* Over the past 5 years (up to and including 2018/ 2019), please can you tell me your budget for ensuring your information is accessible to all residents i.e. those with visual impairment, dyslexia, print impairment?
We do not hold a ‘central budget’ for dealing with accessible information. Each service area must ensure it covers this from its own service budget. These figures are not held separately.
* Over the past 5 years (up to and including 2018/ 2019), please can you tell me your spend for ensuring your information is accessible to all residents, i.e. those with visual impairment, dyslexia, print impairment?
We do not retain information on spending for alternative formats. Large print can often be created at no / minimal additional cost. Free online screen-checkers are available for checking content is dyslexia-friendly.
* Do you offer information to your residents in accessible formats such as Large Format Print?
Depending upon the need / demand (volume) of the intended audience, information is either made ‘readily available’ or on request. Anyone who requests a ‘reasonable adjustment’ is entitled to have this met by law
* Do you offer information to your residents in accessible formats such as Accessible PDFs?
The new rules came into force on 23 September 2018 and are known as the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. This regulation implements the EU directive on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies into UK law. All new material must be accessible, and by 2020 all previously published content must be accessible.
The Council is taking steps to ensure it meets the 2020 deadline. Further information is available online at https://inside.devon.gov.uk/task/designing-for-digital-accessibility/
* Do you offer information to your residents in accessible formats such as Braille?
Only on request as a ‘reasonable adjustment’.
* How many requests do you get per month for information in accessible formats such as Large Format Print?
* How many requests do you get per month for information in accessible formats such as Accessible PDFs?
* How many requests do you get per month for information in accessible formats such as Braille?
* Which is the most popular accessible format for information requests?
We do not hold any information in relation to the above questions.
* What is the department and job title for the person responsible for organising and sourcing accessible materials for these requests?
Individual services are responsible for ensuring their materials are accessible and for dealing with requests.
* Do you produce these accessible materials internally?
If information can be produced internally (such as large print) then this is the preferred route. For more technical requirements such as Braille, these will need to be sourced externally.
* If you don’t produce this information internally, who do you outsource these requests to and what do they charge you?
We will be reviewing our approach to sourcing alternative formats over the next year or two and recommend that Suppliers sign up to the ‘Supplying the Southwest’ portal to ensure they hear of any contracts that become available. This can be found online at: https://www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk/