Accessibility statement for Idox

This accessibility statement applies to the Planning Application Search (Idox Public Access) and Idox Forms. This website is run by Surrey Heath Borough 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% 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
• we’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

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

How accessible this website is

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

• most documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
• There are instances of non-unique HTML IDs, which is invalid mark-up, which affects how screen readers parse and announce the page content.  
• Headings on some pages are not in a logical hierarchy order, which can affect how content is announced by screen reader technology and keyboard-only navigation. 
• On the Documents table, the action icons all have the same alternative text/titles, which means screen-reader users will not be able to distinguish between individual items. 
• Our third-party reCAPTCHA widget does not use sufficient colour contrast for some elements and may be difficult to use with the keyboard. 
• Our third-party map searching widget sometimes use tables for layout; and its controls do not always receive focus and are not accessible by keyboard navigation.
• 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. 

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 web.support@surreyheath.gov.uk (link sends e-mail)
• call 01276 707100

We’ll consider your request and aim to get back to you within 10 days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

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 contact web.support@surreyheath.gov.uk (link sends e-mail) or call 01276 707100.

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)(external link).

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

We have an audio induction loop system in our Contact Centre.

Find out how to contact us.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Surrey Heath Borough 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(link is external) AA standard, due to ‘the non-compliances’, listed below.

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

There are instances of non-unique HTML IDs, which is invalid mark-up, which affects how screen readers parse and announce the page content.  This fails WCAG success criterion 4.1.1 - Parsing

Headings on some pages are not in a logical hierarchy order, which can affect how content is announced by screen reader technology and keyboard-only navigation. This fails WCAG success criterion 2.4.6 – Headings and Labels.

On the Documents table, the action icons all have the same alternative text/titles, which means screen-reader users will not be able to distinguish between individual items. This fails WCAG success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships

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

Our third-party map searching widget sometimes use tables for layout; and its controls do not always receive focus and are not accessible by keyboard navigation. This fails WCAG success criteria 1.3.1 – Info and Relationships and 2.1.1 – Keyboard

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. These fail WCAG success criteria 3.3.2 - Labels or Instructions, 2.4.4 - Link Purpose (In Context), 1.4.3 - Contrast (Minimum)

Documents published after 23 September 2018. 

Some of the issued identified are:

• Missing headings or headings that don’t follow a logical order - This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships)
• Missing titles - This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.2 (Page Titled)
• Default language not specified - This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.1.1 (Language of Page) 
• Some links to other websites may not be fully accessible - This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.4 (Link Purpose In Context)
• Some images may not have alternative text - This fails WCAG success criterion 1.1.1 (Non Text Context)
• Some tables, including nested tables, may not be easily readable - This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.2 (Meaningful Sequence)

Disproportionate burden

Documents published after 23 September 2018. 

We’ve assessed the cost and resources required to fix all our documents and to check every document before it is published. We believe that doing so now would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. Many of the documents listed on this system are submitted by external parties meaning we don't have control over how they are produced. We will review this assessment each year. 

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

PDFs and other documents

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018(link is external) if they’re not essential to providing our services. 

Live video

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

Maps

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix online maps and mapping services, as long as essential information is provided in an accessible digital manner for maps intended for navigational use.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility  

Documents

In February 2022, we launched a new accessible corporate templates which makes it easier for staff to ensure their documents meet accessibility requirements. We have also shared a number of resources to assist with this and offered additional training where appropriate.  

Other issues listed in this statement

Our suppliers are using reports from accessibility software, WAVE and AXE, and following WCAG guidelines to work towards being fully compliant with WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria. They will work to address any issues which are brought up by users, as well as reviewing the compliance as part of any future updates to Idox Public Access and Consultee Access.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 28 January 2022. It was last reviewed on 11 July 2023.

An un-skinned version of the product (v3.5) was last tested on 2 March 2023. The Idox web team carried out the testing, with the help of accessibility testing software WAVE and AXE. As there are a large number of identical pages (i.e. case files), a representative selection of these pages was tested.