Accessibility Statement for West Bedlington Town Council

This accessibility statement applies to the website of West Bedlington Town Council.

West Bedlington Town Council is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for all users, including people with disabilities. We continually work to improve the user experience for everyone and apply relevant accessibility standards wherever possible.

Compliance Status

West Bedlington Town Council believes this website is compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.2 AA standard, with the exception of certain archived documents and content published before 23 September 2018 which are exempt under the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

During 2026, the Council undertook a substantial accessibility remediation programme across the website and document library, including the review and remediation of 98 PDF and Office documents.

Remaining accessibility issues identified through accessibility testing relate primarily to historic archived content that falls outside the scope of the regulations due to publication date exemptions.

Where reasonably practicable, West Bedlington Town Council has still undertaken improvements to legacy content as part of its wider accessibility improvement programme.

Accessibility Improvements Completed

Accessibility reviews were carried out using a combination of automated accessibility auditing software, manual accessibility checks, and document remediation processes.

As part of this work programme, 98 PDF and Office documents were reviewed and updated to improve accessibility compliance.

Document remediation work included:

• setting correct document titles
• setting document language properties
• checking and correcting document reading order
• reviewing figures and images for accessibility
• replacing meaningless alternative text such as “image.jpg”, “scan001”, and “picture1”
• adding missing alternative text where appropriate
• marking decorative items and non-informational elements as artefacts
• updating original source documents and rescanning inaccessible legacy PDFs where necessary

Website accessibility improvements included:

• correction of structural accessibility issues
• improvements to heading structures and page hierarchy
• accessibility enhancements to navigation and menus
• improvements to keyboard accessibility and focus visibility
• improvements to page labelling and alternative text
• remediation of accessibility issues identified through WCAG auditing software
• review and replacement of inaccessible content where appropriate

The Council has also implemented improved publishing procedures to help ensure newly uploaded content and documents follow accessibility best practice wherever reasonably practicable.

Remaining Non-accessible Content

Some remaining accessibility issues relate to archived documents and content published before 23 September 2018.

Under the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018, content published before this date is generally exempt from accessibility requirements unless it is required for active administrative services.

Examples may include:

• historical PDF documents
• archived agendas and minutes
• scanned legacy records
• older downloadable files retained for archive purposes

Where reasonably practicable, improvements have still been made to legacy content as part of the Council’s wider accessibility review programme.

If you require information contained within an older document in an accessible format, please contact the Council and assistance will be provided where possible.

PDFs and Documents

West Bedlington Town Council recognises that PDF and Office documents can present accessibility challenges for some users.

Current publishing procedures aim to ensure that newly uploaded documents:

• include appropriate document titles
• contain readable text rather than scanned images wherever possible
• use correct document structures and heading hierarchies
• include appropriate alternative text for meaningful images
• follow accessibility best practice guidance

Third-Party Content

Some parts of the website may link to or embed content provided by third-party systems or external providers. West Bedlington Town Council cannot guarantee the accessibility of third-party platforms but will work with suppliers where possible to encourage accessibility improvements.

Reporting Accessibility Problems

If you experience difficulty accessing any part of this website or wish to report an accessibility issue, please contact:

West Bedlington Town Council
Email: clerk@westbedlingtontowncouncil.gov.uk
Telephone: 01670 457070 

Please include:

• the page URL
• details of the issue
• the assistive technology being used (if applicable)

The Council aims to respond within 10 working days.

Enforcement Procedure

The Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) is responsible for enforcing the accessibility regulations.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service:

https://www.equalityadvisoryservice.com/

Technical Information About This Website’s Accessibility

West Bedlington Town Council is committed to making its website accessible in accordance with:

• The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018
• WCAG 2.2 AA standards

Compatibility with Browsers and Assistive Technology

This website is designed to be compatible with:

• modern browsers including Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari
• screen readers including NVDA, JAWS and VoiceOver
• keyboard-only navigation
• mobile and tablet devices

Preparation of this Accessibility Statement

This statement was prepared on: 20/05/2026

The website was last reviewed on: 12/05/2026

Accessibility testing was carried out using:

• automated accessibility auditing tools
• manual accessibility checks
• keyboard navigation testing
• accessibility auditing software including SortSite

This statement will be reviewed regularly as part of the Council’s ongoing accessibility monitoring process.