Accessibility statement
This accessibility statement applies to www.ukfrs.com.
This website is run by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC). 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 400% 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 advised on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
How accessible is this website
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:
- Not all images and buttons provide alternative text
- Some of our document structures are difficult to navigate with just a keyboard
- Most of our text-based links do not have a suitable contrast ratio
- Many pages have missing label names, missing form labels and multiple form labels
Overall this website is close to meeting WCAG 2.1, Conformance Level AA. The errors found predominantly point towards potential changes to the style sheets used for the website. The additional errors that did not occur frequently will require only small amendments to the website.
Some of the issues raised are mitigated by using the BrowseAloud feature that is accessible in all areas of the website. Features include the ability to have text read out and adjust the font sizes and elements of the contrast ratio. However, we know this tool alone does not mitigate all of the fails that were identified.
More information on BrowseAloud can be found here.
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, please email firecpo@nationalfirechiefs.org.uk.
We’ll consider your request and get back to you within seven 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: firecpo@nationalfirechiefs.org.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 this website’s accessibility
The NFCC 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 non-compliances listed below.
Non-accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
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Some images do not have a text alternative, so people using a screen reader cannot access the information. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content). We plan to add text alternatives for all images by March 2021. When we publish new content we’ll make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards
- Some of our document structures are difficult to navigate with just a keyboard. We plan to restructure the document headings to ensure that heading levels are not skipped e.g. ensure that <h1> is followed with a <h2> instead of a <h3>, so that it remains in sequence and there are no missing references or gaps by March 2021
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Most of our text-based links do not have a suitable contrast ratio. We plan to increase the contrast between the foreground (text) colour and the background colour by March 2021
- Many pages have missing label names, missing form labels and multiple form labels. We plan to ensure that at most one label element is associated to the form control. If multiple form labels are necessary, we will use aria-labelledby by March 2021
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
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 the archived legacy guidance PDFs which are for historical reference only.
Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish outside of this will meet accessibility standards.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 23 September 2020. It was last reviewed on 23 September 2020.
This website was last tested on 23 September 2020. The test was carried out by Issured Ltd.
We used this approach to deciding on a sample of pages to test:
Testing was carried out using both manual and semi-automated evaluation tools. It was agreed that some assumptions would need to be made to make the testing feasible within the short time frame.
Assumptions include:
- Where pages include sub-sections then the results of the main page would apply to all sub-sections
- The default language for testing of all elements is English (UK)
- Testing was carried out on the pages with the main style and layout differences. Due to the time constraints it wasn’t been possible to test every page. However, it was also assumed that the issues identified will be common across the pages not tested (e.g. Training and Tools sections)
Testing began from 10am on Monday 21 September 2020 and concluded at 12pm on 23 September 2020.