Accessibility Statement (Family Information Service)

This accessibility statement to content and information on the Buckinghamshire Family Information Service (BFIS) directory and Buckinghamshire Family Information Service microsite.

As a minimum, you should be able to:

• Zoom in up to 300% without problems.
• Navigate most of the website using just a keyboard.
• Operate most of the website using a screen reader.

We have also tried to make the website text as simple as possible to understand.

For information on how you can adjust your browser settings or use assistive technology to help you use our website, visit AbilityNet.

familyinfo.buckinghamshire.gov.uk and directory.familyinfo.buckinghamshire.gov.uk are partially compliant with WCAG 2.2 AA standards. However, we are constantly working to improve both our compliance and the experience of our users.

We know that some parts of the microsite and directory are not fully accessible:

• some online maps and mapping services cannot be easily navigated
• some pages and documents are not clearly written or structured
• some online tools may be difficult to use for assistive technologies
• some videos do not have captions
• some content such as images do not have good text alternatives

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

We will consider your request and get back to you within 20 days.

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this microsite and our directory. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, contact:

• [email protected]
• 01296 382 246

There are several ways to contact us:

• [email protected] for all information, advice, and support assistance
• [email protected] for all questions or queries concerning our microsite, directory or social media
• Social platforms Facebook, X, Instagram or LinkedIn
• 01296 382 246
• If you would prefer to visit us in person please contact us by one of the above channels, let us know if you require any assistance or specific requirements when you visit and we will be happy to organise a meeting with you.

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 contact us with a complaint and you’re not happy with our response contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

The Buckinghamshire Family Information Service is committed to making its directory and microsite accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

This microsite is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the following issues:

There are a number of accessibility features which we are not able to resolve due to the technical limitations with our directory and microsite.

Issues on our website and directory of services.

1. Visible label and accessible name do not match
   The ‘next page’ link on some pages contains a label which differs from the accessible title. This may cause confusion for assistive technology users when navigating the website. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.5.3 (Label in Name).
   
2. Element IDs are not unique
   Some navigation areas on tools and pages may have the same ID value. Users may find it difficult to distinguish the difference between those elements. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1.1 (Parsing).
   
3. Inaccessible documents
   Some of our PDFs and other documents are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs, or links to PDFs, with information on how users can access our services, for statutory information and forms published as Word documents. Non-HTML documents published on or after 23 September 2018 must have an accessible format.

4. Headings are not structured

On one page that use our location template, the heading levels are skipped or nested
incorrectly. This fails accessibility best practice and could make it harder for assistive
technology users to understand how content is structured.

1. Text not included in an ARIA landmark
   On the site's homepage, some perceivable text content (text that can be perceived by users of assistive technology) is not included in an ARIA landmark. This could make it more difficult to navigate to for some users. This fails the WCAG 2.2 WAI-ARIA authoring best practices.
2. Online maps and mapping services
   Where online maps are an option in our directory and cannot be made accessible, we do provide essential information in an accessible digital manner as a text.
3. Container element is empty
   An empty container element can be confusing for users of assistive technology, such as screen readers. This fails the WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).

Not applicable.

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 statutory information, 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 other documents we publish will meet accessibility standards. Where we are unable to publish accessible documents we will provide alternative methods to access this information.

We plan to fix any remaining issues with documents or replace them with accessible HTML pages as we review the content on our website.

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

Where we choose to feature third party content or functionality on our website, we are responsible for ensuring it meets accessibility standards. However, we are not responsible for the accessibility of third party platforms or content that is neither funded nor developed by us, or under our control. This includes:

• third party websites that we link to from this website and any of our other digital channels
• social media platforms
• data we supply to national databases
• third party content we are legally required to publish but is not in the control of the Buckinghamshire Family Information Service

We monitor accessibility using automated checks via Siteimprove and manual checks. We also test this website regularly with real users.

The test on our directory is carried out by our directory developers TPX Impact

We plan to improve the accessibility of our microsite and directory. All new and revised content published will be fully accessible.

We have increased our team resources and hope to see significant improvements in the near future.

This statement was prepared on 4 March 2021. It was last reviewed 22 August 2023.