Accessible documents at Cheshire East Council

This policy explains how accessible the documents Cheshire East Council publishes on cheshireeast.gov.uk are. It covers PDFs, spreadsheets, presentations and other types of document. It does not cover content published on cheshireeast.gov.uk as HTML: the main accessibility statement will cover that.

Using our documents

Cheshire East Council publishes documents in a range of formats, including: PDFs, spreadsheets, presentations and other types of document.

We want as many people as possible to be able to use those documents. For example, when we produce a document we make sure to:

• provide an HTML option where possible
• tag headings and other parts of the document properly, so screen readers can understand the page structure
• make sure we include alt text alongside non-decorative images, so people who cannot see them understand what they’re there for
• avoid using tables, except when we’re presenting data
• write in plain English

How accessible are our documents

New documents we publish and documents you need to download or fill in to access one of the services we provide should be fully accessible.

However, we know that some of our older documents (published before 23 September 2018) are not accessible. For example, some of them:

• are just photocopies and are not marked up in a way that allows screen reader users to understand them
• are not tagged up properly - for example, they do not contain proper headings
• are not written in plain English

This mostly applies to our extensive archive of documents such as minutes of meetings. These types of documents are exempt from the regulations, so we do not currently have any plans to make them accessible.

But if you need to access information in one of these document types, you can contact us and ask for an alternative format.

What to do if you cannot use one of our documents

If you need a document we’ve published in a different format:

• email CheshireEastCouncilCustomerServices@cheshireeast.gov.uk.
• call 0300 123 5500
• If you are hearing or speech impaired, you can use: RELAY UK 18001 then 0808 808 0123

We’ll consider the request and get back to you in 28 days.

Reporting accessibility problems with one of our documents

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of our documents. If you find any problems not listed on this page or you think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact: CheshireEastCouncilCustomerServices@cheshireeast.gov.uk

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).

Technical information about the accessibility of our documents

Cheshire East Council is committed to making our documents accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

The documents Cheshire East publishes are partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 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

A few of our documents have diagrams. These images do not have a text alternative, so the information in them is not available to people using a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content).

When we publish new documents we’ll make sure our use of diagrams meets accessibility standards.

An audit we carried out in February 2024 found that 1204 of our PDF documents do not have a title and/or a stated language.

At this time we also deleted a large number of PDFs from our server which were no longer linked to on the live site as part of our commitment to managing the accessibility of the documents we host.

We are in the process of replacing these documents with versions which do have this essential metadata. We aim to have completed this by September 2024.

Disproportionate burden

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

Some of our documents are created using a package called Objective Keystone. This software does not create accessible documents at this time.

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 2.2 success criterion 2.4.6.

Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs with information on how users can access our services, and forms published as Word documents. By September 2025, we plan to either fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages.

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. For example, we do not plan to fix minutes of meetings that were held before September 2018.

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

How we tested our documents

We tested a sample of our documents on 31/10/2022. The test was carried out by Silktide.com.

We tested:

• PDF documents

The sample consisted of 1,788 PDF files, our scores were as follows.

Within this sample, there were 669 PDF documents created since the cut-off date in 2018. Our scores were as follows.

Our most recent test was carried out on 08/02/2024. A sample of 1799 PDF files was tested. Our scores were as follows:

Within this sample, there were 1000 PDF documents created since the cut off-date in 2018. Our scores were as follows.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

Cheshire East uses the accessibility tools provided by Microsoft, Adobe and other software providers to ensure our documents meet accessibility standards. We make use of the testing provided by silktide.com and deque.com to identify and fix issues with our documents. The council's IT department provides ongoing training and information to support officers in creating and commissioning accessible documents.

This page was prepared on 31/10/2022. It was last updated on 08/02/2024.