Accessibility statement for Herts Improvement Agency
Hertfordshire County Council runs this website. We work to make this website as accessible as possible to everyone, including people with disabilities and people who use assistive technologies to browse the web.
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.team@hertfordshire.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).
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
Hertfordshire County 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 2.2 version AA standard.
That means you should be able to:
- zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
- navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
- listen to most of the website using a screen reader.
Non-accessible content
We know some parts of this website aren’t fully accessible:
- third party video players
- third party forms
- some headings may be non-hierarchical
- Google translate widget
The elements listed below are non-accessible for the following reasons:
- Documents produced outside our council, which we’re unable to edit.
- Other platforms that we link to.
- Embedded elements such as maps
What we're doing to make Herts Home Improvement Agency more accessible
We have several smaller websites, known as microsites, which our Web team has internally reviewed. During this review, we identified several issues that we are actively working to resolve between January and July 2025.
Due to limited resources, we prioritised reviewing the top 23 microsites based on their popularity and viewership, against a select set of WCAG 2.2 requirements.
Some issues, such as keyboard accessibility, focus order, and form labels, will require the development team's attention. Other issues, like text alternatives and contrast ratio, will need to be addressed by the content team.
Below is a summary of the issues we are addressing on this website:
WCAG level A issues:
- Headings: There are empty Heading 2 styles on the home page, (1.3.1 Info and Relationships, 4.1.2 Name, Role, and Value, and 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions).
- Text alternatives: Some images used for navigation purposes do not require alt text, as their function is clear from the context. Also, there is an image being used as a link without a text alternative to indicate its purpose (1.1.1 Non-text Content).
WCAG level AA issues:
Headings missing: A heading style 2 is missing from a few pages (2.4.6 Headings and Labels).
How we test and review our smaller websites (microsites)
For our smaller websites, such as this one, we use both automated and manual testing to identify and assess problems. We review against a select number of WCAG 2.2 requirements due to limited resources.
Automated testing
We use the Deque Axe dev tool, Site Improve accessibility checker, and various browser bookmarklets for automated testing.
Manual testing
Our manual testing includes the following:
Content:
- Ensure page titles are unique and descriptive.
- Check that headings are properly structured in the correct order of hierarchy.
Keyboard Testing:
- Navigate through the website using only the keyboard to ensure it is presented in a logical reading order from left to right and top to bottom.
- Ensure all interactive elements (links, buttons, forms) can be accessed and activated using the keyboard, and that there is a visible focus indicator as you navigate.
Zoom and resize:
- Zoom in to 200% and check if all content is still visible and functional.
- Ensure that text does not overlap or become cut off.
We also use the WebAIM contrast checker to verify contrast issues and check if alternative text (alt text) on images is appropriate and descriptive.
Third party platforms
We often create or link to content which is hosted on third party platforms. This includes:
- content we create for social media, such as Facebook or Twitter
- videos hosted on YouTube or Vimeo
- PDFs or documents hosted on other websites
We're responsible for ensuring the content we create meets accessibility requirements. However, we're not responsible for the accessibility of the platform itself, or content which has been created by a third party.
For example, when we add video to one of our YouTube channels, we'll ensure any subtitling, captions and audio-description are included as required. However, we're not responsible for the accessibility of the video player itself.
Some third party reports may not be accessible, for example, risk management documents.
Disproportionate burden
We aim to make all of the well-used documents on our website accessible. However, sometimes we have to publish documents that are not well-used. For example, if we're legally obliged to publish a document but there's little user demand for it.
We don't believe the time, effort and resource to fix all the documents is justified. As such, we've assessed that it would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
We believe that:
- the majority of this effort would be of little to no benefit to users due to the low usage
- with finite resource, fixing the remaining in-scope documents would take resource away from core web activity, essential to managing our websites
- maintaining statutory and essential frontline services should be prioritised over paying for work to fix documents which aren’t well-used
- users will benefit most from us focusing available resources on fixing the most used documents, ensuring that new documents are accessible where they're required for essential services or are likely to be popularly used by people with disabilities.
Where we do need to publish documents that aren’t accessible, we highlight how users can get in touch to request content in alternative formats, if necessary.
We are training document authors around the council to produce accessible documents from the outset.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs with forms which allow you to request a service. Any document which is essential to accessing a service should have been made accessible or replaced with accessible HTML pages.
Some of the documents on our website are not accessible because they were designed to be printed and are not used as digital documents. We have made the decision to host these documents on the website so that our users can download and print them if they wish, but they are exemptions to the web content accessibility guidelines.
The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services. We don't plan to fix documents which are older than this date which are hosted on our website.
We'll work to ensure new PDFs or Word documents meet accessibility standards wherever possible.
Changing colours, font, text size and other settings
All modern browsers allow you to change colours and font sizes. We've tried to create a site which doesn't get in the way when you change these settings.
For advice on changing settings, check out the BBC’s accessibility pages. You can choose your operating system (for example, Windows), your browser (such as Internet Explorer) and the problem you're trying to fix. You'll then get lots of relevant advice on accessibility settings.
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
Screen readers
A screen reader is a program which reads out the information displayed on your computer to you. Screen readers can be useful to enable blind and partially-sighted people to browse the internet and carry out other tasks using their device.
There are a variety of screen readers available. Assistive technology: definition and safe use.
Plain English
We try to write in plain English and avoid jargon. If you don’t understand something, let us know at web.team@hertfordshire.gov.uk.
Easy read content
Easy read is a format used in documents and webpages to help people with learning disabilities understand information easily. Easy read typically uses an image on the left and text on the right.
We aim to make easy read content as web-accessible as possible, though users may have to view it in its non-easy read view. If you require content in a different format, email web.team@hertfordshire.gov.uk.
Language translations
Translate this site into different languages using Google Translate (external link).
Contact services for deaf customers or those with hearing loss
- Textphone/ Minicom: 18001 01992934479 (through Text Relay)
Alternative formats
Email contact@hertfordshire.gov.uk if you need any information or documents on this website in a different format. For example: accessible, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille.
Skip links
This website uses skip links, allowing keyboard users to skip to the menu and access content faster.
Auditing
We have carred out formal accessibility audits of the main website every year using WCAG 2.2 AA standards which guide our long term audit and improvement plans.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 14 March 2024. It was last reviewed and updated on 14 March 2025.
This website was last tested and reviewed on 18 October 2024. The test was carried out by members of our Web Team.