This accessibility statement applies to Merton Council's website.

This website is run by Merton 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 the options on your computer
  • 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 advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared (first published) on 23 September 2020. It was last reviewed on 23 November 2021.

How accessible this website is

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

  • The HTML code on some pages is not strictly valid
  • Some fields on forms don't have labels that can be read by a screen reader
  • Some form fields can't be automatically filled in by browsers (autocomplete attributes are not set)
  • Some links and buttons have insufficient contrast between text and background colour
  • Some menus are split into two lists instead of being one simple list
  • Some pages contain empty headings
  • The language of some pages is not specified
  • There is no option to skip repeated content on some pages
  • Some PDF documents are not accessible in a number of ways including missing text alternatives and missing document structure

Further information about these problems and our plans to fix them are listed below.

Feedback and contact information

Please contact us if you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille.

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

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 the Web Team.

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

Merton Council is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 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

  • A search box is not labelled correctly. This affects consultation pages. This fails the criterion "1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A)". We plan to fix this by March 2022.
  • HTML contains duplicate IDs. This affects information pages. This fails the criterion "4.1.1 Parsing (Level A)". We plan to fix this by December 2021.
  • HTML is used to format content on some pages. This affects a number of pages on our website. This fails the criterion "1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A)". We plan to fix this by March 2022.
  • Labels are missing from some fields on forms. This affects the Planning Explorer. This fails the criterion "3.3.2 Labels or Instructions (Level A)". We plan to fix this by February 2022.
  • Some form fields can't be automatically filled in by browsers (autocomplete attributes are not set). This affects online forms. This fails the criterion "1.3.5 Identify Input Purpose (Level AA)". We plan to fix this by March 2022.
  • Some pages use ARIA attributes incorrectly. This affects forms with mandatory fields, and information pages. This fails the criterion “4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A)”. We plan to fix this by March 2022.
  • Some links and buttons have insufficient contrast between text and background colour. This affects the Planning Explorer, My Neighbourhood and Find Your Rubbish Collection Days services. This fails the criterion "1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (Level AA)". We plan to fix this by February 2022.
  • Some menus are split into two lists instead of being one simple list. This affects information pages. This fails the criterion "1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A)". We plan to fix this by December 2021.
  • Some pages contain empty headings. This affects consultation pages. This fails the criterion "1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A)". We plan to fix this by January 2022.
  • The language of some pages is not specified. This affects My Neighbourhood and Find Your Rubbish Collection Days. This fails the criterion "3.1.1 Language of Page (Level A)". We plan to fix this by January 2022.
  • There is no option to skip repeated content. This affects the Planning Explorer. This fails the criterion "2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (Level A)". We plan to fix this by February 2022.
  • Some PDFs and other documents are inaccessible in a number of ways including success criteria 1.1.1 (non-text content) (Level A), 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A), 1.3.2 (meaningful sequence) (Level A), 1.4.3 (contrast (minimum)) (Level AA), 1.4.10 Reflow (Level AA), 2.4.6 (headings and labels) (Level AA), 3.1.1 Language of Page (Level A). This affects council meeting papers, consultations and our main information site. We plan to fix or remove documents that are in scope of the regulations by September 2022.

Disproportionate burden

Not applicable.

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

We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.

Documents on the Planning Explorer are provided as part of the application being made, and have been created by third-parties. Under the regulations, third-party content that is neither funded, developed by, or under our control is exempt from the regulations.

How we tested this website

This website was last tested in November 2021. The test was carried out by Merton Council.

All publicly accessible pages on our website were tested by the Monsido automated testing service. We also manually tested a sample of pages using WAVE and Axe testing tools, and JAWS and NVDA screen readers. The sample pages were chosen to include all the different types of functionality on the website.