Accessibility

This accessibility statement applies to the Leicester City Council Housing Online website.

This website is run by Leicester City Council. We want as many people as possible to be able to use our website. For example, that means 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
• 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)

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

How accessible this website is

We are aware of some issues that may affect the accessibility of some parts of the website:

• the ‘Report a repair’ process may be difficult for keyboard and screen reader users to complete
• forms on the website may be difficult to complete with a screen reader as they are missing accessible labels
• page structure may be difficult to discern due to missing or incorrect page elements
• the website times out after a period of time without providing a warning

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: HousingOnline@leicester.gov.uk
• call: 0116 454 1007

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

Reporting accessibility problems with this app

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 webteam@leicester.gov.uk

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).

Technical information about this website's accessibility

Leicester City 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

Page design

• Image alt text is not used correctly in all places across the site: where images are informative the alt text is not suitably descriptive and where images are decorative, they have been given unnecessary alt text. This fails WCAG success criterion 1.1.1 (Text Alternative).

  We plan to fix all alt text issues by October 2023. Any new images will be added with the correct alt text

• Colour contrast of text and icons is insufficient in places making it hard from some people to read content on our website. This fails WCAG success criteria 1.4.3 (Contrast (Minimum)) and 1.4.11 (Non-text contrast).

  We plan to change all colours that do not pass contrast requirements by September 2023. Any new colours will be tested for compliance before being used on the website.

• Within the ‘report a repair’ pages it is not possible to resize text or increase line spacing, which may make it difficult for some people to read the content. This fails WCAG success criteria 1.4.4 (Resize Text) and 1.4.12 (Text Spacing).

  We plan to remove resizing restrictions from content on these pages by September 2023.

• Within the ‘report a repair’ pages the tab navigation does not reflow to a single column failing WCAG success criterion 1.4.10 (Reflow).

  We plan to review the design of these tabs so they do reflow by September 2023.

Page structure

• Structural page elements, such as headings and tables, have not been used correctly which may make it difficult for some users to discern the structure and purpose of page content. This fails WCAG success criterion 1.3.1 (Info & Relationships).

  We plan to fix these structural issues by September 2023.

• Some form fields are not programmatically associated with their labels so are announced without the context the label provides. This can make it difficult for screen reader users to understand what they are required to input. This fails WCAG success criterion 1.3.1 (Info & Relationships).

  We plan to add programmatic labels to our form fields by September 2023. Any new forms will be developed with appropriate labels.

Navigation, links and buttons

• Within the ‘report a repair’ pages there is a repeated navigation at the top of each page and no mechanism to bypass this, which fails WCAG success criterion 2.4.1 (Bypass Blocks).

  We plan to add a ‘skip navigation’ link to this navigation by September 2023.

• The purpose of links is not always clear from the text alone and on some pages the same link label is repeated. This can make it difficult for screen reader users to distinguish between the different links and fails WCAG success criterion 2.4.4 (Link Purpose (In Context)).

  We plan to change all links so they are meaningful without the context of the surrounding text by September 2023. Any new links added will also have clear purpose.

• Some icons, links and buttons are missing accessible labels so the link or button name and/ or purpose is not announced in a meaningful way by the screen reader. This fails WCAG success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).

  We plan to add descriptive programmatic labels to all icons, links and buttons by September 2023. Any new buttons will be added with programmatic labels as standard.

General issues

• The website times out after a period of time without giving users a warning or opportunity to extend the session. This fails WCAG success criterion 2.2.1 (Enough Time).

  We plan to add a mechanism that allows users to extend their session by September 2023.

• A number of parsing issues have been identified that may impact how effectively assistive technology works with the website. This fails WCAG success criterion 4.1.1 (Parsing).

  We plan to fix parsing errors by September 2023.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 28th September 2022. It was last reviewed on 28th September 2022.

The website was last tested on 12th July 2022. This website was tested for compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines V2.1 level A and level AA, and the test was carried out by Web Usability Partnership Ltd.

We used the Web Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM) approach to deciding on a sample of pages to test.