Halton Local Offer Accessibility Statement

By law we are required to provide an accessibility statement. Accessibility statement for https://localoffer.haltonchildrenstrust.co.uk/

Using this website

This website is run by Children and Young People Policy Team for Halton 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 400% 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

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website aren’t fully accessible:

some older PDF documents aren’t fully accessible to screen reader software
some section icon buttons, and navigation buttons (images with text) aren’t fully accessible to screen reader software.
some headings don’t appear in the correct nested order.

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 the Children and Young Policy Team at haltonlocaloffer@halton.gov.uk We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 10 working days.

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 us by haltonlocaloffer@halton.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)

Compliance status

Children and Young People Policy Team (Halton 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.

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

Non accessible content and Noncompliance with the accessibility regulations

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

The Home Page Section Icon Buttons with text are not fully accessible to screen reader software. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 2.4.4 and 4.1.2.
The Section Icon Buttons for navigation on each page are not fully accessible to screen reader software. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.4.5.
Most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.1.1, 1.4.1, 1.4.5, 1.4.9 and 2.4.2.
Some headings may be nested in the wrong order, for example heading 2 may appear after heading 3. This fails WCAG 2.1 technique G141.

Senior Leaders in the Halton SEND Strategic Improvement Board are currently engaged in discussions regarding the future platform of the Halton Local Offer.

This will result in an update/redesign of the website, and we will update the statement as soon as we have all the relevant information.

How we test this website

The latest test was conducted on the 27 March 2024 by the Cabinet Office, Government Digital Service. The test was to ensure that we met our legal obligation of the website accessibility regulations that came into force on 23 September 2018. The outcome of this external and independent test was that the website was not compliant in some areas. Having been made aware of these the Halton Local Offer website was updated and amended accordingly, any outstanding issues are listed in this Accessibility Statement.

Online services are re-assessed for accessibility whenever a major modification is undertaken; ‘page content’ is checked every time it is updated. Our current estimate is that further accessibility fixes to address non-accessible content on this site, will be undertaken during 2024 to 2025. The tools that are used are available as “free” from https://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tools and the check list provided by Gov.uk: https://alphagov.github.io/wcag-primer/checklist.html#checklist.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

Accessibility needs are actively considered as part of designing any new content, transactions and services. We follow GDS content design principles where possible and we understand the importance of inclusive design https://www.gov.uk/guidance/content-design

We respond to customer feedback and use this to make things better wherever possible.

We are working with all teams, services, partners and providers areas across Halton to ensure that all future documents and software adheres to accessibility regulations.

We are in the process of removing or renewing PDF documents and creating accessible online application forms where this may be needed.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 1 July 2024.

Reading the website

We aim to make our website as easy to read as possible and follow the Plain English principles. We are constantly working to improve our website and make it easier to understand.

Downloadable documents

We aim to provide content in html format where possible. Where we have to use different formats, this will be because:

the information is too long or too complex for a webpage
the content is an official Council document, for example a Council strategy document or meeting minutes
the user is likely to want to print the content, for example a brochure
the document is needed in its original format – for example, bus timetables
documents are from other partners or other systems – for example, health services, government publications or reports etc.

We are working to improve the accessibility of our documents.