Last updated in August 2025.
This accessibility statement applies to www.cambridge.gov.uk.
This website is run by Cambridge City Council in partnership with 3C ICT. 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 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)
We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.
To help customers adapt this website to their specific needs, we have also installed the Recite.me toolbar which can be opened by selecting the ‘accessibility tools’ link in the website header. You can find more information about Recite.me on our Accessibility page.
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:
- you cannot modify the line height of text
- some PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
- live video streams do not have captions
- our maps are not fully navigable with a keyboard (you cannot tab to pins)
Feedback and contact information
If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact webteam@cambridge.gov.uk.
If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, find out about alternative formats. We’ll consider your request and get back to you within 7 days.
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).
Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person
We provide a text relay service for people who are Deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment.
Some of our offices and public spaces have audio induction loops, and if you contact us before your visit we can arrange an interpreter.
If you are a British Sign Language (BSL) user, you can use a free online service called SignLive to contact us through a professional interpreter.
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
Cambridge City 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.
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.
Non-accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
We are waiting for an update that will fix the following issues:
- Specify a title for all frames (WCAG 2.0 A 2.4.1)
- Avoid linking to anchors that do not exist (WCAG 2.0 A 2.4.1)
- Add a scope to table headings (WCAG 2.0 A 1.3.1)
- Ensure pages don’t scroll in two dimensions on small screens (WCAG 2.1 AA 1.4.10)
PDFs
Some of our PDFs do not meet accessibility standards. The actions identified are:
- Tag all PDFs (WCAG 2.0 A 1.3.1)
- Ensure PDFs are machine readable (WCAG 2.0 A 1.1.1)
- Ensure PDFs have a title (WCAG 2.0 A 2.4.2)
- Specify headings for every PDF (WCAG 2.0 A 1.3.1)
- Ensure PDFs specify a default language (WCAG 2.0 A 3.1.1)
- Ensure PDF headings follow a logical order (WCAG 2.0 A 1.3.1)
- Ensure the first heading in a PDF is a H1 (WCAG 2.0 A 1.3.1)
- Ensure long PDFs use bookmarks to aid navigation (WCAG 2.0 AA 2.4.5)
Forms
Some of our forms do not meet accessibility standards. The actions identified are:
- Fix duplicate IDs (WCAG 2.0 A 4.1.1)
Search
We use Google to provide the search on our website. The plug-in code adds a second search field to the search page, which is not fully accessible.
- Add a submit button to all forms (WCAG 2.0 A 3.2.2)
Other content
Some links on our bin collection calendar are intended to connect directly to calendars on smartphones. These links do not work with screen readers.
- Ensure links can be used by screen readers (WCAG 2.0 A 4.1.2)
Some of the controls on the Google Maps on our site have controls that are close together, which can make it difficult to select the right element. We are working to replace Google Maps with another system.
Some of our forms start with a page that asks whether you want to sign in to complete it. The small size of a checkbox on this page could make it difficult for people to select it. We will make this element larger.
- Ensure interactive components are far enough apart (WCAG 2.2 AA 2.5.8)
Some content on our site has a high reading age. We continue to try to make our content as easy to ready as possible.
- Ensure content is not too difficult to understand (WCAG 2.0 AAA 3.1.5)
A link on our bin collection calendar is set to open in a new tab but does not explain this as part of the link text. We will amend this to make it clearer.
- Ensure links explain they open in a new tab (WCAG 2.0 AAA 3.2.5)
The dates on links to news releases on the homepage and news landing page do not have a very high colour contrast against the background. The text is AA-level compliant.
- Aim for text to have very high contrast (WCAG 2.0 AAA 1.4.6)
Some links in the header and footer of our site template, and in ‘contact us’ boxes on content pages would be easier to interact with if they were larger. The links are AA-level compliant.
- Aim for large interactive controls (WCAG 2.1 AAA 2.5.5)
Some navigational controls on our site could be clearer when they are selected by a keyboard. The controls are AA-level compliant.
- Ensure controls clearly indicate when they are selected (WCAG 2.2 AAA 2.4.13)
The search box can be partly obscured by other elements on some screen sizes. The template is AA-level compliant.
- Ensure focus is not partly obscured (WCAG 2.2 AAA 2.4.12)
Disproportionate burden
Documents from committee or council meetings
Some documents created after council meetings (such as minutes) may have been approved in their existing format by councillors and so cannot easily be changed.
Identifying and changing these to be accessible would involve input and sign off from councillors who may no longer be serving, as well as council services. We believe this presents a disproportionate burden.
Election documents
Many election documents are created by the government or the Electoral Commission and the format cannot legally be amended.
Section 106 agreements
Section 106 agreements produced between September 2020 and October 2021 are not accessible. We believe it is a disproportionate burden to make these documents accessible due to the cost and officer time involved.
If you would like an accessible version of an agreement that was created between September 2020 and October 2021, contact us at s106@greatercambridgeplanning.org.
Recorded meeting video captions
We will use the auto-generated video captions for recorded live council meeting videos. We believe it is a disproportionate burden to review the auto-generated captions to recorded council meetings. However we will ensure any videos we produce will have the correct captions.
Cambridge Matters magazine
The online copy of our Cambridge Matters magazine is not accessible. The magazine is created for print. For example, the images do not contain alt text.
We believe it is a disproportionate burden to create a separate, fully accessible copy for the website, as each Cambridge City household receives a paper copy.
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. We are working to fix any remaining documents that fall under this category 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 are not essential to providing our services. For example, we do not plan to fix old newsletters.
We endeavour to ensure that all new documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.
Documents provided by third parties
Some documents have been provided by third parties. We did not commission, create, or pay for these documents, so they are exempt from the accessibility regulations.
Live video
We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from the accessibility regulations.
Maps
Our maps are either not used for navigational purposes, or we provide information in another format if they are, and so are exempt from the accessibility regulations.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 6 August 2019. It was last reviewed on 8 August 2025.
