Home Connections accessibility

Accessibility statement for Home Connections choice-based lettings websites

Introduction

This website is run by Manningham Housing Association and we are committed to making the site accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

• Change text size
• Zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
• Listen to most of the website using a screen reader (tested using NVDA)

We are also making the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

If you need help accessing this website, we have provided some information below. GOV.UK’s pages on accessibility also provide a good summary of available accessibility resources.

Like GOV.UK and the Greater London Authority, we recommend the BBC’s very informative accessibility pages to get you started. Some of the most common links are below:

• How to change text and background colours
• How to change your fonts
• How to magnify the screen
• How to make your text larger
• Make the mouse pointer easier to see
• Make your computer speak text aloud
• Make your keyboard easier to use
• Information on alternatives to keyboard and mouse

For further information on things like spell checking, word predicting software, keyboard stickers and voice recognition visit the BBC’s My Web My Way pages.

Translating this website

If you would like to view this website in another language we recommend using Google Translate - you can copy and paste the web address for this page into the URL field, then choose a language by selecting the drop down menu at the top-centre of the page.

How accessible this website is

There is some content on this website that might not be accessible.

• any audio and video published before 23 September 2020 
• most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
• maps may not resize correctly or be accessible by a screen reader - but we provide essential information in an accessible format like an address
• some links may open in new windows, not work, or not be clearly defined by the link text
• Some pages may be missing headings or not have meaningful headings, making it harder to read out by screen readers
• Some images may not have alternative text, which means they will not be read out by screen readers
• On the search and bid pages, the drop-down menus for filtering results are not read out by screen readers
• On the search page, the advanced search section can only be accessed using a mouse
• On the available now property details page, the table is not read out correctly by screen readers 

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:

• [email protected]  - We’ll consider your request and get back to you as soon as possible.

If you are having problems with the site

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the whole site conforms to the latest standard, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 at level AA, this is an ongoing process. If you need information in a different format or are having problems accessing the website:

[email protected]

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

Manningham Housing Association 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 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

The following are areas of non-compliance

• On the search and bid pages, the drop-down menus fail WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.3.2 (Labels or instructions). Home Connections will fix this by December 2020.
• On the search page, the advanced search section can only be accessed using a mouse which fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.1.1. Home Connections will fix this by December 2020.
• On the available now property details page, the table is not read out correctly by screen readers which fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.3.1 (Info & relationships) and 1.3.2 (Meaningful sequence). Home Connections will fix this by December 2020.

The following are exemptions 

• Third-party plugin for Google Maps. Google Maps may not be fully navigable by keyboard. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.1.1 (Keyboard navigation). Google Maps also have some colour contrast issues which fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.3. Home Connections has no control over the accessibility of this tool.
• Third-party plugin for Google Translate sometimes fails when text is resized. This sometimes fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.4 (Resize text) depending on the language and zoom used. Home Connections has no control over the accessibility of this tool.

Content that is not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

 

PDFs and other documents

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.

Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

What we are doing to improve accessibility

We are continually doing improvements to the website and plan to review all content for accessibility before it is added.

How we test this website

The online forms have been tested with a few automated tools, as well as manually for keyboard and screen reader navigation. Manningham Housing Association will continue to advise what testing will be done.

 

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 16^th July 2020. It was last reviewed on 26^th October 2020.