Accessibility

Accessibility Statement for Lincoln.gov.uk

This accessibility statement applies to the City of Lincoln Council website at lincoln.gov.uk.


If you have a disability, deaf or are hard of hearing

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

If you are deaf or have profound hearing difficulties, you can use Relay UK to access our services. 
 

Site compatibility and screen readers

This website should be compatible with basic operating system screen magnifiers; speech recognition software, and operating system speech packages. It should be compatible with recent versions of the following screen readers:

  • Jaws
  • ZoomText
  • NVDA
  • VoiceOver
  • Window Eyes
  • Supernova screen readers
  • MAGic
     

How accessible is this website?

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard.  Any non-compliances are listed below.
 

How are we doing?

Success Criterion 1.1.1: Non-text content

Combine adjacent links with the same destination

Some adjacent links featured on our website point to the same destination. Many users of assistive technology are only able to experience content sequentially - that is, they must step through each part of the page, one part at a time. Stepping through redundant links is time consuming; for example users of a screen reader must hear each link read aloud in turn..


Success Criterion 1.3.1: Info and relationships

Ensure Headings contain text 

Some content pages on our website have errors where heading markup has been incorrectly placed. Heading elements (<h1>, <h2>. <h3>) must contain some machine-readable text content. A heading should never be empty, or just contain whitespace. 

 

Success Criterion 2.4.1: Bypass Blocks 

Specify a title for all frames

Some of the embedded Google Maps featured on our website do not specify an iframe title. Without a title, it is impossible to know what the frame contains, and the user must navigate inside it, and explore the contents of the frame to figure this out. Often iframes are used for technologies like banner adverts, videos, or chat widgets. The absence of a title makes these areas of the page much harder to identify, understand, or use.

 

What are we doing?

We continually monitor and audit Lincoln.gov.uk using Silktide to keep it accessible and in line with WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards.

 

How to request information in a different format 

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, audio CD, braille, BSL or large print, accessible PDF)

 

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

If you would like to report a problem that is not listed on this page, please contact us.

 

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

PDFs and other documents published before 23 September 2018, audio and video content and archived parts of our website. These types of documents are exempt from the regulations, so we don’t currently have any plans to make them accessible.
 

PDFs and other documents

Documents that you download to access any of our services should be accessible to everyone. However, we know that some PDF's published after 23rd September 2018 are currently not accessible. 

We are prioritising making PDFs accessible that:

  • contain information on how users can access our service
  • are most frequently downloaded
  • contain information that has a statutory requirement

PDF Accessibility issues may include:

  • Missing document structure
  • No alternate text for images 
  • Not being written in Plain English
  • Not machine readable

We have developed training and guidance materials to help all document authors to create accessible documents.

Our accessible documents statement covers PDFs and other documents uploaded to Lincoln.gov.uk.

 

Using third party content or functionality on our website

We often use third party content or functionality on our website. This allows us to offer a wide range of services that can be completed online. They are each built to look like our website but are based on a different technical platform. 

Third party functionality includes:

  • Online forms for customers to fill in
  • Self-serve system to manage your Council tax account
  • Card payment systems
  • Our latest job listings

Where we choose to feature third party content or functionality on our website, we are responsible for ensuring it meets accessibility standards.

If we have paid for content to be created, or have a contractual relationship with the commissioner, we ensure accessibility guidelines are met as part of contractual obligations.

Where we are legally required to feature third party content or functionality, we cannot reasonably accept responsibility for ensuring it meets accessibility standards. However, where it is within our control, we will make every reasonable effort to work towards meeting accessibility requirements.

Third-party platforms we currently use may include:

  • Granicus (online forms - contact.lincoln.gov.uk)
  • Gov.UK Pay (online payments - www.payments.service.gov.uk)
  • My Accounts (myinfo.lincoln.gov.uk)
  • Job Listings (jobs.lincoln.gov.uk)
  • Northgate Benefit Applications (www.northgate-nes.co.uk)
  • Housing (lincshomefinder.co.uk)
  • HMO Licensing (housinglicensing.lincoln.gov.uk)
  • Modern.gov committee portal (democratic.lincoln.gov.uk)
  • Planning Search (development.lincoln.gov.uk)
  • Parking Notices and Fines (parkingonline.lincoln.gov.uk)
  • Location maps (maps.lincoln.gov.uk)

 

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This website was last tested on 5 October 2022

The test was carried out by City of Lincoln Council

Last updated on 5 October 2022.