Accessibility

Accessibility statement for mansfield.gov.uk

This accessibility statement applies to mansfield.gov.uk

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 without the text spilling off the screen
  • Navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
  • Resize text and adjust line, letter and word spacing
  • Listen to most of the website using a screen reader.

We have also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet (opens in a new window) has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We have listed areas of the site that we know are not fully accessible:

  • Some PDF and word documents published prior to 23 September 2018 are not fully accessible to screen reader software and provide no information on the structure of the document for assistive technologies.
  • Some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard.
  • Our online forms do not have any programmed autocomplete functions, if you have signed up for an account some fields such as name and address will be autocompleted.  If not your browser may still provide some autocomplete options.
  • Some of our image labels and descriptions are inconsistent.
  • There’s a limit to how far you can magnify the maps on pages.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF or large print please contact us:

We’ll consider your request and get back to you. If you cannot view the map on our contact us page, call or email us for directions.

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, please contact us:

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 are not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) (opens in a new window).

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

Find out how to contact us on our contact us page.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Mansfield District 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 2.2 (opens in a new window), due to certain non-compliances and exemptions listed on this page.

Non-accessible content

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

This non-compliant list relate to the whole of the site, this external audit was run by Monsido (opens in a new window). Some of these non-compliant items have been flagged as requiring attention, but may not actually have any content, however we will make the appropriate checks to ensure this is the case and correct any errors.  This external audit was last carried out on the 14 December 2023 and shows the current percentage of all the errors found that have so far been corrected.  

Current level A non compliant elements:

Alt text for all img elements is the empty string ("") if the image is decorative.    WCAG A 1.1.1    59.27%
For all img elements, text does not refer to the image by color alone.    WCAG A 1.4.1    61.54%
Alt text for all img elements contains all text in the image unless the image text is decorative or appears elsewhere in the document.    WCAG A 1.4.5    61.59%
A long description is used for each img element that does not have Alt text conveying the same information as the image.    WCAG A 1.1.1    61.68%
Alt text for all img elements that are not used as source anchors conveys the same information as the image.    WCAG A 1.1.1    62.81%
All p elements are not used as headers.    WCAG A 1.3.1    87.87%
User interface components with labels that include text or images of text has the text that is presented visually contained in the name.    WCAG A 2.5.3    94.10%
All form fields that are required are indicated to the user as required.    WCAG A 3.3.2    95.71%
All form submission error messages identify any empty required fields.    WCAG A 3.3.1    95.71%
Each label describes its associated input element.    WCAG A 3.3.2    98.77%
input should not use color alone    WCAG A 1.4.1    98.77%
All input elements, type of "text", have a label that describes the purpose or function of the control.    WCAG A 3.3.2    98.87%
All input elements, type of "text", have a label that is positioned close to the control.    WCAG A 1.3.1    98.87%
Image Alt text is short.    WCAG A 1.1.1    98.07%
All select elements have a label that describes the purpose or function of the control.    WCAG A 3.3.2    98.54%
script should not cause screen flicker.    WCAG A 2.3.1    91.41%
Color alone should not be used in the script.    WCAG A 1.4.1    91.41%
All select elements have a label that is positioned close to the control.    WCAG A 1.3.1    98.58%
All complex data tables have a summary    WCAG A 1.3.1    99.29%
All layout tables do not contain th elements.    WCAG A 1.3.1    99.24%
Use thead to group repeated table headers, tfoot for repeated table footers, and tbody for other groups of rows.    WCAG A 1.3.1    99.24%
Use colgroup and col elements to group columns.    WCAG A 1.3.1    99.24%
All data tables contain a caption unless the table is identified within the document.    WCAG A 1.3.1    99.29%
Links inside text are distinguishable.    WCAG A 1.4.1    99.67%
All layout tables make sense when linearized    WCAG A 1.3.3    99.91%
All data tables contain th elements    WCAG A 1.3.1    99.91%
Data tables that contain both row and column headers use the scope attribute, or id and headers, to identify cells.    WCAG A 1.3.1    99.81%
title is short.    WCAG A 2.4.2    99.91%
All input elements, type of "checkbox", have a label that is positioned close to the control.    WCAG A 1.3.1    99.95%
All input elements, type of "checkbox", have a label that describes the purpose or function of the control.    WCAG A 3.3.2    99.95%
All data table summaries describe navigation and structure of the table.    WCAG A 1.3.1    99.95%

Current level AA non compliant elements:

The luminosity contrast ratio between text and background color in all images is at least 5:1.    WCAG AA 1.4.3    59.32%
Information deleted using a web page can be recovered.    WCAG AA 3.3.4    95.71%
All form submission error messages provide assistance in correcting the error.    WCAG AA 3.3.3    95.71%
The tab order specified by tabindex attributes follows a logical order.    WCAG AA 3.2.3    96.37%
blockquote must not be used for indentation.    WCAG AA 3.2.4    98.21%
Provide sufficient contrast between text and background colours.    WCAG AA 1.4.3    7.88%
font must not be used.    WCAG AA 1.4.4    99.95%

We plan to fix these issues as soon as possible, our web team are committed to complying with all the WCAG 2.2 AA or below and perform weekly updates and checks.

Disproportionate burden

Interactive tools and transactions

Some of our interactive forms may be difficult to navigate using a keyboard. Some of our forms are built and hosted through third party software and ‘skinned’ to look like our website. With specific reference to "Not all form fields identify the purpose of fields programmatically WCAG AA 1.3.5" which is the issue for accessibility that relates to our forms, we are working to resolve this with our suppliers.  However the burden on the council to replace these systems is significant.

JADU, our website provider have stated that the fix is available in their release XFP 8.1.0, we are currently at release version XFP 7.3.1 and have asked JADU to prepare the update for us as soon as possible.  It is expected to be available from June 2024.

We have contacted NEC Northgate, our Revenues and Benefits system provider and are awaiting a suitable response in this matter.  The costs for the Northgate product over the current 3-year contract is £242,2794, the current contract expires 31/03/2023.  The costs and timescales to replace this product, given the values involved is considered a disproportionate burden, as the costs to the council would be significant.  The council offers support to those citizens unable to complete the forms online through the contact centre via phone and on site at the Civic Centre.

We have contacted GovTech, who provide forms to integrate into the Northgate products and are awaiting a suitable response.  The costs for the products are £96,252 for a 3 year period, the current contract expires 31/12/2022. The costs and timescales to replace this product, given the values involved is considered a disproportionate burden, as the costs to the council would be significant.  The council offers support to those citizens unable to complete the forms online through the contact centre via phone and on site at the Civic Centre.

We’ve assessed the cost of fixing the accessibility issue "Not all form fields identify the purpose of fields programmatically WCAG AA 1.3.5" and we believe that doing so now would be a disproportionate burden (opens in a new window) within the meaning of the accessibility regulations.  However we will work with our suppliers to continue to resolve the issue.

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. 

The accessibility regulations (opens in a new window) 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 [example of non-essential document].

Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

Online maps that are present on our website and are not used for navigational purposes are exempt under the regulations. We use several maps to show planning or other geographical information. If users require an accessible alternative to this information, please contact us.

Live video

We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations (opens in a new window).

What we are doing to improve accessibility

Training everyone that publishes to the web in creating accessible content.

Providing guidance to services on creating accessible multimedia content.

Moving away from PDF documents to web pages where possible.

The Mansfield District Council web team will perform the required tests and corrections every Wednesday and update this statement on a monthly basis.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 22 September 2020. It was last reviewed on 14 December 2023.

This website was last tested in December 2023. The test was carried out by Monsido (opens in a new window)

We are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of technology or ability.

We are actively working to increase the accessibility and usability of our website and in doing so adhere to many of the available standards and guidelines.