This accessibility statement applies to the following websites, which are run by Telford & Wrekin Council:

Other council websites, such as the SEND Local Offer, have their own accessibility statements.

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.

Changing how the website looks

You can change the colour scheme, text size, letter spacing and font used across our pages. For example, you can switch to a high contrast theme with yellow text on a black background.

We also offer ReachDeck, a free tool that can read pages aloud, translate them and make them easier to read. You can also translate our website into other languages.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability. Our digital accessibility help and support page has more local guidance.

How accessible this website is

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

  • some images do not have good alternative text, and some images contain text

  • some links do not make sense on their own, and some social media links have no text label

  • the homepage carousel can be difficult to use with a keyboard or screen reader

  • some pages have poor colour contrast

  • some headings and tables are not structured correctly

  • many PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software

  • some videos do not have accurate captions or audio description

  • some forms, payment screens and interactive tools provided by other companies are difficult to use with just a keyboard or on a mobile phone

  • maps are not fully accessible to screen reader users

  • live video streams do not have captions

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:

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

You can also read about how we support people with access to our services.

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 tell our Web Services team through our contact us page. Include the web address (URL) of the page and describe the problem.

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).

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

We provide a text relay service for people who are D/deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment. The number is 18001 01952 380000.

Our offices have audio induction loops. If you contact us before your visit, we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.

Technical information about this website's accessibility

Telford & Wrekin Council is committed to making its websites 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 2.2 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

Images

Some images do not have a text alternative, or have one that does not describe the image, so the information in them is not available to people using a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content).

Some images contain text, so people with dyslexia or using a screen reader may not be able to read the information. This does not meet WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.5 (Images of Text).

We plan to fix these issues by [July 2027]. When we publish new content, we'll make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards.

Links

On some pages, the same link text is used for different destinations, or the purpose of a link cannot be worked out from its text. In the Newsroom section of the homepage, each link reads the whole article summary rather than just the headline. This does not meet WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.4 (Link Purpose (In Context)).

The social media icon links in the page footer have no text that a screen reader can announce reliably. This does not meet WCAG 2.2 success criteria 2.4.4 (Link Purpose (In Context)) and 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).

We plan to fix these issues by [July 2027].

Homepage carousel

Each slide in the homepage carousel has its own "Previous" and "Next" buttons, so keyboard and screen reader users meet many repeated controls with the same name. This does not meet WCAG 2.2 success criteria 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels) and 2.4.3 (Focus Order). If the carousel moves automatically, there may not be a way to pause it, which would not meet success criterion 2.2.2 (Pause, Stop, Hide).

We plan to fix this by [July 2027].

Colour contrast

On some pages there is not enough contrast between the text and its background. This does not meet WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.3 (Contrast (Minimum)).

We plan to fix this by [July 2027].

Headings, tables and page structure

On some pages, headings are not in a logical order or HTML is used to change how text looks rather than to describe its structure. Some tables do not have row headers or a caption. This does not meet WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).

On some pages, the language of the page is not set in a way that screen readers can recognise. This does not meet WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.1.1 (Language of Page).

On some pages, the order in which items receive keyboard focus is not logical. This does not meet WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.3 (Focus Order).

We plan to fix these issues by [July 2027].

PDFs and other documents

Some of our PDFs and Word documents, including forms, are not formatted so they're accessible to a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) and 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).

We are reviewing documents that are essential to providing our services and will either fix them or replace them with accessible web pages by [July 2027]. New documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

Videos

Some pre-recorded videos do not have accurate captions, a transcript or audio description. This does not meet WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.2.2 (Captions (Prerecorded)) and 1.2.5 (Audio Description (Prerecorded)).

We plan to fix this by [July 2027]. All new pre-recorded videos will have captions or a transcript.

Chatbot

Our "Ask Tom" digital assistant is provided by a third-party supplier. It cannot be fully used with a keyboard and some parts are not correctly identified to screen readers. This does not meet WCAG 2.2 success criteria 2.1.1 (Keyboard), 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) and 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value). We are working with the supplier to fix this by [July 2027].

Councillors, meetings and decisions

Agendas, minutes and reports on democracy.telford.gov.uk are published as PDFs using Civica's Modern.Gov system. Some of these PDFs, including documents supplied by partners and consultants, are not fully accessible to screen readers. This does not meet WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) and 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value). We plan to fix this by [July 2027]. If you need a document in a different format, please contact us.

Disproportionate burden

Planning Online

Planning Online system at secure.telford.gov.uk/planning is been replaced. this is set to go live year 2027.

Content that's not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

PDFs and other documents

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 older annual reports kept for reference.

Live video

Live video streams, such as live broadcasts of council meetings, are exempt from the accessibility regulations, so we do not plan to add captions to them.

Maps

Online maps are exempt from the accessibility regulations, as long as essential information is provided in an accessible way for maps used for navigation. Where we use maps, we give address and location details in text.

Third-party content

We link to, and embed content from, websites and services we do not run or control, such as YouTube, social media, theatre and leisure booking sites, our feedback survey and email sign-up provider. When embedding YouTube videos, the code YouTube provides may not fully meet accessibility standards. We are not responsible for the accessibility of other organisations' websites.

Online payments

Our online payment service is provided and managed by Civica. We are aware that some payment screens are not displaying correctly and have raised this issue with the supplier. As this is a third-party system, we have limited control over its operation.

What we're doing to improve accessibility

We are working through the issues listed on this page by the dates shown. We check new content and documents for accessibility before we publish them, and we test new templates and features before they go live. When we buy new systems, we include accessibility in our requirements and ask suppliers to show how they meet WCAG 2.2 AA.

We will review this statement at least once a year, and whenever we make a significant change to the website.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was first prepared on 20 October 2026. It was last reviewed on 20 October 2026.

This website was last tested on 20 October 2026. The test was carried out by Mr A.G.Edwards.

We tested a sample of pages chosen to represent the main page types, user journeys and most popular tasks, including the homepage, service landing pages, content pages, forms and payment journeys. We used automated testing tools, a colour contrast checker, manual keyboard testing and screen reader testing.