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Accessibility statement

This accessibility statement applies to www.archives.norfolk.gov.uk 

This website is run by Norfolk County Council. 

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 400% without the text spilling off the screen and without content being truncated or overlapping 
  • 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) 

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

How accessible this website is 

We aim to meet the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 at AA level. 

However, we know some parts of this website are not fully accessible: 

  • For users using the website with assistive technology, such as a screen reader, there are issues with the description of the search button 
  • The visual positioning of error message on the sound preservation service enquiry form may make it unclear to some users which field the error message applies to 
  • The captcha challenge on the sound preservation service enquiry form has several accessibility issues which may make the form difficult to use for some users 
  • Some email newsletter sign up forms: 
    • Have an email form field that does not support autocomplete 
    • Do not show error messages when the form hasn't been correctly completed and the user attempts to submit the form using a keyboard. This makes it hard for users to identify errors they have made and correct them 
    • Tell screen reader users that all fields have invalid input until they have been completed correctly. This may confuse users as this is not typical form behaviour 
    • Are embedded on the page in an iframe that does not have a descriptive accessible name. This may make it difficult for users to identify the form or find it on the page 
  • On some pages the main landmark region is also the complementary landmark region  
  • There are some missing headings  
  • The visual styling of some headings does not match their programmatic styling 
  • Some pages have a heading 1 or page title that does not clearly describe the topic and purpose of the webpage  
  • Colour has been used as the only way to convey the meaning of the state changes for some elements  
  • The text in some elements overlaps or disappears on some pages when CSS styling is turned off  
  • The colour contrast of some elements in different states is not accessible  
  • Some Word documents may be difficult to access or use 
  • Some PDF documents may be difficult to access or use  
  • Some Excel spreadsheet document may be difficult to access or use 

Feedback and contact information  

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or Braille, email norfrec@norfolk.gov.uk 

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, email webaccessibility@norfolk.gov.uk  

We'll consider your request and get back to you in 3 working days. 

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 by phone or visiting us in person 

Technical information about this website's accessibility 

Norfolk 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 version 2.1 AA standard, due to 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 

Seach button labels on all pages 

The visible label of the 'Search' button does not match its accessible name. This means that screen reader software will read out two different labels. Instructions are not consistent. 

This fails: 

  • WCAG 1.3.1 Information and relationships 
  • WCAG 2.5.3 Label in name 

Date of expected fix: 2 May 2024. 

Error identification on the sound preservation service enquiry form 

When error messages appear to indicate that the user has not completed the form correctly, they are positioned above the field label. This may make it unclear to some users which field the error message applies to. 

This fails WCAG 3.3.1 Error identification. 

Date of expected fix: 2 December 2024. 

Captcha challenge on the sound preservation service enquiry form 

The captcha challenge ('I'm not a robot' checkbox) has several accessibility issues. For example: 

  • Sometimes users can't navigate to all buttons using a keyboard 
  • Checking the checkbox sometimes triggers a change of context (a dialog opens). The user is not warned this is going to happen. 
  • It's not visually obvious when some components have focus 
  • The 'Privacy', 'Terms' and 'Learn more' links are not descriptive enough 
  • The challenge expires and errors after two minutes. The user must then tick the checkbox and complete a new challenge. They are not given the option to turn off, adjust or extend the time limit. 
  • Error messages aren't presented in an accessible way 
  • Some text and state indicators don't contrast enough with adjacent colours 
  • Users may have to scroll both horizontally and vertically when zoomed in 
  • When the page is linearized, the captcha dialog is positioned after all the other page content (after the website page footer). This affects its meaning - it's no longer visually associated with the captcha checkbox 

This fails: 

  • WCAG 2.1.1 Keyboard 
  • WCAG 3.2.2 On input 
  • WCAG 2.4.7 Focus visible 
  • WCAG 2.4.4 Link purpose (in context) 
  • WCAG 2.2.1 Timing adjustable 
  • WCAG 3.3.1 Error identification 
  • WCAG 4.1.3 Status messages 
  • WCAG 1.4.1 Use of colour 
  • WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (minimum) 
  • WCAG 1.4.10 Reflow 
  • WCAG 1.3.2 Meaningful sequence 

Date of expected fix: September 2024.

Email newsletter sign up forms 

  • Some email newsletter sign up forms do not provide error messages when one or more fields do not have valid input and the user attempts to submit the form using a keyboard. This fails WCAG 3.3.1 Error identification  
  • Some email newsletter sign up forms include 'aria-invalid="true"' on all form inputs until they have valid input, which triggers the value to change to "false". This is incorrect use of the attribute - on form load it should be set to "false" and it should only be set to "true" if invalid input is detected when validation is performed. This fails WCAG 3.3.1 Error identification 
  • Some email newsletter sign up forms are embedded on the page using a script. This creates an iframe element within the html. The iframe does not have a descriptive accessible name. This fails WCAG 4.1.2 Name, role, value  
  • The email form field in some email newsletter sign up forms does not include the attribute and value 'autocomplete="email"'. This fails WCAG 1.3.5 Identify input purpose 

Landmark roles  

On the homepage and search results webpages, the 'main' landmark regions are also the 'complementary' landmark regions. A landmark region must have the role that best describes its content, and these sections are not complementary so should only have the 'main' landmark.  

This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Information and relationships.  

Missing headings  

The footer on all webpages, the homepage and the Marriage licence bonds webpage have text that visually looks and operates as headings, but they are not coded as headings. This means screen reader software will not detect them as headings. 

This fails: 

  • WCAG 1.3.1 Information and relationships 
  • WCAG 2.4.5 Headings and labels 

Inconsistent heading styles  

The visual styling of some headings does not match their programmatic styling. 

This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Information and relationships. 

Page title

The Cemetery records webpage has the page title 'Introduction'. This does not clearly describe the topic or purpose of the webpage. For example, the page title should reference 'cemetery records'. 

This fails WCAG 2.4.2 Page titled.

Descriptive heading 1

The heading 1 on the homepage is 'Archives'. This is not consistent with the rest of the webpage which refers to 'Norfolk Record Office', rather than 'archives'. The heading 1 therefore does not clearly describe the topic or purpose of the content following it.

This fails WCAG 2.4.6 Headings and labels.

Positioning of content

On some pages, content such as the search button and the drop-down menu overlaps or disappears when CSS styles are turned off. This makes the content difficult to read and interact with. 

This fails WCAG 1.3.2 Meaningful sequence. 

State changes  

When some elements are in different states such as normal, hover, focus or select, the colour contrast between the text or styling (such as an outline or border) and the background, is not accessible.  

This fails WCAG 1.4.11 Non-text contrast.

Colour as meaning  

Colour has been used as the only visual way to convey the meaning of the state changes for some elements.  

This fails WCAG 1.4.1 Use of colour.   

Word documents 

There are approximately 8 Word documents that do not meet accessibility standards. For example, several require user input (act as editable forms or templates) but have visible labels or instructions that aren't programmatically associated with the form field, or do not have programmatically determinable form fields. 

This fails:

  • WCAG 1.3.1 Info and relationships
  • WCAG 4.1.2 Name, role, value

We are reviewing these documents, removing them and replacing them with accessible PDFs or web content where needed. 

Excel spreadsheets  

There are Excel spreadsheets on the website that do not meet accessibility standards because they include tables that are not accessibly formatted. This means screen reader software will not be able to read and understand them accurately.  

This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Information and relationships.

PDF documents  

There are PDF documents on the website that do not meet accessibility standards because they: 

  • Do not have tags, meaning that they have not been correctly converted to a PDF document from the source document. This means screen reader software will not be able to read and understand them accurately. This fails WCAG 1.3.2 Meaningful sequence.
  • Do not have the document's language set. This fails WCAG 3.1.1 Language of page.
  • Do not have descriptive document titles. This fails WCAG 2.4.5 Page titled.
  • Include tables that are not accessibly formatted. This means screen reader software will not be able to read and understand them accurately. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Information and relationships.  
  • Contain information in the footer of the document that has not been repeated elsewhere in the main body of the document. This means that screen reader software may not read this information. This fails WCAG 2.4.5 Multiple ways.  
  • Have incorrect heading structures. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 information and relationships and WCAG 2.4.6 Headings and labels.
  • Include images that are not marked as decorative or given descriptive alternative text. This fails WCAG 1.1.1 Alternative text.

Disproportionate burden 

We are not claiming disproportionate burden on any part of our site. 

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

Older PDFs and other documents 

Many of our older PDFs and Word documents do not meet accessibility standards - for example, they may not be structured so they're accessible to a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 4.1.2 Name, role, value. 

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. 

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

Maps 

Our maps are not accessible to screen reader users. We have ensured that essential navigation information included in maps, such as addresses or directions, are available in an accessible format. 

Preparation of this accessibility statement 

This statement was prepared on 22 September 2020. It was last updated on 20 March 2024. 

This website was last tested in March 2024. Norfolk County Council's Digital Customer Experience Team carried out the test. 

We tested the website www.archives.norfolk.gov.uk using automated and manual tests. We used: 

  • Accessibility Insights for Web 
  • Microsoft Devtools 
  • Web Developer extension for Chrome 
  • NVDA 
  • Colourcontrast.cc 

We used a sample-based approach to auditing, based on the Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM).