This accessibility statement applies to the Worcestershire County Council website
We are aware that there are some outstanding accessibility issues with the site and we are in the process of working with our website provider to rectify these issues.
This website is run by Worcestershire County Council. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:
zoom in without the text spilling off the screen
navigate most of the website using just a keyboard (including skip to content or skip to main navigation)
navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
listen to most of the website using a screen reader
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
How accessible this website is
We know some parts of this website aren’t fully accessible:
we are currently experiencing some issues with our contacts area for those who need to zoom into our website and use keyboard accessibility or screen readers
carousel and collapsible components may not be fully logical to screen reader users
some search filters and forms are not fully accessible to keyboard or screen reader users
some videos don’t have captions
some embedded iframes do not always contain a title and this content may be difficult to perceive for screen reader users
some forms are not labelled correctly for screen reader users
some filters on our events and news pages are difficult to navigate when zoomed as the focus cannot be seen
colour contrast makes it hard to read the text in some parts of the website
some pages show a Google map that screen reader users and keyboard users can find difficult to use
some pages show a X (Twitter) feed that screen reader users and keyboard users can find difficult to use
some documents and PDFs are not accessible
some pages and documents are not written in plain English
some pages do not have the correct heading structure
Feedback and contact information
We are still preparing our full accessibility statement. If you need to get in contact please refer to our customer services page.
If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please contact: equality@worcestershire.gov.uk.
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, please contact: digitaldesigners@worcestershire.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
Some of our offices and libraries have audio induction loops. You may wish to check whether a loop is available before your visit, please see the contact us page.
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
Worcestershire County Council is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
We are still auditing our site to be able to define the full list of accessibility issues and when these can be fixed.
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
1.2.2 Captions (Pre-recorded) fail
some embedded videos do not have captions or a transcript
1.2.5 Audio Description (Pre-recorded) fail
some video content does not have an alternative for non-sighted users in the form of an audio description or transcript
1.3.1 Info and relationships fails
some tables do not have a caption element to describe their content
text not contained in semantic HTML on some forms
there are forms where the form elements are not grouped
lists of related links should be written semantically as a list
1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence fails
some carousels read in an illogical order
1.4 Distinguishable fails
some menu items and menus in the contacts area do not announce open and closed states
some items in the contacts are cannot be distinguished when zoomed in
1.4.3 Colour contrast minimum fails
in some areas of the site text falls on poor contrast background
text on some focus elements and forms do not meet minimum contrast
1.4.4 Resize text fail
some text size in our website is very small and does not zoom
1.4.12 Text Spacing fail
some text and interactive functions are close together meaning it might be difficult to use with poor dexterity
2.1 Keyboard fails
there are forms where the form elements are not grouped there are some pages where we use input fields that have no description
our contacts area does not currently work when zoomed and using keyboard navigation
2.1.1 Keyboard fails
carousels don’t announce logically for users, you get to the left arrow, then the carousel items and then after the right arrow
filters on the news, events and language are actioned by focus and not select as it currently announces
2.1.2 No keyboard trap fail
when using X feeds users on keyboard or screen readers are trapped in the X feed and cannot return to the site, this fails
the chatbot cannot easily be exited when using a keyboard
2.4.1 Bypass blocks fails
on the contacts area you need to navigate through a multi-layered menu to get to contacts, it means there is considerable navigation to be able to select a different contact
2.4.2 page titled fails
some page titles throughout the site do not announce
some pages within Business advise leaflets do not have a correct heading structure
2.4.3 Focus Order fail
on the homepage users are announced the heading latest news, then a button for ‘view all news’, this is illogical
2.4.4 link purpose in context fails
some download links may not make sense when read on their own
the same link text is used for links going to different destinations
2.4.6 Headings and labels fail
some items on homepage carousels do not announce
some headings in the related items at the bottom of the page are out of sequence
some headings missing from business advise leaflets
2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured (Minimum) fail
the back to top and chatbot functions are floating objects that obscure content
2.4.13 Focus Appearance fail
not all elements on focus have an obvious change of appearance to those with low vision
focus state on the filters on the news and events page filters disappear off the page when zoomed
2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum) fail
users with difficulties of dexterity will struggle with the target size of some buttons and functionality
3.2.1 On focus fail
on load of the website the cookie item receives focus which is confusing for keyboard navigation
3.3.2 (labels or instructions) fail
there are some pages where we use input fields that have no description
3.2.3 Consistent Navigation fail
some pages use collapsible content instead of navigating to a new page, which maybe confusing as its inconsistent navigation
some pages have many collapsible elements and extra interactivity to be able to read content on the page
3.3.2 Label instructions fails
filters on the news, events and language are actioned by focus and not select as it currently announces
there are forms where the form elements are not grouped
3.1.4 Abbreviations fail
some pages have unexplained abbreviations
3.1.5 Reading Level fail
some pages have a considerable amount of text and complex language
4.1.2 name, role, value fails
there are some pages where we use input fields that have no description
when the web chat is selected, it is not announced to screen reader as open or closed
on the contacts page non-sighted users on screen reader inputs will not know when parts of the menu are open and closed to be able to use the navigation of the site
We plan to fix the main usability issues by Autumn 2025.
Issues with files
there may be some files that are not fully accessible or in a singular file format
We use Silktide tool to monitor any issues regarding accessibility and aim to fix any issues that has been found as soon as possible. We use Adobe Pro's accessibility checker to check the PDF documents and Microsoft Office Accessibility Checker to check any Microsoft Office files. We have also created a guidance for our staff how to make accessible documents, for more information on this, please see the SCULPT for Accessibility page. We aim to provide alternative file formats to ensure all users can access content in documents.
Issues with third-party applications
We use some third-party applications which might not all be fully accessible, but the third-party companies are either in the process of reviewing their applications or have reviewed the applications and given a statement when the issues are going to be fixed. For more information, please see below:
Modern.GOV.UK this system houses documents related to Council meetings. Due to the nature of the meetings the documents could be maps or documents produced by third parties. We are aware that some of the documents are inaccessible. There is work taking place to ensure training is given to those who create the documents.
Online events that we host via Zoom, for more information please visit Zoom - Accessibility
Schools account payment by Civica. Accessibility statement: A fully accessible version is available upon upgrade. A business case has been submitted for approval of this.
We have not identified anything that qualifies as disproportionate burden as of yet, but we are still evaluating our site and may update this when we identify issues.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
Regulations do not apply to the following content of a website or mobile application of a public sector body:
Live video streams do not have captions. We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.
Older files
The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services.
Pre-recorded time-based media published before 23 September 2020 are exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We use Silktide regularly to find accessibility issues and aim to fix them as soon as possible.
We also use SCULPT for Accessibility as a training model for our wider organisation to improve the creation of accessible documents.
We have conducted a full audit of our website to identify and fully understand all accessibility barriers our website may contain. We plan to re-test and and review the accessibility of the website and statement on a quarterly basis.
We are working closely with our website provider to address accessibility issues identified in this statement.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on February 2023. It was last reviewed March 2025.
This website was last tested during March 2025. The test was carried out by using our own testing methods.
Manual testing
To do our team testing we chose a selection of home pages, document pages, custom pages and a typical form to offer a cross-section of page types within the website.
Worcestershire County Council subscribe and pay for the Silktide tool for checking and monitoring the whole website's accessibility status regularly to identify any ongoing issues.
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