Accessibility statement for the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC).

This website is run by the SSSC. 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 just a keyboard
• navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
• listen to most of the website using a screen reader.
  This website has been tested using ChromeVox Classic Extension.

We’ve also written the website text in plain English to make it as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible is our website?

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

• most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
• some webpage elements are inaccessible when using just a keyboard
• webpages don’t have descriptive titles
• some pages have poor colour contrast
• pages have a poor active focus when tabbing through links
• error messages on contact forms are not consistent
• some images have alt text left empty deliberately
• some pages don’t have a ‘skip to content’ link
• the map on our Contact us page. 
  The magnification allowed on the map is controlled by Google Maps and not by SSSC.

What to do if you cannot access parts of this website

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille please email communications@sssc.uk.com. We’ll consider your request and get back to you within five working days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please email communications@sssc.uk.com

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

Currently we do not provide a text relay service for people who are D/deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment. We are reviewing this and expect an outcome by December 2020.

Our offices have both fixed and portable audio induction loops.

We have included a map on our Contact us page. The amount of magnification allowed on the map is controlled by Google Maps and not by the SSSC. If you cannot view the map on our contact us page, please email communications@sssc.uk.com for directions.

Do you use British Sign Language (BSL)?

BSL users can contact us via contactSCOTLAND-BSL, the online British Sign Language interpreting service. Find out more on the contact SCOTLAND website. If you are visiting our office and require British Sign Language interpreting, please email communications@sssc.uk.com to arrange this.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The SSSC is committed to making its website 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 listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Some webpage elements are inaccessible when using just a keyboard.
This fails Guideline 2.1 Keyboard Accessible / Success Criterion 2.1.1 Keyboard. We are working to fix this issue and expect to have it completed by December 2020.

Webpages don’t have descriptive titles.
This fails Guideline 2.4 Navigable / Success Criterion 2.4.2. We are working to fix this issue and expect to have it completed by December 2020.

Some pages have poor colour contrast.
This fails Guideline 1.4 Distinguishable / Success Criterion 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum). We are working to fix this issue and expect to have it completed by December 2020.

Pages have a poor active focus when tabbing through links.
This fails Guideline 2.4 Navigable / Success Criterion 2.4.7 Focus Visible. We are working to fix this issue and expect to have it completed by December 2020.

Error messages on contact forms are not consistent.
This fails Guideline 3.3 Input Assistance / Success Criterion 3.3.3 Error Suggestion. We are working to fix this issue and expect to have it completed by December 2020.

Some images have alt text left empty deliberately.
Where appropriate, images on our site have concise and descriptive alt text. We follow the RNIB guidelines and images considered as decorative have empty alt text added to them. This fails Guideline 1.1 Text Alternatives / Success Criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content.

Some pages don’t have a ‘skip to content’ link.
This fails Guideline 2.4 Navigable / Success Criterion 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks. We are working to fix this issue and expect to have it completed by December 2020.

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

PDFs and other documents

Some documents are not accessible in a several ways including missing text alternatives and missing document structure. For example, they may not be structured so they’re accessible to a screen reader. This fails Guideline 4.1 Compatible / Success Criterion 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value. These documents are not essential to providing our services. The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018.

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

Visit our publications library page.

How we tested this website

This website was last tested on 23 January 2020. The test was carried out internally.

We used the Siteimprove Accessibility Checker browser plugin and used elements of the Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM) approach to deciding on which of our pages to test.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We plan to identify and fix issues according to the timescales shown for each area above.

This statement was prepared on 11 February 2020. It was last updated on 07 July 2020.