Monmouthshire's website wants to be accessible to everyone

Accessibility Statement

This accessibility statement applies to www.monmouthshire.gov.uk

This website is run by Monmouthshire County 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 browser or device settings

Zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen

Navigate most of the website using a keyboard or 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.

How accessible this website is

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

Most PDF documents uploaded before 2018 are not fully accessible to screen reader software

Some PDF documents uploaded after 2018 are not fully accessible to screen reader software

Live video streams do not have captions

You cannot skip to the main content when using a screen reader

Feedback and contact information

If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact:

Communications team

Email: communications@monmouthshire.gov.uk

Address: County Hall, The Rhadyr, Usk, NP15 1GA

Or call the contact centre and ask to speak to a member of the communications team 01633 644644

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

Communications team

Email: communications@monmouthshire.gov.uk

Address: County Hall, The Rhadyr, Usk, NP15 1GA

Or call the contact centre and ask to speak to a member of the communications team 01633 644644

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 30 days.

We provide a text relay service for people who are D/deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment.

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

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

Monmouthshire County 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

The website has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard. We use an online accessibility tool called Silktide.

The website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

We regularly monitor accessibility using Silktide and undertake ongoing improvements to address identified issues and improve compliance over time. You can view our latest accessibility performance through the Silktide Council Accessibility Index for Monmouthshire County Council.

Non-accessible content

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

The non-compliances / non-accessible content

Some PDF documents published on the website are not fully accessible. Issues include missing document titles, missing document structure tags and reading order information, which can make documents difficult for screen reader users to navigate. These issues fail WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) and 2.4.2 (Page Titled).
Some images used on the website do not have appropriate alternative text, meaning people using screen readers may not be able to access the information they contain. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content).
Some images do not have a text alternative, so people using a screen reader cannot access the information. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content).
WCAG 2.1.1 Keyboard
WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships – Certain ARIA roles must be contained by particular parents
WCAG 2.1.1 Keyboard – Scrollable region must have keyboard access
WCAG 3.1.1 Language of Page
WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text content
WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships- Content is not tagged
WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast

All the above will be worked on improving and updating through the roadmap shown below.

We are continuing to identify and correct images that do not have appropriate alternative text. When new content is published, content editors are required to provide suitable text alternatives for images in line with accessibility standards.

We regularly review website content and aim to address identified issues as part of our ongoing accessibility improvement programme.

Disproportionate burden

Monmouthshire County Council has performance an assessment of disproportionate burden, this can be found in a document linked below.

Disproportionate Burden Assessment document

We will review this disproportionate burden assessment whenever there is a significant change to the website platform, when supplier arrangements are reviewed, or no later than September 2027.

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

PDFs and other documents

Many PDF and Office documents published before 23 September 2018 are not fully accessible. These documents may not be structured for screen readers, may lack proper headings, document titles, alternative text for images, or other accessibility features.

The accessibility regulations do not require us to make these documents accessible unless they are essential for accessing a service. Where an older document is needed to access a council service, we will provide an accessible alternative on request.

Any new PDF or Office documents published by Monmouthshire County Council will be produced with accessibility requirements in mind and, wherever possible, will meet accessibility standards before publication.

Live video

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

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

Monmouthshire County Council is committed to continually improving the accessibility of its digital services. We regularly monitor the accessibility of www.monmouthshire.gov.uk using automated testing through Silktide and carry out ongoing reviews of website content and documents. Our roadmap below outlines the areas we are prioritising to improve compliance with WCAG 2.2 AA standards and enhance the experience for all users.

Accessibility Roadmap for www.monmouthshire.gov.uk

2026

Continue monthly accessibility monitoring using automated and manual testing tools.

Continue identifying and correcting missing or unsuitable alternative text across priority content areas.

Ensure newly published PDF and Office documents are checked for accessibility before publication and provide accessible alternatives where appropriate.

Provide additional accessibility guidance and training for website content editors.

2027

Review website navigation and page structure to identify opportunities to improve keyboard navigation and screen reader usability.

Work with our website supplier to investigate solutions for issues relating to responsive design, text spacing and page reflow.

Expand accessibility testing to include a wider range of assistive technologies and user journeys.

Ongoing

Monitor accessibility compliance against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard.

Address accessibility issues identified through audits, user feedback and testing.

Ensure accessibility is considered whenever new content, services or website functionality are introduced.

This roadmap will be reviewed and updated regularly to reflect progress, changing user needs and opportunities for improvement.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 28 September 2026. It was last reviewed on 28 September 2026.

This website was last tested monthly on Silktide against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard.

Testing is carried out using the Silktide accessibility platform, which performs automated checks against WCAG 2.2 AA requirements. Results are reviewed monthly by the council’s website team. The current assessment is based on automated testing of approximately 125 webpages across the website.