Accessibility statement

This statement applies to content published on folkestone-hythe.gov.uk

This website is run by Folkestone & Hythe District 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 200% 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)

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 monitor and audit Folkestone-Hythe.gov.uk using Siteimprove to keep it accessible in line with WCAG 2.1 AA standards

However, we know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

  • when increasing the font size some items overflow and maybe slightly difficult to read
  • some forms used on the site do not provide clear error messages
  • some forms are not hosted on an accessible platform
  • some document attachments are not clearly written
  • some graphics and document attachments have poor colour contrast
  • some images do not have good alternative text
  • some buttons are not correctly identified
  • many documents are in PDF, Excel or Word format and are not accessible

How to request content in an accessible format

If you need information in a different format contact us and tell us:

  • the web address (URL) of the content
  • your name and email address
  • the format you need (for example, audio CD, braille, BSL or large print, accessible PDF)

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

If you find problems that are not listed on this page or you think we are not meeting accessibility requirements

Leave your accessibility feedback

Enforcement procedure

If you contact us with a complaint and you are not happy with our response contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

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').

Technical information about this website's accessibility

Folkestone & Hythe 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 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below

Non-accessible content

  • Some form controls do not have labels. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and relationship). We plan to ensure all form labels are applied correctly by 1 January 2023.
  • Some graphics have text in. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.5 (Images of text). We plan to ensure all images are free from text by 1 January 2023.

Content that's not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

PDFs and other documents

Some of Folkestone & Hythe District Council's older PDFs are inaccessible and do not meet accessibility standards.
We are working towards replacing as many PDFs as possible with HTML web pages.

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 are prioritising making PDFs accessible that:

  • contain information on how users can access our service
  • are most frequently downloaded
  • contain information that has a statutory requirement

We are developing training and guidance to help all document creators to develop accessible documents.
Our plan is to ensure that all essential PDFs are converted into an accessible format.

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 are doing to improve accessibility

We are using SiteImprove and Jadu to continually identify and fix issues as they arise.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 23 September 2020. It was last reviewed on 1 December 2022.

This website was last tested on 1 December 2022. The test was carried out by Folkestone & Hythe District Council.

Last updated 1 December 2022