Website accessibility

This website is run by NewcastleGateshead Initative. 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 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 (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

Please use our accessibility mode to switch to an accessible version of the website. 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:

• the text will not reflow in a single column when you change the size of the browser window
• you cannot modify the line height or spacing of text
• most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
• some videos do not have captions or audio description
• some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard
• you cannot skip to the main content when using a screen reader
• there’s a limit to how far you can magnify the maps on our ‘maps and guides’ page
• embedded YouTube videos aren’t fully accessible to screen reader software
• alternative text is not always applied consistently throughout the site

Links

Please be aware that some links may open in a new window. We try to ensure that we link only to reputable websites, however no liability is accepted for the content and information contained on linked websites, or reliance upon information contained on them.

What to do if you cannot access parts of this website

If you need information on this website in a different format: Email: info@ngi.org.uk

Call: 0191 440 5720

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in five working 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, contact: info@ngi.org.uk and we will deal with your issue or suggestion promptly.

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

NewcastleGateshead Initative 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 fully compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard.

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

Disproportionate burden

PDFs and other documents

Many of our older PDFs and Word documents do not meet accessibility standards - for example, they may not be structured so they’re accessible to a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2.

Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs with maps and brochures provided by Partner organisations. By September 2020, we plan to replace and offer an alternative version of the content 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.

Live video

Live video streams do not have captions. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.4 (captions - live). We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.

Pre-recorded time-based media

Pre-recorded time based media added to the site prior to 23rd September 2020 don’t have captions or audio descriptions. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.3 (Audio Description or Media Alternative (Pre-recorded). We plan to update these in due course.

Online maps

We will try and ensure online maps are as accessible as possible, but online maps are currently exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.

How we tested this website

This website was last tested on 30th September 2020. The test was carried out by Destination Core.

We sampled a number of pages to test – these were the primary pages on the website which were created at launch. We tested: our main website platform, available at www.newcastlegateshead.com

The website was tested with the aid of Wave’s web accessibility evaluation tool. WAVE supports optimal accessibility. They have added numerous tests for accessibility, including many checks for compliance issues found in the Section 508 and WCAG 2.1 guidelines. But WAVE cannot check all of the issues in these guidelines. WAVE also checks some issues that extend beyond these guidelines that impact end users with disabilities. Please see the WAVE site for further information - https://wave.webaim.org/

We will continue to make improvements  to the website using the findings from the WAVE evaluation.