Making Barnsley Council online accessible

Barnsley Council is committed to making its online resources accessible and usable.

The British Standards Institute in conjunction with the Disability Rights Commission (since replaced by the Equality and Human Rights Commission) have developed a guide to good practice in commissioning accessible websites, known as the Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 78.

Using PAS78 guidance, we continually review our site and modify pages to improve them for all customers, including those who may have specific access needs.

In accordance with PAS78, we maintain our website against the principles set out by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) in their Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) as part of their Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). Our target is to meet or exceed the provisions of these guidelines to Conformance Level "AA". Further information about the conformance levels can be found on the W3C's conformance pages.

What does that mean in practice?

We design our website and its content in accordance with a checklist of accessibility guidelines which include:

1. Maintaining a standard page layout and navigation menu throughout;
2. Using headings, paragraphs and lists to maintain web pages that are structured in an easy to read manner;
3. Using clear concise wording avoiding the use of jargon;
4. Using plain backgrounds to improve the readability of text;
5. Using colour combinations which are known to make it easier for sufferers of colour-blindness to read;
6. Providing alternative text to explain images that are used to convey information. This ensures that those with visual impairments can understand any pictorally presented information;
7. Designing layouts that work satisfactorily on a range of different screen sizes;
8. Ensuring all page links use descriptive and meaningful text, avoiding short-hand language such as 'click here';
9. Providing access keys to allow keyboard navigation to the main subject areas;
10. Designing to support the use of equipment over and above the standard PC, keyboard and mouse (for example, mobile phone or assistive technology such as a pointer).

We collect data and constantly monitor our website, ensuring it is thoroughly tested across all popular browsers, such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Google Chrome.

Information collated to date tells us that Barnsley Council online is most commonly viewed in screen size (resolution) 1024 x 768, so we design the website to this resolution. However, our website will work to a high standard in any of the popular screen resolutions.

You will find consistent navigation around all pages on Barnsley Council online. Each page has prominent links to the A to Z of services and search facilities.

If you have any comments on our accessibility policy, or suggestions for how to improve the site please use our Feedback form.