Using this website
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:
- zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
- navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
- 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.
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 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
If you can’t access parts of this website
If you need information on this website in a different format please email : webteam@blackburn.gov.uk
We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 1 working day.
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, contact webteam@blackburn.gov.uk.
Enforcement procedure
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing 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
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.
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.
Issues with technology
It’s not possible for users to modify text spacing or line height.
The news slider feature on the homepage features some non-standard HTML ( <div> elements within <ul> tags).
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. By September 2020, 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 unless we determine 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.
How we tested this website
This website was last tested on 11th July 2019. The test was carried out in house using automated test software.
We used this approach to deciding on a sample of pages to test:
We tested:
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We plan to provide an accessible HTML version of any new information as the primary source rather than using a PDF.
We are considering linking with a third party accessibility consultancy to help us to improve our accessibility.
This statement was prepared on 30.05.19. It was last updated on 11.07.19.