Accessibility statement for liverpool.gov.uk

This accessibility statement applies to liverpool.gov.uk. This website is run by Liverpool 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 fonts as part of the Recite Me functionality in the top toolbar on the site
  • 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 including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver

This website also uses a tool called 'Recite Me' - just click on the 'Read me aloud' link at the top of our website. It includes text to speech functionality, dyslexia software and a translation tool with over 100 languages. You can also use it to change colour schemes, font sizes and style.

If you're using Recite Me for the first time, take a look at the user guide which shows you a range of useful features. We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet 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 older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
  • some live video streams do not have captions
  • some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard

Liverpool City Council uses a number of third-party applications to deliver key online services to its customers. View the accessibility statements for each of these third-party applications.

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 webmaster@liverpool.gov.uk

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 20 working 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, email webmaster@liverpool.gov.uk.

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).

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

We provide a text relay service for people who are Deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment.

You can contact us 8am — 6pm Monday to Friday by:

  • Telephone on 0151 233 3000.
  • TypeTalk (Text Relay) — we will also respond to these calls. More information on how to use this service can be found on the Text Relay website.

Face-to-face at a One-Stop Shop

A list of One-Stop Shops is available on this site, with details of accessible facilities.

For general enquiries or to book an appointment - you will need to book an appointment if you need advice on Housing Benefit or Council Tax - telephone 0151 233 3000.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Liverpool 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.

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

We are aware that the following non-compliances have been highlighted and are working hard to address them.

Site-wide non-compliances
  • Some parts of the website with tables and long email addresses may scroll horizontally on small screens or when zooming the browser into 400% — reflow 1.4.10
  • Some images inside links are missing alternative text descriptions meaning they are not announced by screen readers — non-text content 1.1.1
  • Some site alerts may not be announced automatically to screen readers because they are missing a correct HTML tag — info and relationships 1.3.1
  • The purpose of some links is not clear enough to screen readers - link purpose in context 2.4.4
Non-compliances in forms
  • Font icons used on some forms may not be marked as decorative and therefore not hidden from screen readers — non-text content 1.1.1
  • Some form labels are not associated to their checkbox — info and relationships 1.3.1
  • Some input fields and checkboxes are missing labels
  • Some form links should be buttons but they have not been built using the correct HTML tag — info and relationships 1.3.1
  • Autocomplete attributes have not been provided for some form fields meaning users will have to fill them out manually without any in-page aids — identify input purpose 1.3.5
  • Keyboard focus does not move to where a user would expect it to go and sometimes skips over form fields on some forms — focus order 2.4.3
  • Some forms do not make it clear which section of the form is active and are sometimes missing fieldsets and legends which would help to make it clearer — headings and labels 2.4.6
  • Visible and accessible form labels do not always match which can cause confusion for speech input users — label name 2.5.3
  • Some form postcode finders submit once an address is select from the dropdown without any hint text to make it clear to the end user that this will happen — on input 3.2.2
  • Form field names are not always used consistently across different forms which can make it difficult for users of screen readers and those with cognitive disabilities to use our forms — consistent identification 3.2.4
  • Some form validation messages are contained in form labels resulting in multiple associated labels to a single form field — consistent identification 3.2.4
  • It’s not always clear which form fields are mandatory, and which are optional - consistent identification 3.2.4, and instructions and labels 3.3.2
  • Some form labels have duplicated attributes which means they fail HTML validation — parsing 4.1.1
  • Some of the Contact a service section links may not be announced by a screen reader and might be difficult to interact with — name, role, value 4.1.2
  • Some form error messages are not announced to users of assistive technology — status change 4.1.3

Disproportionate burden

  • Interactive tools and transactions — some of our interactive forms are difficult to navigate using a keyboard or screen reader. For example, because some form controls are missing a ‘label’ tag. Having considered the estimated effort involved in developing accessible versions of each existing online form, along with the level of usage of the forms, we have concluded that the work involved would be a poor use of staff time with a high cost to the council. This represents a disproportionate burden on the organisation. The online forms will be redeveloped in the in-house developed solution in an ongoing basis as part of a rolling programme of improvement.
  • Third-party applications — if our providers fail to meet and address key accessibility requirements, we will make every effort to request they make the necessary improvements. However, we may not be able to replace their services until their contract expires. View the accessibility statements for each of these third-party applications.
  • PDFs — we have assessed the time and cost of making all PDFs accessible, including those published since 23rd September 2018, and believe updating most of these would represent a ‘disproportionate burden’, considering the resources currently available to the council and how infrequently the documents are accessed. We plan to fix or create accessible HTML versions of any remaining PDFs and Word documents that provide access to, or information about, key services. 

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 23rd September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services. For those that are essential to providing services, we plan to either fix them or replace them with accessible HTML pages.

Videos

Some of our older videos do not meet accessibility standards because they do not have captions. The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix videos published before 23 September 2020. 

Live video

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

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 22nd September 2020. It was last reviewed in 2023 and will be reviewed again for improvement in 2024.

Liverpool City Council's Digital Service test this website using Silktide - read our accessibility test report.