Accessibility statement for Home Connections online forms

Please select your housing provider from the list below for an accessibility statement specific to their online application forms

If your housing provider is not listed above, please read the following accessibility statement. 

This website was built by Home Connections for the local authority or housing provider. 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 (we tested using NVDA)

We’re 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.

How accessible this form is

We know some parts of this website aren’t fully accessible:

  • Google translator may not provide meaningful translation for some text contents in other languages. 

  • Font size increase/decrease may cause some overwritten text, for example if using a translator

  • Any Google Maps in the online forms are not fully accessible as they are third-party content which Home Connections cannot fix. 

  • Some links may open in new windows

What to do if you can’t access parts of this form

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

  • Email the local authority or housing provider you are applying to. You can find their contact details on the page where you clicked to apply or by searching for their website. They’ll consider your request and get back to you as soon as possible.

Reporting accessibility problems with this form

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that aren’t listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact the local authority or housing provider you want to apply to. 

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 form's accessibility

Home Connections is committed to making our online forms 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-compliance with the accessibility regulations

The following are areas of non-compliance

  • Some links open in new windows. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.2.5 (Change on request). In most cases, we try to warn users where this is unavoidable. We aim to have all links opening in the same window or warning before opening in a new window by January 2021. 

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) - we do not use this in all online forms. 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’s 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. For example, we do not plan to fix any old copies of applications forms or personal housing plans.

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

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We are continually working to make improvements to this website. 

How we test this form

The online forms have been tested with a number of automated tools, as well as manually for keyboard and screen reader navigation. Home Connections will continue to perform internal testing periodically and act upon user feedback when we receive it.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 04/11/2019 by Home Connections. It was last updated on 11/09/2020.

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