This accessibility statement applies to the Medway Housing Services Online website. It is run Medway Council.
How you can use this website
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 (apart from text embedded in images)
- 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).
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:
- there are a number of areas where a screen reader will not fully work, especially when navigating using the tab key
- when increasing the magnification of pages, some of the labels do not show and the text at the base of the page extends and overlaps.
Feedback and contact information
How to request information in an accessible format
This website allows you to view information about your housing services and interact with us. We can provide some of this in a different format for you.
If you would like to request this, email housingincometeam@medway.gov.uk. We’ll consider your request and get back to you within 10 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, please email housingincometeam@medway.gov.uk. Or you can phone 01634 333 333.
Complaints
Our complaints procedure is for anyone who wants to complain about a service they’ve received from Medway Council.
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, 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. The number is 18001 01634 333 333.
Our offices have audio induction loops. Or if you contact us before your visit we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.
Find out how to contact us and visit us in person.
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
Medway Council is committed to making its website accessible, in line 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 following non-compliances listed below:
- there are a number of areas where a screen reader will not fully work, especially when navigation using the tab key
- when increasing the magnification of pages, some of the labels do not show and the text at the base of the page extends and overlaps.
Non-accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons:
- when zooming in using the Chrome browser some labels disappear
- when zooming in on all browsers the text at the bottom of the page extends beyond the standard styling and overlaps
- when you navigate using the TAB key a number of buttons are not being recognised and communicated by screen readers, which includes back and cancel buttons, login buttons and some general buttons
- the option to skip to the main content of the page cannot be found by screen readers when using the TAB key
- viewing a document is not notified by the screen reader
- the lower-level menu options under the action button are not notified by the screen reader
- some errors are not being notified by the screen reader
- the calendar and date picker does not work with screen readers and cannot be navigated to using shortcuts
- password strength does not have any hint text, so a screen reader does not read it correctly
- some hyperlinks are not allowing screen readers to provide a meaningful description.
Disproportionate burden
Not applicable.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
The current site is only partially accessible, as per the statement. We aim to upgrade this site to the latest version of the software by June 2023 to ensure compliance.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 4 October 2022.
This website was last tested on 24 August 2020 by NEC Software Solutions Ltd, and on 24 June 2022 by Medway Council.
The team tested the most used customer journeys through the website and the different types of page. The testing followed the WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines and considered the needs of users with sight impairment, physical disabilities, hearing impairment and cognitive disabilities.
We tested every page within the site for:
- keyboard (only) access
- magnification of up to 300%
- errors detected by tools such as Codesniffer, Lighthouse or Wave
- access and site usage using voice recognition software
- access and site usage using screen reading tools.
The tools used are listed below:
- screen readers: JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver
- evaluation tools: Axe software, WAVE, Web Accessibility Toolbar and ARC Toolkit
- other tools: browser zoom tool and Windows Speech Recognition.