Accessibility

 

Accessibility Statement

Accessibility statement for Boston Borough Council’s website

This accessibility statement applies to www.mybostonuk.com website. This website is hosted by PSPS and content provided by Boston 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 (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

We are in the process of a new build website and part of that build will take into account full accessibility guidelines and regulations. Also taking the domain site back to www.boston.gov.uk

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

How accessible this website is

We know parts of this website are not fully accessible:

  • Most PDF and Word documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software.
  • 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 https://democracy.boston.gov.uk/uuCoverPage.aspx?bcr=1?
  • some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard
  • You cannot modify the line height or spacing of text
  • Some pages and attachments are not written in clear, plain English.
  • Some pages and attachments do not have a logical heading structure.
  • Some videos don’t have transcripts or visible captions/subtitles.
  • Some data tables don’t have row or column headings.
  • Some images don’t have descriptive alternative text.
  • Some empty links exist within the site.
  • Some links aren’t easily identifiable.
  • Some pages do not have unique page titles.
  • Some links to documents, such as PDFs, do not include the file type with the link text.
  • Limited to how far you can magnify maps on our website

The site https://www.mybostonuk.com was checked on 13 December 2021 against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard: https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/

Based on their testing, this site is partially compliant with WCAG 2.1 AA. This means there are some things which are not fully accessible. This will all be taken into account on the rebuild which is currently taking place and is due to go live in August 2022.

Feedback and content information

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording, translation or braille:

We’ll consider your request and get back to you within five working days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We welcome any suggestions you may have to improve the accessibility of our website. If you experience any accessibility problems that aren’t mentioned on this page, please let us know by emailing communications@boston.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) in the following ways:

  • contact EASS online
  • call EASS on 0808 800 0082
  • EASS textphone 0808 800 0084

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

We provide a text relay service for people who are deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment.

Our reception area has audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.

Find out how to contact us here.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Boston 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. We are in the process of a new build website and part of that build will take into account full accessibility guidelines and regulations due to go live in August 2022.

Compliance Status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) (opens new tab) AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible and will be reflected in the changes to our new build site:

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Keyboard navigation

There are links on the website that are not accessible using the keyboard.

This fails on the following WCAG 2.1 success criteria.

  • WCAG 2.1.1 Keyboard – Users should be able to use a keyboard to access all content and functionality of a web page. This means the page can be used by people with no vision as well as people who use alternative keyboards or input devices that act as a keyboard.

This issue remains with reasoning of disproportionate burden, the Boston website is currently in redevelopment with a go live of August 2022.

 

Focus visible

There are issues with focus on the website which makes it unclear to the user.

This fails on the following WCAG 2.1 success criteria.

  • WCAG 2.4.7 Focus visible – A visible focus helps users know which element has keyboard focus and where they are on the page. When an element gets focus there should be a visible border around it. Highlighting the element that has keyboard focus or is hovered over can provide information like whether the element is interactive or the scope of that element. Operating systems have a native indication of focus, which is available in many browsers. The default display of the focus indicator is not always highly visible and may even be difficult to see especially on coloured backgrounds.

This issue remains with reasoning of disproportionate burden, the Boston website is currently in redevelopment with a go live of August 2022.

 

Resizing of text

There are issues with resizing of the text which means the user cannot see the webpage clearly.

This fails on the following WCAG 2.1 success criteria.

  • WCAG 1.4.4 Resize Text – Visual text, including text-based controls can be scaled so that they can be read directly by users with visual impairments without using assistive technology such as a screen magnifier. Text must be able to be resized up to 200 percent without loss of content or function.

This issue remains with reasoning of disproportionate burden, the Boston website is currently in redevelopment with a go live of August 2022.

 

Links not having discernible text

We have issues on the website that have discernible text which means the user cannot access all links available.

This fails on the following WCAG 2.1 success criteria.

  • WCAG 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context), 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value – Links must have discernible text. All link names should be accessible by a screen reader and be descriptive enough to tell a user where that link will take them. Common issues include:
  • the inner link text not being visible
  • duplicate link labels
  • the link not being focusable

All links should receive focus and link text should not be hidden as this will stop a screen reader from relaying the link information.

This issue remains with reasoning of disproportionate burden, the Boston website is currently in redevelopment with a go live of August 2022.

 

Frames not having an accessible name

There are a number of instances where frames do not have an accessible name.

This fails on the following WCAG 2.1 success criteria.

  • WCAG 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks, 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value – Frames must have an accessible name. A frame title describes the content of the frame. Screen readers can understand this and help users move through frame elements quickly by using an option to select a list of titles for all frames on the page. A descriptive, meaningful and unique title allows users to find the frame they need. Ensure all frame and iframe elements have useful <title> attribute values.

This issue remains with reasoning of disproportionate burden, the Boston website is currently in redevelopment with a go live of August 2022.

 

Poor colour contrast

A small number of colour contrast issues are present on our website.

This fails on the following WCAG 2.1 success criteria.

  • WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) – Poor colour contrast makes it difficult for someone with sight loss to see the content properly. If there is a big difference between the background and foreground colours it should be much easier to see the difference between them.

This issue remains with reasoning of disproportionate burden, the Boston website is currently in redevelopment with a go live of August 2022.

 

Aria-hidden elements contain focusable elements

There are a number of instances where aria-hidden elements contain focusable elements. This refers to all article icons across the webpage, including; Your council, Working for us and Think Boston.

This fails on the following WCAG 2.1 success criteria.

  • WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value – aria-hidden elements must not contain focusable elements. The aria-hidden=”true” attribute on an element makes it, and its child elements invisible to assistive technology. It may be used to hide content a user does not need to access such as unnecessary content or decorative images. If aria-hidden=”true” is used on a focusable element, it will be ignored in the reading order but will still get focus confusing the user. It should not be used on focusable elements or on the body element of a page.

This issue remains with reasoning of disproportionate burden, the Boston website is currently in redevelopment with a go live of August 2022.

Images of text

There are a number of instances where images are of text. This refers to images across the webpage including Christmas and New Year bin collection.

This fails on the following WCAG 2.1 success criteria.

  • WCAG 1.4.5 Images of Text – Images of text cause problems for users who need to adjust how visual content like font size, spacing or colours are displayed. The image quality can reduce and become blurry when users increase page magnification. Images of text should not be used unless text cannot be formatted to the same effect, for example logos or branding. Text may be used in images where the text is part of an image that contains a lot of other visual content like graphs or diagrams that give important information through more than just text.

This issue remains with reasoning of disproportionate burden, the Boston website is currently in redevelopment with a go live of August 2022.

 

Heading Structure

There are multiple pages on the website that contain an illogical heading structure.

This fails on the following WCAG 2.1 success criterion:

  • 3.1 Info and Relationships: Information, structure, and relationships conveyed through presentation can be programmatically determined or are available in text. (Level A)
  • 4.6 Headings and Labels: Headings and labels describe topic or purpose. (Level AA)

This issue remains with reasoning of disproportionate burden, the Boston website is currently in redevelopment with a go live of August 2022.

 

Page Titles

There are a number of instances where the page titles are not unique to the content and fail to provide a clear description.

This fails on the following WCAG 2.1 success criterion:

  • 4.2 Page Titled: Web pages have titles that describe topic or purpose. (Level A)

This issue remains with reasoning of disproportionate burden, the Boston website is currently in redevelopment with a go live of August 2022.

 

Images

There are a number of instances where images have non-descriptive alternative text.

This fails on the following WCAG 2.1 success criterion:

  • Non-text Content: All non-text content that is presented to the user has a text alternative that serves the equivalent purpose, except for the situations listed below. (Level A)

This issue remains with reasoning of disproportionate burden, the Boston website is currently in redevelopment with a go live of August 2022.

 

Tables

A number of data tables throughout the site do not contain row or column headings. 

This fails on the following WCAG 2.1 success criterion:

  • 3.1 Info and Relationships: Information, structure, and relationships conveyed through presentation can be programmatically determined or are available in text. (Level A)

This issue remains with reasoning of disproportionate burden, the Boston website is currently in redevelopment with a go live of August 2022.

 

PDFs and Other Documents

A number of PDFs and documents published since September 23, 2018 are inaccessible to screen reader users.

This fails on the following WCAG 2.1 success criterion:

  • Non-text Content: All non-text content that is presented to the user has a text alternative that serves the equivalent purpose, except for the situations listed below. (Level A)

This issue remains with reasoning of disproportionate burden, the Boston website is currently in redevelopment with a go live of August 2022.

 

Disproportionate Burden

Throughout this statement we have highlighted above those issues that we have determined as a disproportionate burden. We are in the process of a new build website and part of that build will take into account full accessibility guidelines and regulations. Also taking the domain site back to www.boston.gov.uk

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

PDFs and Other Documents

Any PDF or document that was published prior to September 23, 2018 will not be reviewed and as such, may not meet the accessibility standards.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We are in the process of a new build website and part of that build will take into account full accessibility guidelines and regulations. Also taking the domain site back to www.boston.gov.uk

Web Editors are being trained to create accessible content as part of the development of the new website.

 

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 10th February 2022 and has been reviewed and updated on 4th May 2022. It will be reviewed in six months from this date.