Accessibility

This accessibility statement applies to visitrochdale.com.

This website is run by Rochdale Borough Council. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

• Use descriptive links on our website so they can be read out of context and users know where they will go next.
• Resize text up to 200% on desktop and 200% on mobile without the content spilling off the screen.
• Skip to main content when using a keyboard.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability (external link).

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

• The headings are not structure correctly as heading 2 is used prior to heading 1. 
• Some aspects of the site are not optimised for mobile. 

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:

• Email council@rochdale.gov.uk
• Phone 01706 647474
• Write to: Rochdale Borough Council, Customer Services, Number One Riverside, Smith Street, Rochdale OL16 1XU. 

When contacting us please tell us:

1. The web address (URL) of the content.
2. Your name and email address.
3. The format you need, for example, audio CD, braille or large print.

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please

• Email web.team@rochdale.gov.uk
• Phone 01706 924836
• Write to: Rochdale Borough Council, Digital Services Team, Floor 3, Number One Riverside, Smith Street, Rochdale OL16 1XU

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

We provide a text relay service for people who are deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment.

If you contact us before your visit we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.

Call or email us to contact us. 

Technical information about this website's accessibility

Rochdale Borough 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 and exemptions listed below.

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Success criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content and success criterion 2.4.4 Link purpose (In Context)

Our web pages contain a large amount of non-text elements, such as images. Some of these elements are not marked correctly with the code that helps assistive technology read them correctly, which prevents the user from being able to access the content. This doesn't meet the WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content) and success criterion 2.4.4 Link purpose (In Context).

We're aiming to complete this work in 2021. 

Success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships and success criterion 2.4.10 Section Headings

Each page on this website has an incorrect headings structure that can prevent screen readers from being able to follow the on-page content correctly. In addition, there are cases of multiple 'More details' buttons that lead to different locations, which makes navigation more difficult for users with assistive technologies. The Google Recaptcha that is used to block automated spam is also not accessible. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships and success criterion 2.4.10 Section Headings

Our supplier has confirmed these problems are due to their CMS and at the moment they cannot be fixed. We'll aim to fix these problems if we move to a new CMS.

Success criterion 2.4.6 Heading and success criterion Labels and 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions

The pages for individual locations and events on our site feature some code that may be misinterpreted by screen readers as user input fields. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.6 Heading and success criterion Labels and 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions.

Our supplier has confirmed these problems are due to their CMS and at the moment they cannot be fixed. We'll aim to fix these problems if we move to a new CMS.

Success criterion 4.1.1 Parsing

There are several examples of code throughout our site that have not been formatted correctly, which may prevent screen readers from interpreting certain elements correctly. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.1 Parsing.

Our supplier has confirmed these problems are due to their CMS and at the moment they cannot be fixed. We'll aim to fix these problems if we move to a new CMS.

Success criterion 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value

Elements of code throughout each page on this site have been incorrectly formed. This may prevent some screen readers from interpreting elements such as images and break points correctly. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value.

Our supplier has confirmed these problems are due to their CMS and at the moment they cannot be fixed. We'll aim to fix these problems if we move to a new CMS.

Disproportionate burden

We've assessed the cost of fixing the following issues. We believe that doing so now would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations.  

• There are no issues that are currently being listed as being assessed as a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. 

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

The following types of content do not need to be fixed on the website because they are exempt from the accessibility regulations.

• PDFs and other documents - some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs with information from external agencies. We plan to either fix these or link to the pdf on the host website.
  
  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. Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.
• Live and audio video - we do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.  
• Maps - we have added essential information in an accessible format like an address. 
• Pre-recorded audio and video - we are not required to fix pre-recorded audio and video content published before 23 September 2020.
• Third party content - content on social media sites that is under someone else's control as we did.

What we're doing to improve accessibility

Our accessibility roadmap shows how and when we plan to improve accessibility on this website. Our roadmap includes:

• Subscribing to an auto testing tools such as Sitemorse. This will help us to identify accessibility issues which we'll aim to fix.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on Friday, 18 September 2020. It was last reviewed on Thursday, 18 January 2021.

This website was last tested on Thursday, 10 September 2020. The test was carried out by Sitemorse. We used this approach to test each page on the website.