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Accessibility Statement

Caring Wood, RIBA House of the Year 2017 - courtesy of MacDonald Wright Architects

This accessibility statement applies to Kent Design Guide, run by Kent County Council.

This accessibility statement can be viewed in PDF format by clicking here.

The content on this website is designed for everyone to find, read, and understand. It is compatible with assistive technologies and developed to meet the accessibility standards outlined in this statement.

View the site your way

There are a number of customisation options for your browser and device that could help you use this website and other websites more effectively.

AbilityNet provide advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

Feedback and contact information

Please contact us at kentdesignguide@kent.gov.uk if you have an accessibility query including:

  • If you are experiencing issues with accessing information or using the website
  • If you find an accessibility problem not listed on this statement
  • If you have positive feedback on the accessibility considerations made.

When you contact us there is a process in place that will acknowledge your contact, tell you who is dealing with it and give you a timescale by which you can expect a reply.

Alternative formats

If you need information in an alternative format, such as braille or a language other than English:

An English-speaker will take details of what you need and arrange a translation or interpreting service for you. You may need an English-speaking friend or a family member to help you with this.

We may not be able to meet your requirements immediately, but we will try to provide an interpreter (or translation service) to help you as quickly as possible.

Complaints process

Once you have reported a problem with our website or asked for an alternative format, but you are not happy with our response, you can use our complaints process to register your difficulty. This helps us improve our systems.

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

Kent County 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 to the non-compliances listed below.

Non-accessible content

We formally test the accessibility of key user journeys that represent the breadth of content across our website on a regular basis against WCAG 2.1 AA standards.

If you find something that does not work that we missed, remember to contact us at kentdesignguide@kent.gov.uk

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reason(s):

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

This section covers issues that we need to fix and are working to do so.

1.     Non-text content

Some images have alt text but  it doesn’t describe the image to users with assistive technologies. . (WCAG: 1.1.1).

We are working to fix this issue by December 2021.

2.     Info and Relationships

Some content cannot be programmatically determined by structure for assistive technologies. (WCAG: 1.3.1).

We are working to fix this issue by December 2021.

3.     Sensory Characteristics

Some content can rely on just one sensory characteristic for information (WCAG: 1.3.3).

We are working to fix this issue by December 2021.

4.     Contrast (Minimum)

Some text-based web content does not meet colour contrast requirements of 4.5:1 (WCAG: 1.4.3).

We are working to fix this issue by November 2021.

5.     Resize Text

Content when resized to 200% in a web browser in some areas is difficult to interact with. (WCAG: 1.4.4)

We are working to fix this issue by December 2021.

6.     Reflow

Some content is lost when pages are resized to 320 pixels viewport width  (WCAG: 1.4.10).

We are working to fix this issue by November 2021.

7.   Non-text Contrast

Some non-text content does not meet colour contrast requirements of 3:1 (WCAG: 1.4.11).

We are working to fix this issue by November 2021.

8.     Keyboard

Not all content can be interacted and operated via keyboard input only. (WCAG: 2.1.1).

We are working to fix this issue by November 2021.

9.    Bypass Blocks

A ‘skip to content’ link is implemented but cannot be operated effectively using keyboard. (WCAG: 2.4.1).

We are working to fix this issue by December 2021.

10.    Focus Order

Some areas of the site do not offer a logical focus order. (WCAG: 2.4.3).

We are working to fix this issue by December 2021.

11.  Link Purpose (In Context)

Some link elements are unclear by name and purpose for users. (WCAG: 2.4.4).

We are working to fix this issue by December 2021.

12.  Focus Visible

Some content on keyboard focus is difficult to see. (WCAG: 2.4.7).

We are working to fix this issue by December 2021.

13.  Error Identification

Input errors for some form fields on the site are not identified for assistive technologies (WCAG: 3.3.1).

We are working to fix this issue by December 2021.

14.  Name, Role, Value

Some elements cannot be programmatically determined by name. (WCAG: 4.1.2).

We are working to fix this issue by December 2021.

Disproportionate burden

Not applicable.

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

This section covers issues that we do not need to fix right now.

Documents and PDFs

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23rd September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services.

We will ensure that any newly published content is accessible and are working to either fix accessibility issues with existing documents that have been published since 23rd September 2018 or provide an accessible alternative.

Online Maps

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix online maps provided there is an accessible alternative.

Our website uses an online map and where there is a map, the information being displayed is provided in an alternative format on the same web page.

Third-Party Content

Our website contains third-party content. We do not have control over and are not responsible for the accessibility of this content, but we make best endeavours to work with the 3rd party to improve its accessibility. This may include:

  • Links to non-KCC websites
  • Content/functionality on our website
  • Content hosted on other websites, such as social media sites.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 4th November 2021. It was last reviewed on 30th October 2021.

This website was last tested on 10th June 2021. The test was carried out by Kent County Council.