This service is offered as part of the wider Brent council website. There’s a separate accessibility statement for the main Brent council website and associated web platforms and applications.
This page only contains information about the forms that have been created using the Firmstep platform, which is run by Granicus.
Using this 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’re also making the website text as simple as possible to understand.
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability:
- make your mouse easier to use
- use your keyboard instead of a mouse
- talk to your device
- make your device talk to you
- make text larger
- change your colours
- magnify the screen
How accessible this website is
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:
- there isn’t an option to skip repeated links
- the colour contrast between some links and their backgrounds are not sufficient enough
- some images are missing alternative text
- elements are not highlighted when receiving keyboard focus
- form fields are missing labels or not grouped in field sets
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 us at webteam@brent.gov.uk
To help us deal with your enquiry, please include as much information as possible, including:
- the web address of the pages you're having difficulties with
- how you are accessing the site, for example on your phone, on a laptop, on a tablet
- If on a laptop or tablet, which browser you are using, for example Edge, Firefox, Chrome or Safari
- the nature of your disability, if any
- a description of the problem.
We will consider your request and get back to you within 20 working days.
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
If you find any problems that aren’t listed on this page or think we’re not meeting the requirements of the accessibility regulations, let us know by emailing webteam@brent.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
To contact us, please call 020 8937 1234 or email: webteam@brent.gov.uk
Technical information about this websites accessibility
Brent council is committed to making this 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 the non-compliances listed below.
Non-accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
Text and links
The Forms don’t have any headings which means assistive technology users may not be able to determine the structure or navigation for a page. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.3.1 (info and relationships) and 2.4.6 (Headings and labels).
Some links are only identified by colour. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.4.1 (use of colour).
Some text uses formatting tags to emphasise it rather than using semantic tags or drawing from the stylesheets. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.3.1 (info and relationships).
Some presentational elements use HTML to format them rather than using the stylesheets. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.3.1 (info and relationships).
In the top navigation area adjacent links go to the same URL. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 2.4.4 (link purpose – in context).
The same link text is used for multiple different destinations, even though they take you to the same place. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 2.4.4 (link purpose – in context).
Some form screens contain tables where the tab order reads across rows instead of columns. This fails WCAG 2.4.3 (Focus Order) WCAG criteria.
Colour contrast
In some places, there is not enough contrast between the colour of the text and background is colour the text is on. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.3 (contrast – minimum).
Navigation and accessing information
There is no option to skip repeated links or jump to the main content area. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.1 (bypass blocks).
Some form fields are missing a label, which can make them difficult to navigate with a keyboard. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships) and 3.3.2 (labels or instructions).
There are no page regions or ARIA landmarks, which mean significant regions or areas of text on the page cannot be identified. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.1 (bypass blocks) and 1.3.1 (info and relationships).
Technology
When using the tab key to jump between elements, some links and buttons are not highlighted on focus. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.7 (focus visible).
Disproportionate burden
Not applicable.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
PDFs and other documents
We link to a small number of PDFs or documents from some of the Firmstep forms that aren’t accessible.
The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they are not essential to providing our services.
We plan to fix or replace all documents which are essential for service delivery with accessible HTML pages when we move to our new website in 2021.
How we tested this service
This website was last tested on 24 November 2020 by Brent Council using:
- Manual checking
- Siteimprove
- WAVE
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
This service is provided by our third party supplier Granicus.
Where we can, we will resolve the issues identified. For the issues that we can not fix ourselves, we will with our supplier to see how we can resolve any identified issues to make the system more usable for all users.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 25 November 2020. It was last reviewed on 24 November 2020.