Accessibility

Accessibility statement for fife.gov.uk

This accessibility statement applies to fife.gov.uk and it's hosted minisites.  This website is run by Fife Council.  We want 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:

• 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

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 that some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

• some PDF and MS Word documents are not fully accessible
• some images do not have alternative text explanations
• content and functionality provided by third party suppliers is not fully accessible
• live video streams do not have captions
• some of the Fife Council associated mini-sites are not fully accessible

Feedback and contact information

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

• call - 03451 55 00 00
• Deaf Customers can use the Text Phone Service on - 18001 01383 44 11 77. You must register for the service by SMS (Deaf people only) 07985 761908
• BSL users can now contact the council using the ContactSCOTLAND-BSL app. To find out more about the service and how to register visit contactscotland-bsl.org
• Or Contact Us online

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 10 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, please call - 03451 55 00 00 or contact the Online Services Team directly using our feedback 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 are not happy with how we respond to your complaint, please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) 

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

We provide:

• A telephone-based interpretation service using interpreters who speak your native language.
• A Text Phone service for Deaf customers on: 18001 01383 44 11 77(8am – 8pm Monday to Friday). You must register for the service by SMS 07985 761908.
• A British Sign Language (BSL) service, lip-speakers, electronic note takers and deaf/blind guide communicators, through our Deaf Communication Service
• BSL users can now contact the council using the ContactSCOTLAND-BSL app.  To find out more about the service and how to register visit contactscotland-bsl.org
• A British Sign Language interpreter can be arranged if you contact us before your visit.
• Some of our offices have audio induction loops

Find out more about how to contact us.

Technical Information about this website's accessibility

Fife 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

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:

PDFs and Other Documents

Some of our older PDF and MS Word documents do not meet accessibility standards. (They fail WCAG 2.1 success criteria listed under Guidelines 2.4 – Navigable and/or 1.1.1 Non-text Content.) Other than those subject to exemption (see below).

We are working to reduce the number of PDFs on our website and to ensure that those which remain are accessible.

Content Not Within the Scope of the Accessibility Regulations

The following content is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.

PDFs and Other Documents

The accessibility regulations do not require us to address issues with office file formats, such as Adobe PDF or Microsoft Office documents, published before 23 September 2018. This does not apply to documents that are essential to providing our services.

Documents Supplied by Third Parties

In some cases, we are obliged to publish original documents provided by third parties. The content and format of these documents is outwith our control. For example, documents supplied in support of certain applications.

Archive Content

We maintain an archive of old committee agendas and reports, predominantly based on PDF documents that may not meet accessibility guidelines. We also maintain an archive of committee audio files that are not accompanied by a transcription. We do not plan to update these elements as they are exempt.

Live Audio Stream

Live committee audio streams are not captioned. (This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.4 Captions (Live)). We do not plan to add captions to the live audio stream as live streams are exempt.

Payments Portal

Our payments portal is a third-party hosted system. Some of this content is not fully accessible. This application is not developed by us and is not under our control.  As such, it is exempt.

Social Media

Content provided by third party suppliers such as Social Media platforms Twitter, Facebook or YouTube is outwith our control.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

Our accessibility roadmap shows how and when we plan to improve accessibility on this website.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared in February 2020. It was last reviewed on 30th April 2024.

A baseline audit of the full site was conducted in March 2022 by a company called Silktide.  Accessibility of the website will now be monitored on an ongoing basis using the Silktide product.

A sample of the website is tested monthly. These tests are carried out by Silktide in partnership with Socitm - Silktide Index Fife Council results.  Tests are also carried out internally as part of content development work using the Codesniffer tool.