Accessibility

Introduction

One in seven residents in the United Kingdom (approximately 8.5million people) has some form of disability.

Under section 21 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, disabled people are given improved rights of access to goods, facilities and services.  The Department for Education and Science advice says: "As a service provider, you might discriminate against a disabled person in two ways:

  • By treating him or her less favourably than other customers because of their disability; or
  • By not making reasonable adjustments to the way you deliver your services, so that disabled people can use them."

The Act came into full effect in October 2004, leaving service providers open to prosecution unless they have at least a plan for implementing "reasonable adjustments".  This applies equally to websites.

The UK government and major charitable organisations agree that websites should implement the 14 accessibility guidelines issued by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which is an international organisation that develops standards for the Internet. It comprises notable Internet pioneers and representatives from governments and global technology companies.

The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) is a working party set up by W3C to set standards for making web pages accessible to as many people as possible. The first major product from this group was a set of guidelines which are seen as a standard all over the world.

East Devon District Council is fully committed to making its web site as accessible as possible and this page sets out the Council's commitment to users of this web site who have disabilities.  Particular reference is made to

  1. WAI Guidelines
  2. Disability Rights Commission Recommendations
  3. Plain English
  4. Future template development

WAI Guidelines

The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) is a product of the W3C's commitment "to lead the Web to its full potential ... promoting a high degree of usability for people with disabilities".  The current measure is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0, globally recognised as the standard in website accessibility testing.  

For those unfamiliar with accessibility issues relating to web page design, many users may be operating in contexts very different from your own:

  • They may not be able to see, hear, move, or may not be able to process some types of information easily or at all.
  • They may have difficulty reading or comprehending text.
  • They may not have or be able to use a keyboard or mouse.
  • They may have a text-only screen, a small screen, or a slow Internet connection.
  • They may not speak or understand fluently the language in which the document is written.
  • They may be in a situation where their eyes, ears, or hands are busy or interfered with (e.g., driving to work, working in a loud environment, etc.).
  • They may have an early version of a browser, a different browser entirely, a voice browser, or a different operating system.

Web authors must consider these different situations during page design. While there are several situations to consider.  Each accessible design choice generally benefits several disability groups at once and the Web community as a whole.

The WAI requires websites to adhere to the following 14 technical guidelines:

  1. Provide equivalent alternatives to auditory and visual content
  2. Don't rely on colour alone
  3. Use mark-up and style sheets and do so properly
  4. Clarify natural language usage
  5. Create tables that transform gracefully
  6. Ensure that pages featuring new technologies transform gracefully
  7. Ensure user control of time-sensitive content changes
  8. Ensure direct accessibility of embedded user interfaces
  9. Design for device-independence
  10. Use interim solutions
  11. Use W3C technologies and guidelines
  12. Provide context and orientation information
  13. Provide clear navigation mechanisms
  14. Ensure that documents are clear and simple

East Devon District Council is entirely committed to these fourteen principles.

The WAI guidelines define three levels of conformance:

  • Level "A": the site incorporates all the compulsory elements of the WAI guidelines. This gives basic access to most groups of disabled users.
  • Level "AA": the site incorporates all the "should-have" checkpoints. This brings down all of the significant barriers to users.
  • Level "AAA": the site incorporates all the "may-have" checkpoints.

East Devon's website currently meets Level AA following a redesign in 2005, and our continuing development of the website aims to adhere to and exceed this standard.  In particular we will be focusing on the following areas in the future:

  • Ensure direct accessibility of embedded user interfaces (improve interactive functionality currently on the website and work with interfaces to new core systems to ensure maximum accessibility).
  • Design for device independence (development of templates for alternative access channels).

The Disability Rights Commission

The Disability Rights Commission has produced a series of 15 recommendations on accessibility of websites, of which five are directly applicable to the Council.  These criteria also passed into law in October 2004.  East Devon District Council makes the following specific response to these recommendations.

Recommendation 1

Website commissioners should formulate written policies for meeting the needs of disabled people.

As a minimum, such policies should:

  • explain what standard of accessibility is to be achieved, having regard to the WAI view that if a site falls short of Level AA conformance, one or more impairment groups will find it difficult to gain access to its content
  • ensure that disabled people with a range of sensory, cognitive and mobility impairments are involved from early on in the process of website design and development
  • ensure that all specifications of requirements and invitations to tender for contract reflect such policies
  • ensure that there is a process for maintaining such standards whenever a website is modified.

EDDC’s response

This page serves as the Council’s written policy on accessibility.  The Council’s ambition is to meet Level AAA of the WAI guidelines. Currently, the web site meets Level AA and we are working towards resolving the technical issues that will enable us to meet our goal.  Disability guidelines were consulted extensively during the development of the website, including those issues by WAI and the DRC.  The Council has nominated an officer as the website “design authority”, with responsibility for maintaining such standards.

Recommendation 2

Organisations which provide and oversee education and training for developers, including the vendors of web-authoring tools, should promote an understanding that good development practice entails attending, and responding, to the needs of disabled people.

As a minimum, such organisations and vendors should:

  • create modules on disability awareness and accessibility as part of the basic training in website development
  • ensure that such modules form an integral part of any continuing professional development or product support.

EDDC’s response

We do not provide and oversee education and training for developers. However, all officers with responsibility for updating web content or design receive training in plain English and all web developers are trained in the principles of accessibility.

Recommendation 3

Website developers should accept that good practice entails attending and responding to the needs of disabled people.

As a minimum website developers should:

  • take steps to familiarise themselves with how disabled people use the Web and with their needs in Web accessibility
  • ensure that they are familiar with the principles, practical objectives and limitations of the Web Accessibility Initiative Guidelines, and with the techniques for applying these in their development environment
  • in reviewing a specification of requirements, confirm that it makes appropriate provision for meeting the needs of disabled people; where it does not, seek clarification from the project sponsors and website commissioners, drawing their attention to their legal obligations and to best practice in this area.

EDDC’s response

The Council accepts without reservation that good practice entails attending and responding to the needs of disabled people

Recommendation 5: Website developers should involve disabled users from an early stage in the design process.

As a minimum, website developers should:

  • involve disabled people with a range of sensory, cognitive and mobility impairments from early in the process of website design and development
  • plan and manage this process so as to expose and remove barriers that people with these impairments might encounter.

EDDC's response

Although disabled people were not directly involved with the development of the website, a wide range of guidelines were consulted and adopted during the development phase.  The development team's personal experience of users with disabilities also informed choices that were made during the extensive planning phase.  These included the inclusion of a high contrast template for readers with visual impairment.  Please see below for information about future template development for users with other disabilities.

Recommendation 6:

In accordance with the Guidelines, website developers should not rely exclusively on automated accessibility testing.

As a minimum, website developers should:

  • conduct practical evaluations, or utilise the services of a website accessibility professional for that purpose, involving a range of disabled users and their assistive technology
  • plan and manage such practical evaluations so as to expose and remove barriers that people with various impairments might encounter.

EDDC's response

The Council uses the WebXACT automated testing tool for checking its adherence to the WAI criteria.  It is the development team's experience that other automated testing tools are too often fallible and, consequently, no others are used.  Practical evaluations are considered of greater value and these are carried out with reference to guidelines and users with disabilities.

Plain English

The Council is committed to making the information it provides as clear as possible.  To this end, all web content authors have been given training in writing for the web by the Campaign for Plain English.

Future Template Development on the East Devon website

As part of the Council's continuing commitment to increasing access to its website, templates will be developed during 2006 to cater for the following needs:

  • Mobile technology

There will also be a pure text-only template.

For further information, please contact webmaster@eastdevon.gov.uk.