Accessibility

This accessibility statement applies to www.thinksandwell.com.

This website is run by Sandwell Council. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. That means you should be able to:

• Change colours, contrast levels and fonts
• Zoom in up to 300 per cent 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 made the website text as simple as possible to understand. We add alternative text (alt-text) to every new image we upload to the website.

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 are not fully accessible.

Work is needed to update icons and forms so they have meaningful labels/links. There needs to be greater contrasts in colours and more helpful use of headings.

Also:

• You cannot modify the line height or spacing of text
• Older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
• Some links do not explicitly explain their purpose
• Some tables require headers.

Feedback and contact information

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page you can contact the Think Sandwell team via our contact form or email think_sandwell@sandwell.gov.uk. We will respond to you within ten working days.

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).

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

Sandwell Council provides a text relay service for people who are D/deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment.

Our offices have audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

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

Compliance status

This website is not compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

1.1.1 Non-text content
Navigation icons are missing alt-text

1.4.3 Contrast (minimum)
There are issues with low contrast of colours

2.4.4 Link purpose (in context)
Linked images in navigation are missing alt-text, including search bar

2.4.6 Headings and labels
3.3.2 Labels or instructions
There are form controls without a label.

Update in July 2022:
We are working with our web developer to fix every issue that is possible given the website’s age and structure. It is important to note that we are currently writing specifications for a new website. It will be vital that the appointed developer works with us to ensure the new site is fully compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard.

How we tested this website

We used the website accessibilitychecker.org to run a site-wide test. We also used the Chrome plug-in WAVE Evaluation Tool to test individual pages.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared In June 2021. It was last reviewed on Friday 22 July 2022.