Accessibility

This accessibility statement applies to southtynesideair.uk. 

This website is run by Ricardo and funded by South Tyneside 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 using browser or device settings 
  • zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen 
  • navigate most of the website using a keyboard or 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 advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

  • across the website, elements do not meet the minimum colour contrast ratio threshold 
  • tables that have scrollable content are not accessible by keyboard 
  • images do not have alternative text 
  • links are not distinguishable without relying on colour 

Feedback and contact information 

If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements:

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:

In your message, include:

  • the web address (URL) of the content 
  • your email address and name 
  • the format you need - for example, plain text, braille, BSL, large print or audio CD 

We'll consider your request and get back to you in 14 working days.

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 

South Tyneside Council 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 

The website has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard. 

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

Non-accessible content 

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons. 

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations 

Navigation 

Frames must have an accessible name 

On the weekly South Tyneside Council reports, frames do not have accessible names, this means screen readers will struggle to navigate the content. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1.2: Name, role, value. 

Documents must have <title> element 

On the weekly South Tyneside Council reports, documents do not have a title element. This means screen readers will struggle to navigate through the content. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.2: Page titled. 

Documents must have a lang attribute 

On the weekly South Tyneside Council reports, the <html> element in the documents do not have a lang attribute. This means screen readers will assume the default language set by the user. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.1.1: MUST: Language of Page. 

Tables 

On the data selector tool, when the data is displayed in a table, the elements that have scrollable content is not accessible by keyboard. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 2.1.1: MUST: Keyboard and 2.1.3: MUST Keyboard (No Exception). 

Colour contrast 

Elements must meet the minimum colour contrast ratio threshold 

Across some pages, elements do not meet the minimum colour contrast ratio thresholds. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.3: Contrast (Minimum). 

Links 

Links must be distinguishable without relying on colour 

On the weekly South Tyneside Council reports links aren’t distinguishable without relying on colour. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.1: Use of colour. 

Alternative text 

Images must have alternative text 

On the weekly South Tyneside Council reports, the Ricardo logo and scrollable handles do not have alternative text. This means a screen reader will struggle to clearly understand the image’s purpose. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1: Non-text content. 

Cookie pop-up 

On the cookie pop-up, elements with ARIA roles do not have all required ARIA attributes. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value.  

When we plan to fix these issues  

We are urgently fixing content which fails to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard. We will update this page when issues are fixed.  

We are making sure any new content or digital services we build meet accessibility standards.  

What we’re doing to improve accessibility 

We have reported issues in this statement to our website supplier on 18 March 2025. 

We are urgently fixing content which fails to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard. We will update this page when issues are fixed. 

Preparation of this accessibility statement 

This statement was prepared on 18 March 2025. It was last reviewed on 2 May 2025.

This website was last tested on 11 April 2025 against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard. 

The test was carried out by South Tyneside Council. 

We tested a sample of pages: 

  • Homepage 
  • Data selector 
  • Content pages 
  • Weekly reports 

We carried out both manual checks, and automated tests using the axe accessibility checker.