Accessibility Statement

This accessibility statement applies to the website of Preston.gov.uk. This website is run and managed by Preston City Council's web team.

We want everyone who visits the website to be able to find, read and understand our content. 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 (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

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.

The Recite Me tool

We use Recite Me on our website, which helps you to personalise and customise your website experience with us, in a way that helps you.

You can find this tool bar at the top of the page using the 'Accessibility' button.

The Recite Me toolbar allows you to:

change the colours and contrast levels
change the font styles
zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
navigate and listen to each web page read out in a natural voice
navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
translate the website into over 100 different languages
change the websites margin sizes or use the ruler function to make it easier to read the text

Listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver).

SignLive - Support for the deaf

We recognise and value all our customers, including those who use British Sign Language (BSL) and/or Speech to Text Translation (STTR).

We are part of the Community Directory where you can contact us via a British Sign Language interpreter using SignLive.

Visit our SignLive Information page

Compliance status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the issues highlighted in the section below.

We are working hard to achieve our goal of Level AA accessibility, but we are aware of some areas of our website that still need improving.

Visit the Silktide Index to see how we compare to other UK Councils.

Non-accessible Content

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

Non compliance with the accessibility regulations

We are aware that some parts of our website are not fully accessible, these include:

WCAG 1.4.10 Reflow - some of our pages don't scroll in two dimensions on small screens. We aim to achieve a resolution by June 2022.
WCAG A 1.4.1 - links must appear visually distinct from regular text. A common mistake is to make links only differ subtly in color. Users with visual impairments cannot see these links. Aiming to achieve a resolution by September 2022.
WCAG A 4.1.2 - links must be defined in a specific way to be accessed by screen readers, which are used by blind and the partially-sighted. Aiming to achieve a resolution by September 2022.
Some of our online services are hosted by third-party suppliers and you may find navigating these services difficult depending on their level of web accessibility. These include but not restricted to Modern Gov, Mi-permit parking service, Capita services and E-claim housing benefit services. We monitor the accessibility of these sites and ask suppliers to fix accessibility issues which arise but this is out of our control.
Most of our older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
Online maps and mapping services are not accessible
Live video streams and some videos do not have captions
The readability of some pages is above the recommended reading level.

How we tested this website

This website was last tested on 21 February 2022.

The test was carried out using automated software by Silktide, which tests the websites accessibility, content and digital marketing. The website team also tested accessibility using a range of browser-based accessibility reporting tools and the non-visual Desktop Access (NVDA) screen reader.

We used a range of sample pages in the website audit that included all the different types of functionality on the website but focusing on:

Pages common to many websites, for example, home page and contact us
Pages with variations in layout and functionality
Most visited pages
Pages with higher issues raised within our Silktide report

What we are doing to improve accessibility

Ongoing audit of the content - we use Silktide to monitor and improve our website. The software monitors content, accessibility, speed and legal compliance.
We audit each web page to ensure it is written in plain English, links are accessible, images have appropriate alt text and page titles are descriptive.

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:

email - webmanager@preston.gov.uk
call - 01772 906468

We'll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.

Please make sure you provide the service area, document name and/or the web address (URL) of the page the content is on and a description of the format you need. For example; audio CD, braille, BSL or large print.

If you cannot view the map on our 'how to find us ' page, email us on info@preston.gov.uk or call 01772 906900 for directions.

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 web team on webmanager@preston.gov.uk or call 01772 906468.

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, please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Technical information about this website's accessibility

Preston City Council is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Cross working with third party services

Through the Inclusion Reference Group, we work closely with a number of partners from the voluntary, community and faith sectors, to ensure we further improve our engagement and consultation with all communities.

If you require an interpreter to enable you to access a Council service please contact, Lesley Pritchard (Inclusion Officer) on 01772 906670 or email l.prichard@preston.gov.uk

Links to other websites

To benefit our users we link to other websites, such as:

news websites
social media platforms
official information sources

We are not responsible for the accessibility of these or any other websites that we do not manage.

We value your feedback

We value feedback from real website users and would love to hear from you and the experience you had with us.

We will continue to review and improve our website to provide the best possible level of customer service. If you would like to make a suggestion on improving our website, especially from an accessibility point of view, please contact the web team on webmanager@preston.gov.uk..

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has useful tips on contacting organisations about inaccessible websites.