Accessibility statement

This accessibility statement applies to the website www.blackburn.gov.uk, which is managed by Blackburn with Darwen Council.

This website is run by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council. We want as many people as possible to be able to use it. For example, that means you should be able to:

• change colours, contrast levels and fonts
• zoom 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 most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver

We have 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.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 30.05.19. It was last updated on 17.10.22.

In-house testing takes place on a regular basis to keep this website as accessible as possible.

Accessibility

We know some parts of this website aren’t fully accessible:

• you can’t modify the line height or spacing of text
• most older PDF documents aren’t fully accessible to screen reader software
• some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

• it’s not possible for users to modify text spacing or line height
• create account form:
  • keyboard tab focus is not visible on the back to top button
  • the link after ‘Skip to main content’ is not readable

Issues with PDFs and other documents

Many of our older PDFs don’t meet accessibility standards. For example, they may not be marked up so they’re accessible to a screen reader.

Some of our PDFs are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs with information on how users can access our services and forms published. We plan to either fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages unless we determine that they represent a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations.

The accessibility regulations don’t 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 don’t plan to fix the documents listed on the Gib Lane masterplan page.

Any new PDF we publish will meet accessibility standards as far as is possible, unless we determine that they represent a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. Ultimately we plan to provide an accessible HTML version of the information as the primary source.

Improve accessibility

We aim to provide an accessible HTML version of any new information as the primary source rather than using a PDF.

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've made a formal complaint to us about our website's accessibility, and aren't happy with our response, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Blackburn with Darwen 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 listed above.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format please email webteam@blackburn.gov.uk. We will aim to get back to you within 14 days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that aren’t listed on this page or think we’re not meeting the requirements of the accessibility regulations, email webteam@blackburn.gov.uk.