Accessibility statement for Worcestershire Regulatory Services

This accessibility statement applies to content published on the www.worcsregservices.gov.uk domain.

This website is run by Worcestershire Regulatory Services. 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’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

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

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

  • most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
  • some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard
  • some newer PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software

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, then contact us on enquiries@worcsregservices.gov.uk or 01905 822799. Please let us know it is a request for information from our web site in a different format, and also:

  • the web address (URL) of the content
  • your name and e-mail address
  • the format you need, for example, accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille.

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 7 days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

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, contact enquiries@worcsregservices.gov.uk or 01905 822799.

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

Please contact us first by our general enquiries e-mail or 01905 822799.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Worcestershire Regulatory Services 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 exemptions listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons:

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Not all our Id attributes are unique. This fails WCAG 2.0 Level A: 4.1.1 Parsing. We plan to add these by the end of October 2022.

Not all our documents have one main landmark. This fails to meet Success Criterion 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks, Success Criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships and Success Criterion 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks. We plan to add these by the end of October 2022.

Not all our page content is contained by landmarks. This fails to meet Success Criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships and Success Criterion 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks. We plan to add these by the end of October 2022.

Not all our frames have title attributes. This fails WCAG 2.0 Level A: 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks and  WCAG 2.0 Level A: 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value. We plan to add these by end October 2022.

Disproportionate burden

Worcestershire Regulatory Services is committed to meeting its obligations set out in The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018. However, we have a complex collection of specialised documents, which have a very narrow target audience and we have limited resources to convert them all immediately into an accessible format. Next to each set of these PDF documents is link describing how they can be requested in an accessible format. We will review each document, and ensure major redrafts are produced in an accessible format.

PDF document: 2020 Gull Population Survey (Pest Control\Gulls\Gull Control in Worcester City page). This is a 29 page highly technical survey and report from an outside agency that was commissioned by Worcester City Council, and it would be a disproportionate burden on officer time to change into a more accessible format. It has a very narrow target audience.
PDF document:  WRS Best Practice Guide for Contractors who want Further Advice on the Environmental Impact of Construction (Nuisance\Bonfires\Construction & Demolition Bonfire page). This is a 16 page highly technical document. It has a very narrow target audience relating to bonfires and guidance for construction and demolition businesses. It would have limited benefit changing it to a more accessible format unless we were requested to do so. And there is a link next to the PDF document describing how this can be requested.
PDF document: Biomass Boiler Information Request Form – to accompany a planning application or environmental permit application (Nuisance\Smoke\Industrial & Commercial Chimneys page). This is a 12 page highly technical document aimed at businesses that need to apply for a planning application or an environment permit application. It would have limited benefit changing it to a more accessible format unless we were requested to do so. And there is a link next to the PDF document describing how this can be requested.
PDF documents: Air Quality Action Plans, Annual Status and Reports for Bromsgrove District Council, Malvern Hills District Council, Redditch Borough Council, Worcester City Council, Wychavon District Council and Wyre Forest District Council (Pollution\Air Quality\Local Air Quality Reporting pages). These are a collection of technical documents, many of which were produced before September 2018, where The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018 are not applicable. The rest of the documents have a very narrow target audience. which would be a disproportionate burden to change into a more accessible format. It would have limited benefit changing it to a more accessible format unless we were requested to do so. And there is a link next to the PDF document describing how this can be requested.
PDF documents: Air Quality Management Area Declarations for Bromsgrove District Council, Worcester City Council, Wychavon District Council and Wyre Forest District Council (Pollution\Air Quality\Air Quality Declaration Areas pages). These are a collection of external declaration documents from the district councils within Worcestershire, many of which were produced before September 2018, where The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018 are not applicable. The rest of the documents have a very narrow target audience. which would be a disproportionate burden to change into a more accessible format. It would have limited benefit changing it to a more accessible format unless we were requested to do so. And there is a link next to the PDF document describing how this can be requested. We will request that the district councils will in future produce these in a more accessible format.
PDF document: Planning & Pollution Technical Guidance Document (Pollution\Planning & Pollution page).This is a 108 page highly technical document. It has a very narrow target audience relating to bonfires and guidance for construction and demolition businesses. It would have limited benefit changing it to a more accessible format unless we were requested to do so. And there is a link next to the PDF document describing how this can be requested.
PDF documents: Case Summaries of Determination and Remediation (Pollution\Technical Pollution Public Register\Public Register of Contaminated Land and Status pages).These are a collection of external documents, all of which were produced before September 2018, where The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018 are not applicable.

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

PDFs and other documents

Many of our PDFs and Word documents are not accessible in a number of ways, but essential to providing our services.

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.

Live video

Not applicable.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We will continue to run automatic weekly checks, and regular manual checks. We plan to constantly improve accessibility..

Our rebuilt website based on an updated content management system was released on 14th July 2021, and this new site fixes most of our non compliance issues.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was originally prepared on 23rd September 2020. It was last reviewed on 25th August 2023.

This website was and continues to be regularly tested and automatically scanned for compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines V2.1 level A and level AA. These tests have been carried out internally by Worcestershire Regulatory Services Technical Services and Wyre Forest District Council Web Team.