This website is run by Folkestone & Hythe District Council and we would like as many people as possible to be able to use this website. On a variety of devices. For example, that means you should be able to:
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.
For information that shows how to customise the accessibility features of your computer setup or web browser, you can visit BBC Accessibility Guides
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:
If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille - you can:
Call Customer Services 8.30am - 5pm Monday to Friday, except Wednesday 9.30 - 5pm, on 01303 853000
Or please email the web team at communications@folkestone-hythe.gov.uk
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, please report the problem using the following link:
Leave your accessibility feedback
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (external link).
If you're not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) (external link).
We provide a text relay service for people who are D/deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment. Our offices have audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.
Find out how to Contact us.
The Folkestone & Hythe District Council is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (external link).
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 (external link) AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below:
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons:
We are currently reviewing our third party applications and working with suppliers to improve accessibility by September 2020 or on renewal of their contract if sooner. This is including, but not limited to, the following services:
Folkestone Works: We are in discussions with our provider around an accessible version and are due to release an updated version by September 2020.
Spotlight: We are in discussions with our provider around an accessible version and are due to release an updated version by September 2020.
Folkestone & Hythe: We are in discussions with our provider around an accessible version and are due to release an updated version by September 2020.
We cannot guarantee accessibility standards with third party applications. Accessibility regulations will form part of future procurement requirements.
Some of our online forms are provided by third party suppliers. We are currently reviewing these forms and working with suppliers to improve accessibility by September 2020 or on renewal of their contract if sooner.
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 2020, 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.
We are currently reviewing our downloadable documents by order of most frequently visited. During this review, we are either changing the documents into webpages or applying accessibility standards as appropriate.
Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.
We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.
We are currently reviewing our website and have developed an accessibility roadmap that shows how and when we plan to improve accessibility.
We carry out weekly accessibility testing applying WCAG 2.1 AA standards. We do a combination of automated and manual testing.
We welcome feedback from all our users through customer service contact and the online feedback form.
This statement was prepared on 01 August 2020. It was last reviewed on 23 September 2020.
This website was last tested on 20 September 2020, conducted by Folkestone & Hythe District Council web services. We use an independent accessibility service called Siteimprove as well as manual testing.
We use a combination of methods to test the accessibility of the website: