FFURFLENNI AR-LEIN / ONLINE FORMS

FFURFLENNI AR-LEIN: Ni fydd rhai ffurflenni ar-lein ar gael rhwng 5:00pm a 7:00pm ar y 19 Mawrth 2024, tra byddwn yn gwneud gwaith cynnal a chadw hanfodol.  Ymddiheurwn am unrhyw anghyfleustra y gall hyn ei achosi

ONLINE FORMS: Some of our online forms will be unavailable between 5:00pm and 7:00pm on the 19 March 2024, whilst we carry out essential maintenance. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Accessibility Statement for Caerphilly County Council Website

Using this website

This council's website Caerphilly.gov.uk has been developed for and is managed by Caerphilly County 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

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 or any accessibility requirements.

How accessible is this website

We know some parts of our website are not fully accessible:

  • Most of our PDFs aren't fully accessible to screen reader software
  • Some link text contains extraneous text or may not make sense out of context
  • Some adjacent links go to same URL
  • Some fields don't identify their purpose programmatically
  • Some links use the same text for different destinations
  • Some tables without headers
  • Some navigation not written as lists

What to do if you can’t access parts of this website

If you can't access something you need on this site, please tell us about it and we will get you what you need in another way:

Email: CRM@caerphilly.gov.uk 

To help us understand the problem as quickly as we can, please tell us:

  • the web address or title of the page where you found the problem
  • what the problem is
  • what computer and software you use

This is only for telling us about accessibility problems. If you'd like to contact us about something else, and you need a response, please use our contact page.

If you have made a complaint and you’re not happy with what we did about it, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website.

If you find any problems that aren’t listed on this page or think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, contact CRM@caerphilly.gov.uk

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

If you have a speech impairment, are Deaf or have a hearing impairment you can contact us by Next Generation Text (also known as Text Relay and TypeTalk). Dial 18001 before the full telephone number.

Our offices have audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter or someone to translate a language other than English or Welsh.

Documents, bills, webpages and other resources are available in other languages and formats on request. We will also discuss with the customer when arranging to find the best solution.

Technical information about Caerphilly.gov.uk’s accessibility

Caerphilly County 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.

Caerphilly.gov.uk is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

How we tested caerphilly.gov.uk

Caerphilly.gov.uk was last tested on 9 November 2023. The test was carried out by Silktide. A sample of 125 pages of the website were tested.

We have scored 96/100 for accessibility, 96.3% is compliant for level A WCAG 2.2 checks, 95.9% is compliant for level AA WCAG 2.2 checks and 95.6% is compliant for level AAA WCAG 2.2 checks.

Accessibility-9-November-2023.PNG

You can contact CRM@caerphilly.gov.uk to get a copy of reports and to ask for further details on reports.

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

  • Ensure links explain their purpose WCAG A 2.4.4
  • Combine adjacent links with the same destination - WCAG A 1.1.1
  • Identify the purpose of fields programmatically - WCAG AA 1.3.5
  • Avoid using the same link text for different destinations WCAG A 2.4.4
  • Add headers to tables WCAG A 1.3.1
  • Mark navigation as lists WCAG A 1.3.1

We aim to have the above points fixed by August 2024.

Issues with PDFs and Word documents

Most of our PDFs and Word documents don’t meet accessibility standards – for example, they may not be marked up so they’re accessible to a screen reader.

We are aiming to be in a position where any new PDF or Word document we publish will meet accessibility standards unless we determine that they represent a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. Ultimately, we plan to provide an accessible HTML version of the information as the primary source.

There are several thousand PDFs and Word Documents on our website such as reports, strategies, meetings documents and more. 

For all PDFs and Word documents published on or after 23 September 2018, we aim to achieve one of the following:

  • Remove from the website where it is no longer required
  • Replace with an accessible HTML version where possible
  • Ensure any new content is presented in accessible HTML format where possible 
  • Where a PDF is required, ensure it is as accessible as possible by:
    • Ensuring they are machine-readable (WCAG A 1.1.1)
    • Specifying headings for every PDF (WCAG A 1.3.1)
    • Fixing untagged PDFs (WCAG A 1.3.1)
    • Ensuring PDFs specify a default language (WCAG A 3.1.1)
    • Defining a title for all PDFs (WCAG A 2.4.2)
    • Ensuring PDF headings follow a logical order (WCAG A 1.3.1)
    • Improving weak PDF titles (WCAG A 2.4.2)
    • Ensuring long PDFs use bookmarks to aid navigation (WCAG AA 2.4.5)

Due to the volume of work involved, we aim to achieve this by December 2024.

The following success criteria are new in WCAG 2.2:

  • Focus Not Obscured - Keep the focused item visible when an item gets keyboard focus, it is at least partially visible (Minimum) WCAG (AA) 2.4.11
  • Focus Not Obscured - When an item gets keyboard focus, it is fully visible (Enhanced) WCAG (AAA) 2.4.12
  • Focus Appearance - Make it easier to spot the keyboard focus by using a focus indicator of sufficient size and contrast WCAG (AAA) 2.4.13
  • Dragging Movements - Don’t rely on dragging for user actions, for any action that involves dragging, provide a simple pointer alternative WCAG (AA) 2.5.7
  • Target Size - Make controls easier to activate by ensuring targets meet a minimum size or have sufficient spacing around them. (Minimum) WCAG (AA) 2.5.8
  • Consistent Help – Put help in the same place when it is on multiple pages WCAG (A) 3.2.6
  • Redundant Entry - Make it easier for users to complete multi-step processes by not asking for the same information twice in the same session WCAG (A) 3.3.7
  • Accessible Authentication - Make logins possible with less mental effort by not making people solve, recall, or transcribe something to log in (Minimum) WCAG (AA) 3.3.8
  • Accessible Authentication - Make logins possible with less mental effort by not making people recognize objects or user-supplied images and media to login (Enhanced) WCAG (AAA) 3.3.9

We aim to investigate the new criteria above and fix if applicable by August 2024.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

PDFs and other documents

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

We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.

Third-party applications

We require that any new third-party systems we commission for the website are Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 AA compliant. However, third party applications are partly or wholly out of our control and so may not conform to the same levels of accessibility as the rest of the website. Third-party applications include:

  • HomeSearch Caerphilly – Apply for social housing
  • Capita 360 online payments
  • Capita EClaims - Benefit claims
  • Stopford Bookings - Registrars booking
  • iTrent - Apply for a council job vacancy
  • Abavus - My council Services
  • Idox planning applications search, building control regulations search and licensing register
  • Modern.gov Councillor information, meetings, agendas and minutes
  • Public-I - Webcasting

We monitor the accessibility of these sites and ask suppliers to fix accessibility issues which arise.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 18 September 2020. It was last reviewed on 9 November 2023.