1.The Council’s website - www.hertford.gov.uk 

(applies to associated websites www.hertfordcastle.co.uk and www.gohertford.co.uk) 

The Council’s website - www.hertford.gov.uk is edited by Hertford Town Council and is hosted (and was built) by Advanced Web Designs Ltd, a local web design company. The Council would like as many people as possible to be able to use this website. 

This means you should be able to:

•    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 (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

We’ve also tried to make the website text as simple as possible to understand. Ability Net has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability, see: www.abilitynet.org.uk

2. Website accessibility and improvements the Council is making: 

The Council is exploring a new website as part of our Communications, Engagement and Marketing Strategy, accessibility will be at the forefront of the Council’s tender process.

In the meantime, we know some parts of this website, in its current form, are not fully accessible. 

This is because:

•    most older/archived PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software - we apologise if this causes inconvenience  

•    there is a limit to how far you can magnify the map on our ‘contact us’ page

Due to the historic volume of documents, we are continuing to work through all the documents that remain on the website. Where there is no alternative available, any PDF that’s included will be as made accessible as possible.

3. What to do if you cannot access parts of this website:

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

•    Email: customerservices@hertford.gov.uk

•    Telephone 01992 552885 and a member of staff will help you 

•    Message us via social media @hertfordtowncouncil on Facebook or Instagram

•    Write to:  Hertford Town Council, The Castle, Hertford, Hertfordshire, SG14 1HR

•    Use the form on our contact page

We will consider your request and respond within 5 working days.

4. Reporting accessibility problems with this website:

We are 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, you can contact us using the information above. 

5. 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 satisfied with how we respond to your query or complaint, please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

6. Non-compliance with accessibility regulations:

Some images do not have a text alternative, so people using a screen reader cannot access all information. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content).

We add text alternatives for our uploaded images. If you find an image without text linked to it, please do contact us using the details in Section 3 above. 

7. Content that is not within the scope of accessibility regulations:

Many of our older/archived PDFs and Word documents do not meet accessibility standards – for example, they may not be structured so they’re accessible to a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2.

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. 

8. Preparation of this accessibility statement:

This statement was prepared in May 2025 and will be updated in June 2027. The Council is exploring a new website as part of our Communications, Engagement and Marketing Strategy, if this occurs before the review date, this accessibility statement will be updated in advance.