Accessibility statement
This accessibility statement applies to midlothian.gov.uk/mid-hscp.
We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you can:
- zoom in up to 500% without the text spilling off the screen
- navigate the website using just a keyboard
- navigate the website using speech recognition software
- listen to the website using the screen reader provided (ReachDeck instructions)
- listen to the website using your own screen reader (including recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)
- PDFs are checked for accessibility before publishing, and corrected where needed.
The website publishing platform is not the latest version from the vendor, so it lacks certain accessibility features. At this time you cannot:
- change colours, contrast levels and fonts
- request documents in different file formats.
Changing the text size using your browser
- Internet Explorer: select the "View" menu, then "Text size"
- Microsoft Edge: select “Settings and more” (Alt+F or click …), then “Zoom”
- FireFox: select the "View" menu, then "Zoom" or "Zoom text only"
- Safari: select the "View" menu, then "Make text bigger" or "Make text smaller"
- Opera: select the "View" menu, then "Zoom"
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
British Sign Language (BSL) users
Contact us through an online sign language interpreter:
How accessible this website is
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:
- Some of the code is not fully compliant with recent web standards (e.g. some aria-label attributes are missing. This may not affect your practical experience of using the site.)
- The pages lack a language declaration in the HTML code.
- The ReachDeck screen reader is not fully AAA compliant.
- The file-type icons beside links to files (e.g. PDFs) lack “alternative text”. The icons are added automatically, and we have no control over how they are presented.
- Pages begin with a main heading set to Heading 2, rather than Heading 1. This is a flaw in the website templates supplied by a third party.
The page code will be made fully compliant in the next website iteration due for renewal in March 2024.
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find a problem not listed on this page, or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, email the Communications and Marketing team:
Enforcement procedure
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) enforces 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 any complaints, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).
Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person
We provide a text relay service for people who are hearing impaired or have a speech impediment.
Our offices have audio induction loops, or we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter if you contact us before your visit.
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
Midlothian Council is committed to making its websites 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
These issues are with template code in all the content pages. A publishing platform update is needed to fix them. In practice they may not affect your experience of using the website.
Errors:
- Success Criterion 3.1.1: The default human language of each Web page can be programmatically determined
The main language of the page has not been declared within the <html> element. - Success Criterion 2.4.6: Headings and Labels
Page does not start with a level 1 heading.
Alerts:
- 1.3.1: Info and Relationships, and 2.4.1: Bypass Blocks
No page regions or ARIA landmarks were found - Redundant title text
Title attribute text is the same as link text or alternative text
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We use quality assurance software by SiteImprove that scans the website every 5 days. Among other things, it flags accessibility issues with new content, such as inappropriate text formatting and misleading link wording. We fix these issues as they occur.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 24 January 2024. It was last reviewed on 25 January 2024.