Accessibility statement for Stronger Shores
This accessibility statement applies to content published on strongershores.com.
This website is run by South Tyneside 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 up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
- navigate most of the website using a keyboard or 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.
How accessible this website is
Parts of this website are not fully accessible. For example:
- you cannot change colour or contrast levels
- you cannot modify the line height or spacing of text
- many documents are in PDF or Word format and are not accessible
- some images do not have image descriptions
Feedback and contact information
If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, or if you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille: please reach out to us via email: strongershores@southtyneside.gov.uk.
We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 14 days.
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).
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
South Tyneside 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
Images
Some images and buttons do not have a text alternative, so people using a screen reader cannot access the information. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content).
We plan to add text alternatives for all images by March 2024.
ARIA Attributes
Users might not be able listen to some parts of the website using a screen reader. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).
We plan to add ARIA attributes to those parts of the site by March 2024.
Links
Some links open in a new window or tab without warning. Users using a screen reader to navigate will likely not realize that a new window or tab has opened. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.2 (Predictable).
We plan to ensure links open in the same window or add both visual and auditory warnings for links that have to open in a new window by March 2024.
Color Contrast
Some links one the website do not meet the minimum color contrast ratio of 4.5:1. Some users may find it difficult to read the text. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum).
All links will meet the minimum color contrast ratio by March 2024.
Headings
Some templates have incorrect heading order. This can be confusing to screen reader users and can make heading navigation difficult. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels).
We plan to add the correct headings to all templates by March 2024.
Google Maps
We use Google Maps to display our research locations.
The image of the map provided by Google does not have alternate text. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content). As content from Google Maps is not under the Council’s control, we are unable to fix this, however, we provide alternative ways to access those pages.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
PDFs and non-HTML documents
Non-HTML documents published before September 2018 do not need to be accessible – unless users need them to use a service
Live video
We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We are urgently fixing content which fails to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard. We will update this page when issues are fixed.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 5 December 2023. It was last reviewed on 19 January 2024.
This website was last tested on 22 January 2024 against the WCAG 2.1 AA standard. The test was carried out by the website development agency Studio14.
The following pages were tested:
- Homepage
- About us
- Latest News
- Events
- Get Involved
- Habitats
- Our Locations
The pages above were tested using automated testing tool Equalize Accessibility Checker.