Accessibility statement

This accessibility statement applies to content published on the www.lincolnshire.coop domain. Please note that it may not extend to other linked sub-domains or partner sites, such as careers.lincolnshire.coop.

The management of this website and its content is the responsibility of Lincolnshire Co-operative Limited. Our aim is to ensure that this website is accessible to as many individuals as possible. 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 (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver).

We have also taken measures to simplify the website text to ensure it’s easily understandable.

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

Our commitment

Lincolnshire Co-op is working towards to being inclusive and accessible to as many people as possible.

Feedback & contact information

We welcome your feedback on the accessibility of our website. Please let us know about any issues you encounter or ideas for improvement:

Phone: 01522 512211

E-mail: accessibility@lincolnshire.coop

Address: Lincolnshire Co-op, Stanley Bett House, 15/23 Tentercroft Street, Lincoln, LN5 7DB

Twitter: @LincsCoop

Facebook: @Lincolnshirecoop

Instagram: @lincscoop

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 a complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Compliance Status

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the international standards for web accessibility. They define three levels of conformance, from Level A (the lowest), Level AA, and Level AAA (the highest).

The Lincolnshire Co-op website is partially conformant with WCAG 2.1 level AA. This means that some parts of the content do not yet fully conform to the accessibility standard.

How accessible this website is

Whilst we are working to improve the accessibility of our website, we acknowledge that certain sections still need work. For example:

• Some pages require a main header or a consistent heading structure.

• Some images and media require captions or descriptions.

• Some form elements require an obvious hover/active state when navigating with a keyboard.

• Most PDF documents need to be fully accessible to screen reader software.

Non-accessible content

We have identified several issues with the accessibility of content on the Lincolnshire Co-op website:

• Images on some pages still require suitable image descriptions. Users of assistive technologies therefore may not have access to information conveyed in images.

• Some elements such as forms, banners and radio buttons aren’t accessible to those using a keyboard. If you have difficulty using forms on the website, please call us on 01522 512211. In most cases we can resolve the issue over the phone or send a paper form out in the post.

• On some of our webpages there is a 'carousel' which rotates images and key messages from Lincolnshire Co-op. There is currently no way to pause, stop or hide this animated content.

• Some older video clips and other media available on the website may not include captions.

Non-accessible documents

• Some documents are missing text alternatives and document structure. Some PDFs may not be accessible to screen reader software or users requiring high magnification with reflow.

• We recommend readers open the PDFs in Microsoft Word. The web layout view is likely to give a better reflow and magnification experience up to 500%. The Immersive Reader in Microsoft Word also gives a range of reading options.

Disproportionate Burdens

We are working towards addressing as many accessibility issues as possible, but understand that redeveloping some areas of the website and recreating some of the existing content would be a disproportionate burden to address in the short term. For example, archive content such as videos that have been produced historically, would be very time-consuming to rework and bring up to modern accessibility guidelines.

Websites or software managed by third parties that were implemented before these accessibility guidelines were introduced may be difficult and/or costly to change. We are working towards collaborating with these platform providers to address known accessibility concerns and introduce accessible alternatives where possible.

On some website pages and downloadable PDF documents, there is insufficient contrast ratio between colours used for text. These colours are based on design and brand guidelines which were written prior to these accessibility guidelines being introduced. As content is updated we will aim to improve text readability and contrast ratios, but replacing in the short term would be a disproportionate burden for us to take on.

Outside of the scope of accessibility regulations

There are certain types of content which are outside the scope of accessibility regulations. These include HTML documents published before September 2018, unless these documents are needed to access a service. In addition, live-streamed videos do not always provide for captions depending on the presenter tools available.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 12th October 2023. It was last reviewed on 12th October 2023