Table of Contents
What is digital accessibility?
Digital accessibility is about designing our websites and online systems so that they can be accessed and used by everyone.
This could be for people who may have:
- visual impairment
- motor difficulties
- cognitive impairment
- hearing problems
- learning disabilities
- injuries or medical conditions
These could be permanent or temporary conditions.
We need to make sure all our web content, documents and media are designed in a way that nobody is blocked from accessing them.
Examples:
- Someone who has a visual impairment may be more likely to use a screen reader (technology that reads the content of webpages and documents to the user).
- People with motor difficulties might access our website using a special mouse or speech recognition software.
- Simulated examples of some accessibility needs
If we don’t set up our websites and documents in an accessible way, these people can be prevented from accessing important information about our services.
Providing accessible content is beneficial for everyone and it makes content easier to access.
Why do we need to think about accessibility?
Accessibility is important for public sector authorities. We need to ensure anyone with a disability or impairment etc is not at a disadvantage when trying to access information or services.
Just like a shop or building would have ramps, automatic doors, lowered counters etc for wheelchair access, this also applies to websites, online systems and documents.
If people with a disability or impairment cannot access information on a website then it is breaking the law.
This means we need to be mindful when making content for the website or for public use, that we make it accessible for everyone.
Accessibility and the Law
New regulations came into force in 2020 meaning public sector organisations have a legal duty to make sure websites and apps meet accessibility requirements.
This is called the “Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018”
If we don’t set up our websites and digitally published documents to meet this legislation, we are breaking the law.
The accessibility legislation covers all our council websites, including our staff sites – the Hub and MyCouncilWorks and it also covers all documents that we publish online.
What does this mean for me?
Website accessibility legislation doesn’t just affect staff who have a direct involvement with the website – it affects:
- anyone who creates or edits documents for their job that will be published online
- any documents made by consultants for your service to be published online
- anyone creating media such as videos and presentations for publishing online
This includes documents, policies, plans and media created for staff to be published on the Hub and MyCouncilWorks as well as our external websites.