Accessibility Statement

This accessibility statement applies to the website https://www.twfire.gov.uk

This website is run by Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service. 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 (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 aren’t fully accessible:

• most older PDF documents aren’t fully accessible to screen reader software
• some older videos don’t have captions
• some images don’t have alt text

What to do if you can’t access parts of this website

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:

• email corporate.communications@twfire.gov.uk
• call 0191 444 1546

We’ll consider your request and get back to you as soon as possible.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that aren’t listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements:

• email corporate.communications@twfire.gov.uk
• call 0191 444 1546

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

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below. We are working through these issues and we have ongoing review process.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Some images don’t have a text alternative, so the information in them isn’t available to people using a screen reader. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content).

When we publish new content we’ll make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards.

Disproportionate Burden

We’ve assessed the time it would take to fix the following issues and, due to the fact we are already working on development of a new website, we believe that doing so now would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations.

The focus visible is not clear on the menu dropdown options. For example, the keyboard can now access dropdown links under About us, however this is confusing for the users as the focus is not visible. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.4.7 Focus Visible.

The focus is not clear on links across the webpage. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.4.7 Focus Visible.

At 200%, the keyboard focus is not clear within the hamburger menu. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.4.7 Focus Visible.

The expanding menus under Contact Us are not accessible using the keyboard. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1.1 Keyboard.

The keyboard tabs onto the cookie banner last. This means the banner covers content making it difficult for users to view content on the webpage. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.4.3 Focus Order.

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

Many of our older PDFs and Word documents don’t meet accessibility standards – for example, they may not be structured so they’re accessible to a screen reader. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (name, role value).

The accessibility regulations don’t require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services. For example, we don’t plan to immediately fix all of our Fire Risk Assessment documents.

Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We are looking to develop a new website to address non-compliance with accessibility regulations that have been identified on this website. This should be completed by Spring 2023.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 1^st September 2018. It was last reviewed on 31^st October 2022.

This website was last tested on 31^st October 2022.  The test was carried out by NetReady. All live web pages were tested.