Live BetterAccessibility

1. Website accessibility

This website is run by Exeter City Council. 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.

2. How accessible is the Exeter website

We know some areas of this website are not fully accessible and we are working on these issues. You can find out more in the technical information about this website. We have:

  • Ensured all images on the website have a descriptive Alt Text
  • Ensured all web pages can be zoomed in up to 300%
  • Ensured pages can be navigated and forms can be completed using just a keyboard
  • Improved page structure for improved readability by screen readers
  • Improved contrast to meet WCAG2.1 Accessibility standards
  • Added Skip to Content links (accessible from tabbing from the address bar)
  • Added Aria labels and landmarks throughout the site to improve screen reader accessibility
  • Removed all non descriptive links
  • Re-written many pages to lower the reading age

Exeter City Council staff, who update the website, have received specialist training to ensure the web pages they are responsible for are as accessible as possible.

Areas we are working on include:
Please be aware that some of our forms are supplied and updated by third party partners and we do not have direct control over these. We are working with all our suppliers to ensure their systems are accessible and meet WCAG2.1 guidelines but know that they are currently compliant to varying degrees. You can find out more about the accessibility of systems provided by third-parties on our Technical information about this website’s accessibility page.

Should you find any issues using pages or forms on our site then please contact us for assistance.

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

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please email info@exeter.gov.uk, alternatively you can call us from 9.00am - 5pm, Monday to Friday on 01392 277888.

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

Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that aren’t listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact us by telephone: 01392 277888, email: info@exeter.gov.uk or you can submit your comments by online form.

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).

4. Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

Our main reception area at the Civic Centre has audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter. Find out how you can contact us. 

5. Technical information about this website’s accessibility

We are committed to making our websites accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.This website is only partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1

  • AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.
  • Non compliance with the accessibility regulations
  • Issues with text.
  • We are working to ensure that as much text as possible has a reading age of 11 or below.

Issues with PDFs and other documents

  • Many 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.
  • Some of our documents are essential to providing our services. For example, we have forms published as Word documents. By April 2021, we aim to replace them with accessible HTML forms.
  • Some of our third-party systems are not yet capable of producing accessible PDFs.
  • 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.
  • Any new documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

Issues with navigation

  • Some information is provided as content within a map. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content. We aim to publish all content that is only available in a map as html.
  • 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. These include (but are not limited to) paying for council tax, applying for licenses, reporting issues, online surveys and applying for planning permission.
  • 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.
  • When procuring new online systems, meeting accessibility standards is included in the specification, and we continue to work with suppliers to ensure sites continue to meet these standards.

Disproportionate burden

  • We have not identified anything that qualifies as disproportionate burden as of yet, but we are still evaluating our sites and may update this when we identify issues.

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

Many of our older PDFs and Word documents don’t meet accessibility standards - for example, they may not be structured so they’re accessible to a screen reader.This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (name, role value).Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services.For example, we have forms published as Word documents. By April 2021, we plan to replace them with accessible HTML forms.Some spatial data, specifically represented in a map, is not accessible and is out of the scope of WCAG 2.1.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.

7. How we test this website

This website was last tested on 13 October 2020.The test was carried out internally by Exeter City Council staff using SiteImprove, WAVE and NVDA to highlight and fix accessibility related issues.

8. Third-party systems

Information about, and accessibility statements from third-party systems used on the Exeter website.


Granicus Firmstep

  • Firmstep's products have been developed to meet the UK Government market standards. Forms are compatible with AA accessibility guidelines.
  • Firmstep's products have been developed to meet the UK Government market standards. Forms are AA compliant ref WAI guidelines. The precise level of compliance is dependent on the CSS and branding used to display a form and any javascript/code and HTML elements used locally.
  • The European Directive came into force for all EU member states by September 23, 2018. All websites created after that date had to be accessible by September 23, 2019, and existing websites will have to comply by September 23, 2020. All mobile applications will have to be accessible by June 23, 2021. The mandated elements of the directive are given at EN 301 54.
  • Citizen facing products are being updated to ensure they meet all required elements of the accessibility directive that require implementation in the EN 301 549 mandate. Further information will be noted in the Release notes as changes are implemented.