Accessibility Statement

Elham Parish Council 
Website: www.elhampc.co.uk  

Elham Parish Council is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for all users, including people with disabilities. The council seeks to comply with the requirements of the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 and with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at Level AA, in line with Assertion 10 of the Annual Governance Statement. 

Compliance status 

This website is compliant with WCAG 2.2 AA. A small amount of content is not yet fully accessible, as detailed below. 

This position reflects the council’s proportionate approach to digital and data compliance, having regard to its size, resources, and risk profile. 

Non-accessible content 

a) Content that is not fully compliant 

• Some older PDF and Word documents, including historic meeting papers, are not fully accessible to screen-reader software. 

• A small number of images may not yet have appropriate alternative text. 

• Our External Auditors are aware that the Accounts and Audit Regulations requirement for a physical ‘wet ink’ signature on the original AGAR, which does not allow parish council’s to fully comply with the Accessibility Regulations. The National Audit Office are aware that the two pieces of legislation are not compatible, therefore smaller authorities are advised to make it clear on their website that the document is a scan and will not be fully compliant with the Accessibility Regulations. 

b) Disproportionate burden 

• The council holds an archive of historic documents published before September 2018. Retrospective conversion of all such documents into fully accessible formats would place a disproportionate burden on the council. 

Where required, accessible alternatives will be provided on request. 

What we are doing to improve accessibility 

To support ongoing compliance with Assertion 10, Elham Parish Council: 

• Ensures all new documents are created in accessible formats. 

• Avoids scanned PDFs wherever possible. 

• Improves image alternative text and page structure when content is reviewed. 

• Periodically checks the website using automated and manual accessibility checks. 

Feedback and contact information 

If you experience any difficulty accessing information on this website, or require information in an alternative format, please contact: 

Clerk to Elham Parish Council 
Email: clerk@elhampc.co.uk  

We will consider your request and respond within a reasonable timeframe. 

Enforcement procedure 

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS), which provides advice and support on equality and human rights issues. 

Preparation of this accessibility statement 

• Prepared on: 2^nd February 2026 

• Last reviewed on: 6^th of March 2026

• Testing carried out using: 

• Automated accessibility checking tools 

• Manual checks, including keyboard navigation