Accessibility Statement

This statement applies to the Sheffield Directory website.

Sheffield City Council is committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of technology or ability. The Sheffield Directory website is run by Sheffield City Council.

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

• Change colours, contrast levels and size of text.
• Modify the line height or spacing of text.
• Zoom in up to 200% without the text spilling off the page.
• 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)

This website was launched on 24^th November 2022. It is designed to be compliant with the international standard Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 – Level AA.

Accessible Features

The Sheffield Directory website contains several Accessible features that can be used by users with specific requirements. The widget is available on the top right-hand side of the header menu.

The features include: -

Voice Recognition

The Sheffield Directory website has been tested using voice recognition software. All form elements on the website have been labelled correctly so that they can be accessed using the name shown.

For example, saying “select Enter Search Term” and “click Search Button” will allow you to access the main search functionality of the website.

Contrast & Font Size

Changing the contrast and font sizes of text can increase legibility for some users.

This website has two colour contrast settings, firstly, the “default colour scheme” which provides a suitable level of contrast for most users and satisfies the accessibility standards. However, if a user feels the colour contrast is too low in areas the website also contains a “high contrast scheme” which satisfies all accessibility standards for colour contrast.

A user can change the contrast settings by clicking on the icons at the top right of screen. For a user using voice recognition please say, “Switch to normal colour scheme” and “Switch to high contrast scheme” respectively for the same result.

To increase the font size, click on the icons at the top right of the screen. For a user using voice recognition please say, “Switch to normal font size”, “Switch to big font size” and “Switch to biggest font size” respectively for the same result. The user can also use the browser’s own zoom facility. The website will work up to 200%

Translation

You can use the Google Translate feature at the top right of the screen to translate the text to any of the available languages, including common community languages in Sheffield such as Bengali, Chinese, and Somali.  Please note that the translation is done automatically by the Google software, not by the council.

Further information on accessibility options

The RNIB has a webpage with information on options that computers have which can make it easier for people with low or no vision to use them. - RNB Accessibility Options

Accessible Alternatives

Efforts have been made to create accessible alternatives for content that does not meet standards where possible.

Where appropriate we may be able to deliver content to users in accordance with their needs.

Please see “Make a request for Accessible Content” section for further details.

Purpose of Links

Sheffield Directory will use links to navigate to content on the website. External links will open in a new window.

Where possible the action of an external link will be described by extra description within the link text, so all users can understand the link’s purpose.  However, in certain areas of the website adding this extra description will become a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations.

We have provided the following definition for external links: -

External Links will be used for any content that has known limitations with assistive technologies OR navigates a user away from secure platforms. In summary, this means the following items are considered External links –

• Non-HTML Documentation (See “Issues with PDFs and other documents”)
• Redirection away from secure platforms
• External websites that are not owned by Sheffield City Council.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) responsible for enforcing the accessibility regulations. If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Services (EASS)

We are always looking for ways to improve the Sheffield Directory website. If you find any problems that are not listed within this statement, or believe we are not meeting the requirements of the accessibility regulations please contact us at sheffielddirectory@sheffield.gov.uk 

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 28 days.

Sheffield 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.

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG) AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below. (See Non- Accessible Content, Issues With…)

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.

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

• This website uses JavaScript to deliver certain features. Please make sure you have JavaScript turned on within your browser to deliver full features.
• Most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software;
• Live video streams do not have captions;
• Pages that contain the words “/s4s/” within the URL do not currently work with High Contrast Styles or bypass blocks
  • Content passes the minimum Colour Contrast guidelines,
  • If you are using a screen-reader, you can navigate those pages using heading levels.

Whilst Sheffield Directory strives to adhere to accepted guidelines and standards for accessibility and usability, it is not always possible to do so in all areas of the website.

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

Non-Compliance with the Accessibility Regulations

This sub-section lists issues that fail the current accessibility regulations.

• The Shop4Support search directories ending /s4s/ are inaccessible to users using keyboards and our accessibility features.
• Non-HTML documentation - it has come to our attention that several of these documents are inaccessible with a few accessibility technologies. These include the document heading structure, use of tables and insufficient alternate descriptions. We have begun to implement these changes in future documentation [that will be released from date]. Where these documents cannot be improved, we are committed to provide an HTML document alternative.

High Contrast issues

It has come to our attention that some of our content isn’t displayed correctly with our high-contrast design. This means it will be difficult for visually impaired users who may require this design to see all content. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.4.6 Contrast (Advanced) a Level AAA requirement.

This website passes 1.4.3 Colour Contrast (Minimum) which is the standard Level AA requirement.

Keyboard navigation issues

It has come to our attention that it is difficult to bypass repeated content on certain s4s pages. This appears to occur on pages which contain navigation menus in search. There are also known keyboard focus issues within these pages. These pages fail WCAG 2.1 success criteria 2.4.7 Focus Visible and 2.4.1 Bypass blocks.

Keyboard focus will be set to use a web-browser’s default focus indicator.

Keyboard focus issues

It has come to our attention that it is difficult to bypass repeated content on certain pages. There are also known keyboard focus issues within our noticeboard panels in the header. These pages fail WCAG 2.1 success criteria 2.4.7 Focus Visible.

Our website provider is currently updating our website stylesheets with a fix to these keyboard focus issues and we plan to have the fixes soon.

Screen-Reader reading issues with Landmark regions

It has come to our attention that some of our accessibility features are not correctly contained within landmarks. This means it will be difficult for screen-reader users to find all content using landmarks. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.3.1 and 4.1.1.

Navigating the website can still be achieved by using heading levels and link text.

Screen-Reader reading issues with Status Messages

It has come to our attention that status messages alerting users to changes within content are not being read out. This means it will be difficult for screen-reader users to become notified of changes within our websites. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.3 Status Message.

Finding these details can still be achieved by navigating to the first line of content after the search results page.

Screen-Reader reading issues with Interactive Forms

It has come to our attention that some forms cannot be read properly using screen-readers.

Our forms are built and hosted through third party software and ‘skinned’ to look like our website. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (information and relationships).

WCAG 1.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus

When hovering over 'My booklet', there is no mechanism to dismiss the additional content triggered without moving pointer hover or keyboard focus

WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value

Incorrect use of ARIA attributes on the homepage can cause conflicts with semantic HTML elements which may cause errors in assistive technology.

We are working towards a resolution timescale of May 2024 for these issues.

Content that is not within the scope of the Accessibility Regulations

This sub-section lists issues that are exempt from the current accessibility regulations. For more information see following section, “Exemptions to the Accessibility Regulations”.

Issues with Live Video

Live video streams do not have captions. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.4 (captions - live).

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

Issues with PDFs and other documents

Many of our older PDFs and Word documents do not meet accessibility standards - for example, they may not be structured so they are accessible to a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role Value).

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.

Disproportionate Burden

  There are no issues that are considered a disproportionate burden.

Exemptions to the Accessibility Regulations

Web Content that is not subject to the standards referenced in this policy statement are as follows: -

1. Content that is archived.
2. Content on intranets and extranets published before 23/09/2019
3. Non-HTML Documentation (PDFs, Microsoft Office files) that were published before 23/09/2018.
4. Non-HTML Documentation (PDFs, Microsoft Office files) that are not essential to the services Sheffield Directory provides.
5. Live Audio and Video
6. Pre-recorded Audio and Video published before 23/09/2020
7. Online Maps and mapping services
8. Third Party Content that is not under direct control of Sheffield or main website provider – Google Translate, Social Media links

Sheffield City Council is fully committed to meeting all the accessibility criteria specified in the regulatory provisions. We plan to identify and fix issues in accordance with the timescales shown for each non-compliance area. Areas of this website that fail to meet these standards will have fixes prioritised according to usage data.

The new version of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, WCAG 2.2 were published on 5th October 2023.

This will replace WCAG 2.1 as the legally required accessibility standard in October 2024.

We are working with our website provider to ensure we meet this deadline by 30th September 2024. 

This statement was first prepared on 9^th November 2022. It will be reviewed every year in accordance with the regulations. It was last reviewed on 29^th February 2024.

This website was last tested on 26^th February 2024.

To prepare this statement an accessibility test was carried out by the Sheffield Directory Team and PPL (web developers). The most viewed pages were tested using automated testing tools by the PPL website team. A further audit of the website was carried out to the WCAG 2.2 AA standard.