What does this mean? Ideally, your website and all of its content should be accessible for everyone regardless of any visual, hearing, cognitive, motor impairments or learning difficulties they may have.
However, it is rare to find any website that is 100% accessible. And small councils – where there is little budget available to redesign a website – may find this particularly difficult.
These councils can set aside their accessibility obligation if they can show that making all the necessary changes would be a ‘disproportionate burden’. In other words, if they can prove the council cannot afford to make the changes required to make its website accessible.
It is, however, important for every council to demonstrate that it is committed to accessibility. At a minimum, you must include an accessibility statement on your website. This statement should include contact details for people to raise any concerns about your website’s accessibility. It should also include links (if possible) to an accessible version of any published information – for example, a PDF document is not accessible so providing a link to a Word document would be helpful.
A website is an important communication tool for all councils reaching out to every section of their communities. Councils can complete their own basic accessibility check to see where improvements can be made. Councils are also encouraged to read the guidance on GOV.UK on how to make your website accessible and publish an accessibility statement.
This is the last in a series of blogs from the Parish Council Domains Helper Service, other blogs include: