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Accessibility statement

This statement applies to content published on islington.gov.uk.

This website is run by Islington Council. It is designed to be used by as many people as possible. The text should be clear and simple to understand. 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 just a keyboard
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader

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

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

  • many documents are in PDF format and are not accessible
  • some documents have poor colour contrast
  • some videos we have been asked to broadcast on our site were produced without subtitles, captions, audio descriptions and transcripts.

How to request content in a different format

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 in 10 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, contact us.

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 D/deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment.
Islington Council’s Customer Centre and the Town Hall have audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit, we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.

Find out how to contact us.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Islington 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. The ‘non-compliances’ are listed below.

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

  • If a user fails to enter a search term on the main search, the error message asking for users to enter a search term will not be announced to screen reader users as soon as it appears (4.1.3 Status messages).
  • There are two search inputs. On the first search input on the top right of the page the search input is not designated as a combobox.  As a result screen reader users will not be able to access the suggestions which appear when a user types in a search term (4.1.2 Name role value).
  • The show filter on the ‘Apply for it’ and ‘Pay for it’ pages changes the content of the page as soon as one of the options receives the keyboard focus.  This could be disorientating for keyboard only users (3.2.1 On focus).
  • On the ‘Apply for it’ and ‘Pay for it’ pages when the page is filtered, the page title is not changed to reflect this change.  This can make navigating between tabs more difficult for screen reader users (2.4.2 Page titled).
  • On a 320px width screen, depending on the device, the focus colour of some of the options on the drop down menu is difficult to read (1.4.11 Non text contrast).
  • The state of the accordions (open or closed), is not always apparent to screen reader users.  This fails WCAG success criteria 4.1.2 name role value.
  • The translation service pages contain multiple images of text.  This fails WCAG success criteria 1.4.5 image of text.
  • The guide component, which has a set of links which alter the content of the page, needs to be redesigned as a tab.  It is not easy for screen reader users to use this component.  This fails WCAG success criteria 4.1.2 name role value.
  • The carousels need to be redesigned to make them accessible. They are currently difficult for screen reader users to use.  They fail WCAG success criteria 4.1.2 name role value.
  • The search widget needs a visible label.  There is no current label and this fails WCAG success criteria 3.3.2 labels and instructions.
  • The form control boundaries are not always distinct enough.  This means that partially sighted users may struggle to find the inputs.  This fails WCAG success criteria 1.4.11 non text contrast.
  • The keyboard focus indicator does not always have sufficient colour contrast.  This makes it difficult at times for partially sighted keyboard users to know where the current focus is.  This fails WCAG success criteria non text contrast, 1.4.11.
  • Required form fields are only indicated with an asterisk.  There is no legend to explain the asterisk.  Less experienced Internet users and screen reader users may be confused by this.  This fails WCAG success criteria 3.3.2 labels and instructions.
  • Not all of the video content has captions or suitable audio description.   This fails WCAG success criteria 1.2.2 and 1.2.5.
  • When viewed on small screens (like mobile phones) content isn’t large enough to read without being zoomed-into and scrolled in two dimensions on some pages. This fails on WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.10.
  • Not all form controls (fields) have labels. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1.
  • Not all links explain their purpose. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.4.
  • Not every page has a heading. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1.
  • Many documents are in less accessible formats, for example PDF. Non-HTML documents published on or after 23 September 2018 must have an accessible format. We are currently reviewing all of our documents in conjunction with an outside contractor to ensure that they are all accessible.  This is a six month project due to finish in August 2022.

We plan to address these issues by September 2022.

Content that’s not within the scope of 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 on how users can access our services, and forms published as Word 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.

Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

Maps

Maps and mapping solutions are exempt as long as essential information is provided in accessible digital manner for maps intended for navigational use.

We aim to meet the needs of all visitors to our site, but we don’t yet have a way of presenting geographical information (maps and site plans etc.) in a fully achievable and accessible format. Currently all accessible map solutions would be impossible to implement for all residents due to both resource and installation issues. As new technologies emerge, we will revaluate this topic.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

  • Some videos on our site have been produced without subtitles, captions, audio description, or transcripts. We are working to ensure all future videos contain one or more of the listed criteria.
  • We use a subscription tool that reviews the Islington Council site based on the WCAG 2.1 accessibility standard. The tool highlights errors and provides actions (fix broken links, include page headings, create accessible PDFs) to ensure content meets the accessibility criteria.
  • For new websites supplied by third parties, it is a contractual requirement that they meet the WCAG 2.1 AA standards.
  • New Islington Council websites, both ones that are developed internally and by third parties, are reviewed for accessibility before going live.  A full audit, using automated and manual checks, including checks using screen reading software, is performed.  Developers are asked to make amendments to the sites to make them more accessible before going live.
  • The Communications Team, which publish the most complex documents, have been given extensive training in accessibility.
  • We currently deliver accessibility training to document publishers, and are currently developing an online course for document publishers in accessibility.
  • We have software which makes it easier to make PDF documents accessible.
  • We are currently reviewing and amending all of the documents in the Islington website to make them more accessible, using an outside contractor to help with this project.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was originally published in September 2020. It was last reviewed and amended on 15th November 2023. This website was last tested on 15th November 2023. The test was carried out by Islington Council using a combination of manual and automated testing.

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