Accessibility Statement

This accessibility statement applies to https://www.powys.gov.uk, run by Powys County 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 fonts
zoom in up to 300 per cent 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.

We've designed this website with features that make it easier to use by everyone, including those with visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, or neurological disabilities. We aim to reach the level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. These are the international standard for accessible websites and content.

Websites associated with Powys County Council

There are other websites associated with Powys County Council, which may be linked to from this website. This Accessibility Statement does not cover those websites. Please see each individual website for their Accessibility Statements.

How accessible is this website?

We know some parts of this website aren't fully accessible, for example:

some pages show a Google map which screen reader users and keyboard users can find difficult to use
the usability and accessibility of some information originating from PowerBI, which has to be presented in iframes can be problematic on web devices such as mobile phones or tablets

Feedback and Contact information

We're always looking to improve the accessibility of this website.

If you have an accessibility query including:

if you are experiencing issues with accessing information or using the website
if you find an accessibility problem not listed on this statement
if you have positive feedback on the accessibility considerations made.

Please contact:

Digital Access Team
Customer Services
email: website@powys.gov.uk
Telephone: 01597 826000

We also provide a free of charge service via our webchat facility where you can talk to us online.

Alternative formats

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

email: website@powys.gov.uk
Telephone: 01597 826000

We'll consider your request and get back to you as soon as we can.

If you cannot view the map on our 'contact us' page, please call or email us for directions.

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

Our offices have audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit, we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.

We provide a text relay service (Relay UK) for people who are D/deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment.

Follow this link for Text Relay Instructions

Note: Relay UK costs an extra 1p per minute to use, in addition to standard call charges, and can connect with us using the app or a textphone.

We also provide a free of charge service via our webchat facility where you can talk to us online.

Find out how to contact us on this page: 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).

Technical information about this website's accessibility

Powys County 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 listed below.

Non-accessible content

Some of our tables lack a 'scope' attribute. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1. We have identified a fix for this and will have remedied this issue by end of Q4 2023.
We are aware that we have PowerBI data visualisations available on the website. These items are inaccessible, and cannot easily be made fully accessible. In some cases, the information is not easily available to users in an accessible format. We aim to create PowerBI visualisations to be as accessible as possible, but If you require information from these visualisations in an alternative format, then please contact us.

Disproportionate burden

PDF documents published after 23 September 2018

There are 1,343 PDF documents published after 23 September 2018 relating to our Local Development Plan which do not meet the accessibility regulations for various reasons. 

We've assessed the impact of fixing the issues relating to the 1,343 LDP documents. We believe that doing so now, for both English and Welsh documents, would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. We will make sure that PDF documents for the new LDP due in 2026 meet the accessibility standards.

Content that's not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

PDFs and other documents

Most of our older PDFs and Word documents do not meet accessibility standards - for example, they may not be structured so they're 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. For example, we do not plan to fix old PDF newsletters, posters or campaign materials that might still be published and accessed through our website.

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

Many of our policy documents are not written in plain English / Welsh. These types of documents are exempt from the regulations as they are not 'needed for active administrative processes relating to the tasks performed', so we do not currently have any plans to make them accessible.

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.

Pre-recorded videos published before 23 September 2020

Most of our pre-recorded videos published before 23 September 2020 do not include captions. This doesn't meet WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.2.2 Captions (Pre-recorded). We may not add captions to these videos because pre-recorded video published before 23 September 2020 is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.

Some pre-recorded videos published before 23 September 2020 may require, but don't include, audio description. This doesn't meet WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.2.5 Audio Description (Pre-recorded). We will not add audio description to these videos because pre-recorded video published before 23 September 2020 is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.

Any pre-recorded video content we have published after 23 September 2020 now meet accessibility standards.

How we tested this website

Tests were carried out manually by our Digital Access Team as well as using automated site-wide testing software from Silktide: https://silktide.com/solutions/accessibility/

We tested:

our main website platform (English), available at https://en.powys.gov.uk

We tested 3000 English web pages and 2,987 English PDF documents. We then applied identical fixes to both English and Welsh web pages and documents as necessary.

This website is subsequently tested every 5 days.

What we're doing to improve accessibility

We're doing our best to try to fix the issues outlined above. We continually monitor the accessibility compliance of our site and improving our site is part of the Digital Access Teams' daily work.

Appropriate staff have received accessibility training and are working with our service areas to raise awareness of the need to meet the accessibility regulations.
We have controls in place to make sure that all new content published on the website complies with the accessibility regulations.
We run an automated, site-wide accessibility check every 5 days and work with service area staff to fix any issues.

Accessibility Roadmap

Some of our tables lack a 'scope' attribute. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1. We have identified a fix for this and will have remedied this issue by end of Q4 2023.

This statement was prepared on 18 September 2020. It was last updated on 23 May 2024.

If you have any ideas or suggestions to help improve the site then please contact us.

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