Accessibility
Accessibility statement – Gloucester City Council
This accessibility statement applies to the following website, the Gloucester City Council website (www.gloucester.gov.uk) and associated mini-sites. This website is run by Gloucester City Council.
This website should allow any user to:
- change colours, contrast levels and size of text
- modify the line height or spacing of text
- zoom in up to 200% without the text spilling off the page
- navigate most of the website using a keyboard
- navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
- listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of NVDA and VoiceOver)
We have also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.
We designed this website to meet the international standard Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 (WCAG) – level AA (the level the law requires).
Using this website
Accessible features
This website uses a widget that contains several accessible features that can be used by users with specific requirements. The widget is available on the top right-hand side of the header menu. These features let you change the colour contrast and the size of text.
Contrast and font size
Changing the contrast and font sizes of text can increase legibility for some users.
This website has two colour contrast settings, firstly, the “default colour scheme” which provides a suitable level of contrast for most users. However, if a user feels the colour contrast is too low in areas, the website also contains a “high contrast scheme".
You can change the contrast using the contrast buttons in the accessibility tools in the page header. For a user using voice recognition please say, “Switch to color theme” and “Switch to high contrast theme” respectively for the same result.
You can make text bigger using the font size buttons in the accessibility tools in the page header.
For a user using voice recognition please say, “Switch to normal font size”, “Switch to bigger font size” and “Switch to biggest font size” respectively for the same result. The user can also use the browser’s own zoom facility. The website will work up to 200%
Further information on accessibility options
The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) has a webpage with information on options that computers have which can make it easier for people with low or no vision to use them - RNIB Accessibility Options (opens in a new tab).
Accessible alternatives
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.
Please see “Make a request for accessible content” section for further details.
Make a request for accessible content
If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please fill out details in the Contact us form. You can also use the contact details below.
Contact details
Gloucester City Council manages the content on this website. When you contact us, tell us you are using this website.
Contact us by:
- Phone: 01452 396396
- Email: heretohelp@gloucester.gov.uk
We will consider your request and get back to you within 30 days.
Purpose of links
Gloucester City Council will 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 use external links for any content that has known limitations with assistive technologies OR navigates a user away from secure platforms.
In summary we define these as external links:
- documents that are not web pages, such as PDFs (see PDF issues)
- redirection away from secure platforms
- external websites that are not part of Gloucester City Council.
How accessible is this website?
Since this website was last reviewed we know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:
- third party CookieBot is not keyboard navigable
- a keyboard-only user cannot access the feedback form button
- link text in notifications does not meet colour contrast requirements
- not all links are underlined by default
- homepage carousel buttons are not labelled properly for screen reader user
- most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
- live video streams do not have captions
- the main navigation menu is not marked up as a list
- images in the data subject request form have no text alternative
Feedback and contact information
We are always looking for ways to improve the 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 use our contact details.
Enforcement procedure
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) (opens in new tab) 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)(opens in new tab)
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
We are committed to making our 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 2.2 (WCAG) AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed in the following section, “Non-accessible content”.
Non-accessible content
If we find accessibility issues on this website, we will list all known issues in this section.
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
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 2.2:
Navigation menu
The main navigation menu is not marked up as a correct list, so screen readers may not read it properly. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships).
Data subject request form
Images in the data subject request form have no text alternative. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content).
Links not underlined
Missing alt text on feedback form
Our last review found that the feedback form had missing alternative text on linked images. This fails WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 1.1.1 which is a Level A requirement.
All other images should have appropriate alternative text.
We have notified our website provider who is currently reviewing this issue. A fix should be applied shortly.
Contrast issues
Our last review found that some link text fails colour contrast regulations. We found this on notification items that have multicoloured backgrounds. This fails WCAG 2.2 Success criterion 1.4.3 (Contrast Minimum).
All content passes contrast regulations at the high contrast alternative.
We have notified our website provider who is currently reviewing this issue. A fix should be applied shortly.
Homepage carousel issues
Our last review found that the carousel has buttons that are inaccessible to a screen-reader user. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion
We have notified our website provider who is currently reviewing this issue. A fix should be applied shortly.
Feedback link cannot be reached by keyboard
Our last review found that the feedback link is not focusable for a keyboard user. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion
We have notified our website provider who is currently reviewing this issue. A fix should be applied shortly.
PDF issues
Our last review found that some PDF documents do not have an acceptable page title. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion.
We are reviewing our most common PDF documents to see if we can adapt them to accessible HTML.
Cookie banner issues
Our last review found that the CookieBot widget we use to conform to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is inaccessible for some screen reader users. Keyboard navigation of the widget does not work. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion.
We are reviewing the widget with our website provider to see if a solution can be found.
Disproportionate burden
We do not consider any of these issues a disproportionate burden.
Content that is not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
Web content that is not subject to the standards referenced in this policy statement is as follows:
- content that is archived
- content on intranets and extranets published before 23 September 2019
- non-HTML documentation (PDFs, Microsoft Office files) that were published before 23 September 2018
- live audio and video
- pre-recorded audio and video published before 23 September 2020
- online maps and mapping services
- third party content that is not under direct control of Gloucester or main website provider – google translate, social media links
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 1 July 2020. We will review this statement on or before September of every year. This statement was last reviewed on 28 October 2026.
This website was last tested on 30 and 31 July 2024. The test was carried out by local disabled people who use assistive technology, in sessions arranged by DAISI. The results were reported to us on 5 August 2024.
We tested 5 pages: Bins and recycling, Council Tax, Fly-tipping, Housing and Planning. Testers also tried the online tools, forms and PDF documents linked from those pages. They tested the pages with the JAWS, NVDA and SuperNova screen readers, an Apple iOS device and electronic magnification.
We used the results of these tests to prepare this statement.