Last updated December 2023
This accessibility statement applies to:
- cambridge.gov.uk
This website is run by Cambridge City Council in partnership with 3C ICT. 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’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.
To help customers adapt this website to their specific needs, we have also installed the Recite.me toolbar which can be opened by selecting the 'Accessibility tools' link in the website header. More information on Recite.me can be found on our Accessibility page.
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 are not fully accessible:
- you cannot modify the line height or spacing of text
- some PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
- live video streams do not have captions
- our maps are not fully navigable with a keyboard (you cannot tab to pins)
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:
- Find out about alternative formats
We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 7 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: webteam@cambridge.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
We provide a text relay service for people who are Deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment.
Some of our offices and public spaces have audio induction loops, and if you contact us before your visit we can arrange an interpreter.
If you are a British Sign Language (BSL) user, you can use a free online service called SignLive to contact us through a professional interpreter.
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
Cambridge 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.
Compliance status
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
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations:
Forms
- Search function form: there is a hidden search field that is missing a label (WCAG A 1.3.1) and also does not identify the purpose of fields programmatically (WCAG AA 1.3.5). The search function is powered by Google and there isn't a way for us to change this field settings.
PDFs
Some of our PDFs don’t meet accessibility standards. The actions identified are:
- Ensure the first heading in a PDF is a H1 (WCAG A 1.3.1)
- Ensure PDFs are machine readable (WCAG A 1.1.1)
- Ensure PDF headings follow a logical order (WCAG A 1.3.1)
- Ensure long PDFs use bookmarks to aid navigation (WCAG AA 2.4.5)
- Improve weak PDF titles (WCAG A 2.4.2)
- Fix untagged PDFs (WCAG A 1.3.1)
- Ensure PDFs specify a default language (A 3.1.1)
- Define a title for all PDFs (WCAG A 2.4.2)
- Specify headings for every PDF (WCAG A 1.3.1)
We are working through the backlog of essential documents to make them accessible as quickly as possible, based on the actions above.
Navigable
Some of our links use the same text for different destinations (WCAG A 2.4.4). We are working to update the link text as soon as possible.
Cookie consent
We use Cookiebot to obtain consent from visitors to set cookies on their devices. The system supplier is working to fix some accessibility problems to make the function compliant.
The problems we are aware of include:
- Ensure controls change appearance when they are selected (WCAG 2.0 AA 2.4.7)
- Ensure form controls have labels (WCAG 2.0 A 1.3.1)
- Add a submit button to all forms (WCAG 2.0 A 3.2.2)
- Ensure links explain they open in a new tab (WCAG 2.0 AAA 3.2.5)
Disproportionate burden
Documents from committee or council meetings
Some documents created after council meetings (such as minutes) may have been approved in their existing format by councillors and so cannot easily be changed. Identifying and changing these to be accessible would involve input and sign off from councillors who may no longer be serving, well as council services, and we believe this presents a disproportionate burden.
Section 106 agreements
As of October 2021 we are now producing accessible section 106 agreements. However section 106 agreements produced between September 2020 and October 2021 are not accessible. We believe it is a disproportionate burden to make these documents accessible due to the cost and officer time involved.
If you would like an accessible version of one of the agreements created between September 2020 and October 2021, please contact us at s106@greatercambridgeplanning.org.
Election documents
Many of the election documents are created by the government or the Electoral Commission and the format legally cannot be amended.
Recorded meeting video captions
We will use the auto-generated video captions for recorded live council meeting videos. We believe it is a disproportionate burden to review the auto-generated captions to recorded council meetings. However we will ensure any videos we produce will have the correct captions.
Cambridge Matters magazine
The online copy of our Cambridge Matters magazine is not accessible. The magazine is created for print. For example, the images do not contain alt text.
We believe it is a disproportionate burden to create a separate, fully accessible copy for the website, as each Cambridge City household receives a paper copy.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
PDFs and other documents
Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs with information on how users can access our services, and forms published as Word documents. We are working to fix any remaining documents that fall under this category or replace them with accessible HTML pages.
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. For example, we do not plan to fix old newsletters.
We endeavour to ensure that all new documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.
Documents provided by third parties
Some documents have been provided by third parties - we did not commission, create, or pay for these documents and so these are exempt from the accessibility regulations.
Live video
We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.
Maps
Our maps are either not used for navigational purposes, or we provide information in another format if they are, and so are exempt from the accessibility regulations.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 6 August 2019.
