Using this website

3C Shared Services, in partnership with 3C ICT, has designed this website to be as accessible as possible. 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

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

Making the web easier to use

Ability.net explains how you can change your browser, computer, keyboard and mouse settings to make the web more accessible for you.

What to do if you can’t access parts of this website

If you need information on this website in a different format, for example an accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille then please:

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems or think we’re not meeting the requirements of the accessibility regulations please email digital.team@3csharedservices.org or call 01480 388388.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

We are committed to making our website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

We follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, with some exceptions. We are working on the exceptions and aim to fix any issues as soon as possible after identifying them.

Issues with text

We have fixed non-descriptive link text (for example where link text says 'Click here'). When we publish new content we’ll make sure link text meets accessibility standards.

We are working to ensure that as much text as possible has a reading age of 9 or below.

Issues with images and audio

We have added alt-text to images and maps where possible. Any remaining issues are being worked on to be fixed as soon as possible and, with new content, this is made accessible or alternative formats are requested at the time of publication.

Issues with PDFs and other documents

Some of our older PDFs and other documents don’t meet accessibility standards - for example, they may not be marked up so they’re accessible to a screen reader.

Work is ongoing to make all essential documents accessible or to replace them with accessible HTML pages.

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

Our maps are not used for navigational purposes so are exempt from the accessibility regulations.

We aim to ensure that any new documents we publish meet accessibility standards.

Accessibility of our other websites and online services

We use some third party online services and websites to allow customers to interact and transact with us. Not all these sites and online services meet the necessary standards for accessibility, and where they do not we are engaging with our suppliers to rectify this. We aimed to rectify as much as possible by September 2020, but some work is ongoing.

When procuring new online systems, meeting accessibility standards are included in the specification, and we continue to work with suppliers to ensure sites continue to meet these standards.

This statement was prepared on 27 August 2019 and amended on 30 December 2020.