1. Home
  2. About this site
  3. Accessibility statement

Accessibility statement

Introduction

This accessibility statement applies to eastsussex.gov.uk

This website is run by East Sussex County 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 300% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate most of the website using only 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

Most of our website should be accessible. It should work well when used with access devices such as screen readers, braille readers, as well as smart phones and other devices.

We know some content on this website is not fully accessible:

  • some old PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
  • live video streams do not have captions.
  • some third-party content

A detailed list of known accessibility issues and how we plan to address them is available further down this statement. We regularly review the site and add further issues to this statement as they are identified.


Feedback and contact information

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. 

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact the Web Team.

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’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

East Sussex County 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

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

  • Some documents in PDF (Portable Document Format) and Word format may not be accessible. For example, they may not be structured so they’re accessible to a screen reader. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (name, role value).

We’ve trained all our web authors in how to produce accessible PDF and Word documents, including how to use automated accessibility checkers. We conduct regular audits and manual checks of accessibility issues with documents and work with web authors to improve the accessibility of documents, especially popular ones. All new documents should be accessible.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Digital assistant (chatbot)

The digital assistant (chatbot) feature known as 'Esca' appears on our website pages about Blue Badges if you have cookies enabled. This chatbot is run by East Sussex County Council and the chatbot was developed by ICS.AI. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this chatbot. 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 chatbot using just a keyboard
  • navigate most of the chatbot using speech recognition software
  • listen to most of the chatbot using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver).

We’ve also made the chatbot 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 chatbot is:

We know some parts of the chatbot are not fully accessible.

  • Keyboard and screen reader users may have difficulty navigating the chatbot. Accessing chatbot response messages and inputting user questions does not function with keyboard controls. Users are expected to press Enter to move into specific messages within the chat window. Keyboard and screen reader users may not receive these instructions and have difficulty navigating the chat window and responses. This fails WCAG 2.1.1 Keyboard (A). The issue has been raised with Microsoft’s Enterprise Disability Answer Desk who have confirmed it to be a problem with a Microsoft software component and have escalated it to the product engineering team for resolution.
  • When keyboard or screen reader users interact with carousel replies, they may experience focus visibility issues and navigational issues. Focus visibility may not move new messages completely into the field of view for keyboard only users, and using the left and right arrow keys for keyboard or screen reader users will disrupt the journey and move the user back to the top of the chatbot navigation and out of the chat window. The issue has been raised with Microsoft’s Enterprise Disability Answer Desk who are investigating the problem.
  • The chatbot profile picture is read out to mobile screen reader as they move through messages while the picture is visually hidden. This fails WCAG 2.4.3 Focus Order (A). This issue is still under investigation. This behaviour may manifest itself inconsistently depending on the hosting site. The developers are working towards a solution which will resolve the issue.

This chatbot was last tested on 31 January 2022. The test was carried out by All Able Ltd.

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of services we use such as this chatbot. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please email us.

Email: Web Team

Click4Assistance – Web chat used on Adult Social Care pages

Click4Assistance is committed to making its solution accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status
Visitor facing templates are fully compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility
Our accessibility roadmap is designed to release new templates when major changes to accessibility guidelines or UK legalisation occurs.

Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 24 September 2019. It was last reviewed on 10 November 2022 when the latest templates were released against new accounts.

Templates were last tested on 12 October 2021. The tests were carried out by a member of the Click4Assistance support and Q&A team, using the following resources:

If you need help with the Click4Assistance, please contact us:
Telephone: 0345 608 0190
Email: Health and Social Care Connect

Holiday food and fun booking system

We offer a range of activities at our holiday food and fun clubs for children on benefit-related free school meals. The events are advertised and booked using a third-party system provided by Eequ Ltd. We know that some images do not have alternative text which fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content). Read the Eequ Ltd accessibility statement.

If you need help booking a place, please contact us.

Telephone: 07923 382464

Email: HAF team

Freedom of Information and complaints

Our FOI and complaints systems use a third party system called iCasework. We know this might not be suitable for users of assistive technology. Here is the iCasework accessibility statement from Civica.

iCasework web forms are fully compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1AA standard.

How Civica tested iCasework forms:

  • As part of our development process, we use WAVE testing tools, screen readers as well as a developer checklist to check compliance. In addition, accessibility to AA standards is regularly tested independently by our government customers and any issues raised are handled with the same priority as software bugs.
  • The web forms were last tested on 28 July 2020.
  • The accessibility statement was last updated on 1 October 2020.

Contact details:

If you find any problems with iCasework not listed on this page, please email support@icasework.com

If you have issues using this system to submit an FOI request or a complaint, please contact us:

Telephone: 01273 482913

Email: Customer Services and Information Governance Officer

Bikeability booking request

There is insufficient contrast between the text and the background. This fails WCAG criteria 1.4.3 (contrast). The page structure is not a meaningful sequence. This fails WCAG criteria 1.3.2 (meaningful sequence).

These issues will be fixed by December 2022.

Apply for travel assistance form

The fields are not identified programmatically. This fails WCAG criteria 1.3.5 (identify input purpose). Form controls don’t change appearance when selected. This fails WCAG criteria 2.4.7 (Focus visible).

These issues will be fixed by January 2023.

Adult Social Care Adults Portal

This accessibility statement applies to our Adults Portal which is supplied to East Sussex County Council under contract with third-party company Liquidlogic. The Adults Portal is used to fill in an online self-assessment to find out if you are eligible for social care support. You can apply yourself or on behalf of someone else.

How accessible the Adults Portal is:

Most of our website should be accessible. It should work well when used with access devices such as screen readers, braille readers, as well as smart phones and other devices.

We know some content on this website is not fully accessible. This includes:

  • images
  • some PDF documents
  • some third-party content.

East Sussex Portals are partially compliant with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

  • Navigation of portal menus are not marked as lists. This fails WCAG A 1.3.1
  • Not all form fields have descriptive labels or instructions. This fails WCAG A 3.3.2
  • HTML on the portal is not always in a meaningful order. This fails WCAG A 1.3.2
  • Labelling of links and images is not consistent across the portal. This fails WCAG AA 3.2.4
  • The outline of some form fields is difficult to see. This fails WCAG 2.1 AA F78
  • Images on the help and advice page do not have meaningful alternative text for the use of screen readers. This fails WCAG A 1.1.1
  • When clicking the ‘Menu’ button while browsing on a mobile device, the button does not change colour. This fails WCAG AA 2.4.7

How the Adults Portal was tested:

  • The Portal was tested in  SortSite and Silktide in September 2022 for compliance with the WCAG Level A and Level AA, and these tests have been carried out internally. The results are reviewed, prioritised, corrections applied and, where necessary, passed to our Portal software suppliers for consideration. Various fixes will also be applied in future upgrades.
  • These Portals are configurable by each local authority who uses them. However, the suppliers review the base application code for the Portals on a regular basis to ensure that any reported accessibility or security issues are addressed or scheduled for future releases. The suppliers also use a mixture of browser plugins such as Wave WebAIM for chrome, SortSite and aXe for auditing, to analyse the applications accessibility performance.

This statement was prepared on 22 September 2022.

Adult Social Care Provider Portal

The Provider Portal gives care home and home care providers details about their clients, such as contracts and rates.

Parts of this website are not fully accessible. For example:

  • colour contrast is insufficient
  • some of our forms are difficult to navigate using a keyboard.

We plan to identify and fix issues according to the timescales shown for each area:

  • PDFs and other documents - Some of our PDFs and other documents are not formatted so they’re accessible to a screen reader. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, role value). Any new documents we publish should meet accessibility standards where they are required for essential services or users who are likely to have disabilities or impairments. Essential documents will be reviewed and made accessible by December 2022.
  • Navigation - On some pages the tabbing order is not logical when navigating using a keyboard. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.3 Focus Order. We plan to resolve this issue by December 2022.
  • HTML - On some pages HTML is used to format content rather than CSS. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 Information and Relationships. We plan to resolve this issue by December 2022.
  • Headings - On some pages, headings don't cascade inside the features on the page. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.10 (Section Headings). We plan to resolve this issue by December 2022. 

How the Provider Portal was tested:

  • This statement was prepared on 1 June 2021. It was last reviewed on 14 April 2022. This website was last tested on 12 April 2022. The test was carried out by Oxford Computer Consultants.
  • We tested a large sample size of page types and varieties from our site, with the aim to make sure all types of user journey and the most popular tasks were represented. For example, the main homepage and also the content listed under service landing pages.
  • We complete our accessibility audits by testing how the site performs when accessed using accessibility tools such as WAVE Evaluation Tool (to test coding elements) and WebAIM Contrast Checker (to test the contrast levels between colours with hexadecimal accuracy).

If you need help with the Provider Portal, please contact us:

Telephone: 0345 608 0190

Email: Health and Social Care Connect

Online Financial Assessment website

Our Online Financial Assessment website allows people to check if they need to pay towards their social care. The site is managed by Oxford Computer Consultants on behalf of East Sussex County Council.

While we have tried to ensure the accessibility of our site, there are some known limitations. These are documented below along with suggested workarounds to address these limitations.

The following are some potential problems that we are working to improve:

  • PDFs are not always accessible. We are working to ensure those still in use are available in an accessible format and are moving away from using PDF format for future documents.
  • Pages are not accessible without JavaScript enabled. Although this is not a failure of WCAG 2.1 in itself, we recognise that it may represent a significant issue for some users. If you are affected by this, please contact us to arrange an alternative method of financial assessment. If you find any content that you cannot access, then please contact us and we will provide you with an accessible alternative format, such as accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille.
  • If you would like to comment on the accessibility of the Online Financial Assessment website, please contact us.

Contact details:

Telephone: 0345 60 80 191

Email: Health and Social Care Connect

Other ways to Contact Adult Social Care and Health.

How the Online Financial Assessment website was tested:

  • This statement was prepared on 1 June 2021. It was last reviewed on 14 April 2022. This website was last tested on 12 April 2022. The test was carried out by Oxford Computer Consultants.
  • They tested a large sample size of page types with the aim to make sure all types of user journey and the most popular tasks were represented, for example the main homepage and also the content listed under service landing pages.
  • They complete accessibility audits by testing how the site performs when accessed using accessibility tools such as WAVE Evaluation Tool (to test coding elements) and WebAIM Contrast Checker (to test the contrast levels between colours with hexadecimal accuracy).

Synergy Parent Portal

This is used to apply for school places, free school meals and 2-year nursery funding. We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible as shown below.

Some lists are not marked up correctly so screen readers cannot accurately report the number of items in the list. This fails WCAG A 4.4.1.

Forms do not have explicit text labels for each form control, so they are not accessible to people using screen readers. This fails WCAG A 1.3.1

Adjacent links point to the same destination. This is time consuming for users of a screen reader who must hear each link in turn. This fails WCAG A 1.1.1.

Forms don’t all contain a submit button so people using assistive technologies may not be able to submit the form. This fails WCAG A 3.2.2.

Links are only distinguished by colour and do not appear visually distinct from regular text. Users with visual impairments cannot see them. This fails WCAG A 1.4.1.

Links are not defined in a way to be accessed by screen readers used by blind and partially sighted people. This fails WCAG A 4.1.2.

There is a duplicate id attribute on a page which can stop accessible technologies working. This fails WCAG A 4.1.1.

Some fields don’t identify their purpose programmatically so browsers cannot help autofill forms with known information. This fails WCAG AA 1.3.5.

Some form controls do not contrast sufficiently with their surroundings so that people with visual impairments can see them. This fails WCAG AA 1.4.11.

Text does not have high colour contrast so people with significant visual impairments can read it. This fails WCAG AAA 1.4.6.

All known issues with the Parent Portal will be fixed and meet accessibility standards when we move to a new version of the Parent Portal in summer 2023.

If you need help with the Parent Portal to apply for school place or free school meals, please contact us:

Telephone: 0300 330 9472

Email: School Admissions team

If you need help with the Parent Portal to apply for 2-year nursery funding please contact us:

Telephone: 0345 60 80 192

Email: Customer Relations team  

Individual school admission rules documents

Where schools have their own admission rules, we publish those in PDF format on the Final Arrangements page on School admissions policies .

Although we encourage and provide guidance to schools around web accessibility standards, not all PDFs are completely accessible. We are legally required to offer these documents on our website, but each document is owned by its respective school.

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

Maps

Some forms may have an online map. Online maps and mapping services are exempt from the regulations if essential information is provided in an accessible digital manner for maps intended for navigational use.

PDFs and other documents

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they're not essential to providing our services.

The accessibility regulations also do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents provided by third-parties that we have no control over.

Live video

Live video streams do not have captions. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.4 (captions - live).

We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.

Disproportionate burden

Navigating date picker with keyboard

Date pickers are known to fail several basic criteria in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Although the date widget is not accessible by keyboard, GOV.UK Design System components recommends to use a date input field instead of calendar when asking users for dates they already know, such as date of birth.

Planning register

Our planning register automatically generates PDF and Word files with accessibility issues. Where Word files are manually created we will make them accessible. All relevant documents on current/live planning applications are in an accessible format. If you have difficulties accessing the planning register please contact the Planning Policy and Development Management Team.

Telephone: 01273 481846

Email: Planning Policy and Development Management


Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 24 September 2019 and last reviewed on 30 November 2023.

How we test this website

This website was last tested in May 2023. The test was carried out by analysts with a range of disabilities at the Digital Accessibility Centre.

Using analytics to identify our users’ top tasks, we decided on a sample of pages to test. The Digital Accessibility Centre then tested our website with a screen reader analyst, a low vision analyst, a voice activation analyst, a keyboard only analyst and a cognitive analyst. We’ve implemented the improvements identified where possible and fed them to the third party suppliers when appropriate.

We also use an automated accessibility audit tool, Silktide to check the accessibility of our website and PDFs. We routinely carry out manual checks on a proportion of our pages and documents to identify issues that can't be detected automatically.

Language

We use plain English to make the text easy to read. We aim to create content for a reading age of 11. We regularly run readability audits on our content and make continual improvements. As of 29 September 2022, our content meets AA accessibility standards and scores 95% on our automated testing software.

Sign language readers can visit our British Sign Language (BSL) introduction to the East Sussex County Council website.

If you would like to read the website in another language use Google Translate.