessibility standards.
Many of our older PDFs and Word documents do not meet accessibility standards - for example, they may not be marked up to be accessible for a screen reader.
Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs with Easy Read Information on how users can access our services. By September 2020, we plan to either fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages.
The accessibility regulations don’t require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services.
Live video streams have captions auto added by YouTube. Not all videos are currently checked for the accuracy of their captioning.
There are no issues that are considered a disproportionate burden.
Web content that is not subject to the standards referenced in this policy statement is as follows:
This statement was prepared on 26 June 2020. We will review this policy every year on or before the 22 September.