This website is run by Wigan Council. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website on a variety of devices.
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.
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 (external link).
How accessible this website is
We know some parts of this website aren’t fully accessible:
- Most older PDFs and other documents aren’t fully accessible to screen reader software
- Some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard
- Content and functionality provided by third party suppliers is not fully accessible
- Live video streams do not have captions
- Maps are not accessible
- Third party content.
Feedback and contact information
If you need any information on this website in a different format, you can:
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, so if you have identified any accessibility issues or if you think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, you can:
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’) (external link). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, you can contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) (external link).
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
Wigan Council is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (external link).
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 (external link) AA standard, due to the non-compliance's and exemptions listed below.
Non accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons:
Non compliance with the accessibility regulations
PDFs and other documents
Most of our old PDFs and downloadable documents require improved title descriptions, can be difficult to navigate due to poor use of bookmarks, are not fully machine readable and are untagged. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1, 1.3.1, 2.4.2, 2.4.5 and 3.1.1.
We are prioritising downloaded documents which are essential to providing our services. We use a variety of accessibility tools to monitor our downloadable PDFs, which allow us to apply fixes regularly. We use Adobe Pro’s accessibility checker and Microsoft Office accessibility checkers to improve accessibility.
We’ve also been archiving out of date documents and ensuring new documents meet the accessibility standards, or the content is available in HTML format.
Our work to ensure that all essential downloadable files meet accessibility regulations is continuing and we aim to complete the review by April 2025.
Third party applications
We have completed accessibility reports on existing third party applications and have been working with our suppliers to improve accessibility.
The following services do not currently meet accessibility standards:
- MyAccount services - we launched our new MyAccount on 1st April 2021. We have a full programme of works to review and replace third party applications which sit within MyAccount and have a business plan of 4 years to implement these changes. Any new online processes will be built to meet the required accessibility standards
- Borough Life - an accessible version of the PDF magazine containing the main articles is now available in the form of Borough Life Plus
- When making payment for services, the text 'Search' does not have sufficient colour contrast against the background. This fails WACG 2.2 criterion 1.4.3. We have instructed our provider to make a change and aim to complete the change by the end of December 2024.
- For security reasons, a timeout feature is added to some of our forms. This fails criterion 2.2.1 and 2.2.6. We have requested that our provider make a change so that users are warned and given the option to extend the time to prevent any data loss. We aim to resolve the issue by end of December 2024.
Online forms
Some of our online forms are provided by third party suppliers and are not fully operable through a keyboard or mobile device. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.1.1. We have purchased a new form package and will be replacing all forms which do not meet accessibility standards. A review is underway and we aim to complete this work by April 2025.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
PDFs and other documents
Many of our older PDFs and other documents don’t meet accessibility standards. For example, they may not be structured in a way that makes them accessible to a screen reader. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2.
The accessibility regulations don’t require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23rd September 2018 (external link) if they’re not essential to providing our services.
Live video streams
Live video streams do not have captions. The accessibility regulations don’t require us to add captions to live video streams.
Maps
It is not possible to make maps accessible, but we will provide essential information in an accessible format.
Third party content
Within Our Town Directory we have content which is provided to us by third party organisations within the community. Whilst we advise on best practice, we have not paid for or developed the content ourselves and therefore the content is within someone else’s control.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 23rd September 2019. It was last reviewed on 3 October 2024.
This website is regularly tested against WACG 2.2 criterion using 3 automated testing tools:
We monitor the result on a weekly basis and fix identified issues applying WCAG 2.2 AA standards, aiming for AAA where possible.
We do a combination of automated and manual testing. Manual testing is undertaken before any new live content goes live and forms part of any pre go live checks.
Our last manual audit of the site for historic content took place in August 2021.