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Accessibility Statement

Accessibility statement for Bassetlaw District Council website

This accessibility statement applies to Bassetlaw District Council's website (https://www.bassetlaw.gov.uk) and our Open Data website (https://data.bassetlaw.gov.uk).

Bassetlaw District Council is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for people with disabilities. We are continually improving the user experience for everyone, and applying the relevant accessibility standards.

This means you should be able to:

  • change line height, spacing between paragraphs and fonts
  • zoom in up to 300 percent 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 also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet (external link) 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, for example

  • our Open Data website contains documents which are mainly in PDF format. This site is currently under review.
  • most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
  • some live video streams do not have captions
  • some forms for licensing are still in PDF format until our new online system is up and running
  • our online forms are not currently easy for screen readers to navigate
  • we might link to websites and software we do not own or manage and cannot guarantee their accessibility

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:

We'll consider your request and get back to you within 10 working days.

If you cannot view any of our maps please call customer services on 01909 533 533 or email customer.services@bassetlaw.gov.uk and they will refer your enquiry to our Information Governance Team.

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, contact by emailing stephen.brown@bassetlaw.gov.uk or calling 01909 533 533 and ask to speak to the Digital Communications Officer.

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

Our offices in Worksop, Retford and Harworth have audio induction loops.

Find out how to contact us.

Technical information about this website's accessibility

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

Many of our older PDFs and Word documents don’t meet accessibility standards – for example, they may not be marked up so they’re accessible to a screen reader.

Some of our PDFs and Word Documents are essential to providing our services. By September 2020 we plan to either fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages or online forms. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the original date of September 2020 to fix or replace PDFs will no longer be possible. However, we intend to ensure that all of these are fixed or replaced with accessible HTML pages or online forms as quickly as possible.

The accessibility regulations don’t 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 unless we determine that they represent a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. Ultimately we plan to provide an accessible HTML version of the information as the primary source.

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.

3rd party systems such as our payments engine and forms based systems are partially compliant but have issues.

PDFs and Word Documents

  • Ensure PDFs are machine-readable WCAG A 1.1.1
  • Specify headings for every PDF WCAG A 1.3.1
  • Ensure PDF headings follow a logical order WCAG A 1.3.1
  • Ensure the first heading in a PDF is an H1 WCAG A 1.3.1
  • Fix untagged PDFs WCAG A 1.3.1
  • Ensure PDFs specify a default language WCAG A 3.1.1
  • Define a title for all PDFs WCAG A 2.4.2
  • Ensure long PDFs use bookmarks to aid navigation WCAG AA 2.4.5
  • Improve weak PDF titles WCAG A 2.4.2

Some areas on the website where this applies:

Worksop Central DPD

Our Worksop Central Development Plan Document, supporting documents and evidence base has been made as accessible as possible. However, it has not been possible to ensure all documents meet the criteria. If you require information contained with the plan or any documents associated with the plan, please contact worksopcentral@bassetlaw.gov.uk or call 01909 533 533 and discuss with our planning policy team.

Neighbourhood Plans

Our communities can now choose to produce a neighbourhood plan, which contain policies to help shape and delivery new development in their areas. Because these documents are a statutory (legal) document, they have to be produced in a certain way and are externally produced. If you require information contained in any of the documents contained in our neighbourhood plans, please contact will.wilson@bassetlaw.gov.uk.

Legal and Licensing Forms

We are in the process of updating our Legal and Licensing software. This will be implemented as soon as possible by a third party company Tascomi. Application forms on our legal and licensing site are in PDF format. If you require help filling out these forms, please contact licensing@bassetlaw.gov.uk.

Update: 27.02.2023 - All Licensing PDF forms have been removed from the website. We have streamlined the process by creating an online form for users to request an application form to be emailed to them direct. This is a temporary measure put in place until Tascomi is available online.

In Touch - Tenants Magazine

This magazine is produced and delivered to our residents three times a year. These are not yet produced in an accessible PDF format. If you wish to find out what is in the magazine and would like it in another format, please contact will.spence@bassetlaw.gov.uk to discuss.

Scanned Petitions

Petitions received at the council are often scanned PDFs. We are unable to make changes to these documents and fall under the scope of 'third party content that’s under someone else’s control'. If you wish to find out what is within these petitions, please contact customer.services@bassetlaw.gov.uk. 

Finance and Budget

Our fees and charges and statement of accounts do not currently meet the accessibility legislation. We are currently looking at options on how to get these documents introduced to the website as a page.

Council Agendas and Minutes

Our Council Agendas and Minutes do not currently meet the accessibility legislation. We have now moved over to a new system with Modern Gov and uploading of accessible PDFs will begin from February 2022. This process has now gone live.

Community Infrastructure Levy Annual Report

Our CIL annual report for 2019 does not meet accessibility legislation. All other documents prior to this date are exempt. Documents after this date are in HTML format.

Disproportionate burden

Draft Bassetlaw Local Plan

Our Draft Bassetlaw Local Plan, supporting documents and evidence base are large PDFs. These documents have been ongoing from the start of the process which started in 2016. As a result these documents may have been altered to represent changes as a result of consultations, rather than created from new. 

Lots of these documents have been produced externally and to ensure they are completely compliant, would incur extra costs and would not be viable.  

The information is necessary to the Draft Bassetlaw Local Plan.

If you require information contained with the plan or any documents associated with the plan, please contact thebassetlawplan@bassetlaw.gov.uk or call 01909 533 533 and discuss with our planning policy team.

Open Data

Currently we are unable to assess the whole of our Open Data website, due to the volume of documents contained within it. This is currently being reviewed by the Digital Communications Officer as a wider project to reduce the number of areas, and to bring the information back inline with the Local Government Transparency Code 2015.

Navigation and accessing information

Users of our website are currently unable to navigate with a keyboard to our Live Chat and Back to Top buttons.

What we're doing to improve accessibility

PDFs and word documents

We plan to provide an accessible HTML version of documents or PDFs and Word Documents will meet accessibility standards as the primary source by September 2020. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the original date of September 2020 to fix or replace PDFs will no longer be possible. However, we intend to ensure that all of these are fixed or replaced with accessible HTML pages or online forms by the end of 2022.

Services based on a different technical platform

Open Data - data.bassetlaw.gov.uk

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard.

This website is currently under review and will be updated or either amalgamated with the Bassetlaw District Council website.

Third-party applications

We require that any new third-party systems we commission for the website are Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 AA compliant. However, third-party applications are partly or wholly out of our control and so may not conform to the same levels of accessibility as the rest of the website. Third-party applications include:

  • Capita online payments
  • ESB Forms
  • Idox planning applications search, building control regulations search, and licensing register
  • Esri mapping system
  • EntitledTo benefit calculator
  • Victoria form benefit applications
  • Granicus govdelivery subscription - accessibility statement
  • Modern.gov Councillor information, meetings, agendas and minutes

Third-party applications coming soon

  • Idox - Tascomi

We monitor the accessibility of these sites and ask suppliers to fix accessibility issues that arise. 

Preparation

This statement was prepared on 4 August 2020. It was last reviewed and updated on 27 February 2023.

Last Updated on Thursday, March 23, 2023