Accessibility statements for partner sites

Planning Applications (Idox plc)

This service is supplied by Idox plc. https://planning-applications.midlothian.gov.uk/OnlinePlanning/ 

We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website and employ the following accessible best practices:

  • Clear page titles for better orientation.
  • Alternative text description for images ("alt text") and other non-text elements.
  • Consistent and clear use of headings including a semantic hierarchy (where possible).
  • Association of form controls with corresponding labels.
  • Logical order for forms that can be navigated using a keyboard (e.g. Using the 'Tab' key to move between fields).
  • Clear form error messages in proximity to corresponding erroneous form fields.
  • Association of all data cells in a data table with their headers.
  • Meaningful text for hyperlinks (and a title attribute, where applicable).
  • Sufficient foreground and background colour contrast combinations for clear readability.
  • Keyboard navigation, including for menus and calendar controls.

AbilityNet has advice on improving your user experience by changing some settings on your device if you have a disability or impairment.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format, contact our supplier via one of the following methods:

  • Address: Idox plc, Unit 5, Woking 8, Forsyth Road, Woking, Surrey GU21 5SB.
  • Tel: 0333 011 1200
  • E-mail: servicedesk@idoxgroup.com

We will consider your request and get back to you in 30 working days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, contact servicedesk@idoxgroup.com.

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 are not happy with how we respond to your complaint, please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Technical information about this website's accessibility

We are committed to making this website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

Idox Public Access / Consultee Access follows the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 (AA) standard. The Service follows the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 which are standards created by the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). The Service conforms to the WCAG AA (priority 2) compliance level.

The Service has been tested for compliance using a variety of automated and manual processes. It is possible that some legacy content or content supplied by third parties may not currently reach AA standard.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

We are aware that there are some aspects of the product that are not fully accessible:

  • Map component:
    Our third-party map component uses some tables for layout; its controls do not always receive focus and are not accessible by keyboard navigation. Some functions (e.g. measuring distance and area) require a mouse or touch interface to achieve.
    This fails WCAG success criteria 1.3.1 – Info and Relationships, 2.1.1 – Keyboard and 2.5.7 – Dragging Movements
  • Reflow:
    The desktop version of pages will not reflow without content scrolling both vertically and horizontally. This will make it more difficult for some users to use the content when zoomed into a page at higher values (e.g. 200%).
    This fails WCAG success criteria 1.4.10 – Reflow and 2.4.11 Focus not obscured (Minimum)
  • Online measuring tool (OMT):
    The integrated online measuring tool (OMT v5.0) has various issues (which will need to be addressed independently of Public Access) - these include missing form labels, heading levels and alternative text for images/icons; empty elements (i.e. with no text content); and low colour contrast.
    This fails WCAG success criteria 3.3.2 - Labels or Instructions, 2.4.4 - Link Purpose (In Context) and 1.4.3 – Contrast (Minimum)
  • reCAPTCHA:
    Our third-party reCAPTCHA widget does not use sufficient colour contrast for some elements and may be difficult to use with the keyboard.
    This fails WCAG success criteria 1.4.3 – Contrast (Minimum) and 2.1.1 – Keyboard

What we are doing to improve accessibility

We regularly assess the site for accessibility issues, and we aim to fix any issues as soon as we find them.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

We carried out testing with the help of accessibility testing software Silktide, WAVE and AXE. Tests were last carried out in February 2025. As there are many identical pages (i.e. case files), a representative selection of these pages was tested.

We will review this statement every two years, as per the Government Digital Service (GDS)'s recommendations.

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