Accessibility statement for Brent Council
This accessibility statement applies to the Brent Council website: brent.gov.uk
Individual accessibility statements are also available for additional website and digital tools needed to complete tasks and user journeys.
This website is run by Brent 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)
You should also be able to translate content on our website into a language you speak.
To make our website easier to use, the site uses a tool called ‘ReachDeck, a piece of software which helps people who:
- can't see very well
- are blind
- can't hear very well
- find a keyboard or mouse hard to use
- find words difficult
- speak a different language
You don't have to download or install anything - just click on the ‘speak’ button, located at the top of every page to access the additional toolbar. See further instructions on how to use the ReachDeck tool.
It includes text to speech functionality, dyslexia software and a translation tool with over 100 languages. You can also use it to change colour schemes, font sizes and style.
We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.
Internet accessibility help
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability:
- make your mouse easier to use
- use your keyboard instead of a mouse
- talk to your device
- make your device talk to you
- make text larger
- change your colours
- magnify the screen
Downloadable documents
This site uses the PDF file format for the publication of large and complex documents.
To view and print PDF files, you must have Adobe Reader installed which is free to download and install.
How accessible this website is
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:
- most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
- most live video streams do not have captions
- some of our older videos don't have captions
- some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard
- some videos and navigational maps are missing headings
What to do if you can’t access parts of this website
If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille email us at webteam@brent.gov.uk
To help us deal with your enquiry, please try and include as must information as possible, including:
- the web address of the pages you're having difficulties with
- how you are accessing the site, for example on your phone, on a laptop, on a tablet
- If on a laptop or tablet, which browser you are using, for example Edge, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome or Safari
- the nature of your disability, if any
- a description of the problem.
We'll consider your request and get back to you within 20 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 our web team at: webteam@brent.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.
Our offices have audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.
To contact us, please call 020 8937 1234 (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm) or email customer.services@brent.gov.uk
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
London Borough of Brent Council is committed to making its websites 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, non-compliances listed below:
Non-accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Missing Page title
A small number of pages have no title.
This means that when these pages are viewed by a screen reader or other assistive technology the user may not know where they are on the site or what type of content to expect. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.2 (page titled).
We are working through the remaining pages to ensure they all have titles. We aim to have this done by the end of February 2022.
Empty headings
A small number of pages have empty heading tags.
When a heading tag is empty, it makes it harder for a visitor using screen readers to scan the page for information. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (information and relationships).
We are working through the remaining pages to ensure they all have titles. We aim to have this done by the end of February 2022.
Element IDs are not unique
A number of pages have two or more elements that are not unique.
A visitor using a screen reader or other assistive technology required page elements to be marked up correctly and uniquely so that can work out how different parts of the page fit together and make sense of the information. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (information and relationships).
We are working through the remaining pages to ensure they element IDs are unique. We aim to have this done by the end of March 2022.
Table headings aren’t referenced correctly
Some pages have tables where the table headings haven’t been referenced correctly.
If cells or headers aren’t marked up as such in the code, it can make it harder for visitors using a screen reader or other assistive technology to work out what information is in the table. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (information and relationships).
We are working through the remaining pages to ensure they all the tables have correctly referenced titles. We aim to have this done by the end of February 2022.
Missing iFrame titles
On some pages, where there are embedded elements, such as videos, maps or media, a title for the iFrame file has not be included.
This means that when these pages are viewed by a screen reader or other assistive technology it is not possible to determine what the file is. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (name, role, value).
We are working through these pages to ensure all the embedded iFrame files have a description of the content in the title. We aim to have this issue fixed this done by the end of March 2022.
PDFs and other documents
Some of our PDFs and other documents do not meet accessibility standards - for example, they may not be marked up so they're accessible to a screen reader. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (name, role value).
The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they are not essential to providing our services.
We have created a register of PDFs which are essential for service delivery and are working through these to identify which can be deleted, replaced with accessible HTML pages, or made accessible.
Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish should meet accessibility standards unless we determine that they represent a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations.
Maps
Online maps and mapping services are exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.
Pre-recorded media
Many of our videos don't have accurate edited captions. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.2 (captions pre-recorded). The regulations do not apply to pre-recorded videos published before 23 September 2020.
Any new videos we publish will have edited captions, subtitles or be audibly described.
How we tested this website
We use Siteimprove and Wave automated testing tools to help us monitor and fix usability and accessibility issues as they occur. The web team also manually review and update the site to maintain any parts that automated testing cannot cover.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
- We will work to resolve all identified accessibility issues that are within our control and will release them to the website as soon as possible.
- We will work to improve the accessibility of documents published on the website.
- We will run audits whenever new functionality is added to the site.
Third-party websites and applications
Our website includes a number of platforms and applications that have been developed by external suppliers to provide some of the online services we offer.
Where we use third-party applications, we cannot always guarantee that these will conform to the same levels of accessibility as the main website because they are partly or wholly out of our control.
Third-party applications include:
- My Account
- Online forms
- Cookies preference centre
- Public Access applications search (planning, building control and licensing)
- Open Data
We monitor the accessibility of these sites and where it is within our control, we will make every reasonable effort to work towards meeting accessibility requirements.
View the accessibility statements for our third-party systems.
Any new third-party systems we commission will be required to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 AA standards.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 15 February 2022.
This website was last reviewed on 14 February 2022 by Brent Council.