Accessibility Statement

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service is committed to making its websites accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (‘the Accessibility Regulations’)

This accessibility statement applies to manchesterfire.gov.uk

Compliance status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and the exemptions listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is not accessible for the following reasons:

(a) Non-compliance with the Accessibility Regulations

Cookiebot banner

On the Privacy Policy and Data Protection page, when clicking the ‘View cookie policy’ button, the pop up requires the user to tab through the rest of the page content before interacting with the pop up. This may affect you if you are using a keyboard or other assistive technology to focus on this pop up.

This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.3 Focus order. This is an issue with our implementation of the third-party solution, Cookiebot.

Headings

Some text on some pages looks like heading but hasn’t been marked up correctly or has been nested incorrectly. This means important structural information that is communicated visually is not also communicated to users who cannot see the screen.

This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and relationships.

Tables

Some tables do not have correctly marked-up headings, nor have scope defined. Some tables are also irregular with merged or empty cells.

This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and relationships.

Images

Not all images have a text alternative, so people using a screen reader cannot access the information.

Some images have alt-text that is not meaningful – for example the featured image on the homepage has the alt-text “featured thumbnail.”

This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 Non-text content.

Links

Not all links use meaningful link text and/or specify whether the link goes to an external website or opens a new tab or window. This may make it difficult for people to know where a link is going to and could open a new tab or window without you knowing before you click it.

This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 Non-text content, 2.4.4 Link purpose and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value.

Video

The accessibility of embedded video content is dependent on the standards reached by the third-party provider, for example YouTube. Where possible we make use of features such as subtitles, transcripts and captions to ensure our content is accessible.

Some of our older videos that are within scope of the guidelines do not have subtitles, however our more recent ones do.

Some of our videos have subtitles that have been automatically generated and have not been reviewed by a human, which can lead to some errors in translation.

Some of our videos have meaningful visual content (e.g. animated text), but no audio track or transcript. Some of our videos have meaningful audio content (e.g. sound effect), but have no captions alongside the subtitles.

This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.1 Audio only and video only (prerecorded), 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded), 1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded), and 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded).

iFrames

Some iFrames are missing the ‘title’ attribute. This may make it difficult for people to know what content is contained in the iFrame before you interact with it, especially when using a screen reader.

This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks, and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value.

Interactive tools, data visualisations and transactions

Not all data visualisations within documents can be made accessible. Where possible we will include the same information in plain text using list hierarchies alongside the visualisation and/or provide alt-text with the chart.

Some structures and relationships within diagrams are not fully communicated when using screenreaders.

This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 Non-text content and 1.3.1 Info and relationships.

Forms

Some forms are in Word format and not an online web form. Word forms are not always accessible.

Some forms use Microsoft Forms and are dependent on Microsoft’s compliance standards.

Documents

Not all our documents are fully accessible.

Our more recent documents are mostly or partially compliant. Our focus is on meeting these core areas:

  • Text can be read by screen readers
  • Appropriate use of hierarchical, nested headers
  • Content tagged and in the correct order within the tag tree
  • Alt-text on images

For inaccessible PDFs, we ask content authors to provide a basic plain-text alternative, preferably in ODT format.

Inaccessible aspects of some of our documents include:

  • Document not tagged, failing WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and relationships.
  • Document does not have page title, failing WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.2 Page Titled.
  • Font size smaller than 12pt, failing WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.4 Resize text.
  • Reading order (tag tree) not in right order, failing WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence, 2.1.1 Keyboard, 2.4.3 Focus order.
  • Incorrect tags used (e.g. p-tags instead of list tags), failing WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and relationships.
  • Table of Contents tag not used, failing WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and relationships.
  • Tables with irregular table rows, empty or merged cells, failing WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content.
  • Tables with header rows defined but scope not defined, failing WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and relationships.
  • Links without alt-text, failing WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 Non-text content, 2.4.4 Link purpose and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value.
  • Empty paragraph tags, failing WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and relationships.
  • Path objects not tagged, failing WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and relationships
  • Complex diagrams not explained in body text, failing WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and relationships
  • Alt-text too long, failing WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1 Non-text content

Where documents are not in the format that you need, you can request an alternative by:

Emailing the Greater Manchester Combined Authority enquiries team.

Content created by third-party agencies

We ask content commissioners to include accessibility within their procurement processes, however we have found capability and compliance varies from agency to agency and content commissioners are not always able to check and challenge this.

Documents designed for print

Some older print documents may be inaccessible. Where newer print documents are also being made available online, publishers are asked to provide alternative HTML or plain text document versions. We also ask our publishers to create digital-first documents and ensure accessibility is considered at the start of the design process, regardless of whether it is a print-only or digital document.

Translated documents

Some of our documents are translated by a third-party translation service. Currently these documents are provided in a format that can be printed but not read online by screen readers.

This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and relationships.

(b) Disproportionate burden

We do not currently have any claims of disproportionate burden in place.

(c) The content is not within the scope of 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 are not essential to providing our services.

Video content

We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations. We also have some existing pre-recorded video content that was published before 23 September 2020. This content is also exempt from the Accessibility Regulations.

Online maps

Our website includes the use of online maps. These are exempt under the Accessibility Regulations. Essential information, such as addresses, are also included by way of an accessible alternative. If you require the information presented in an online map in a different format, please contact us to discuss reasonable adjustments.

Third-party content

Third-party content that is neither funded nor developed by, nor under the control of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority is exempt under the regulations.

Some of the education materials we use, for example, have not been directly commissioned from us and come from sources that we cannot control, therefore the subtitles, transcripts, audio descriptions and captions may not be present.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was first prepared on 23 September 2019 following a comprehensive in-house audit that used a blend of manual and automated testing.

The statement was last reviewed and updated on 01/02/2023 to improve accuracy in the reporting of areas where we are not yet compliant.

This site is due to be re-audited Summer 2023.

Feedback and contact information

Reporting accessibility problems or requesting alternative formats

If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, or if you need information on this website in a different format, please contact us:

Email: enquiries@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk

Call: 0161 778 7000

Write: Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Broadhurst House, 56 Oxford Street, Manchester, M1 6EU

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.

If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS). The EASS provides information about discrimination and your rights. It has replaced the helpline service previously provided by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Equality Advisory and Support Service (equalityadvisoryservice.com)