Accessibility statement
This accessibility statement applies to this website and our customer portal MyMaidstone.
This website is run by Maidstone Borough Council. 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 using browser or device settings
- zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
- navigate most of the website using a keyboard or 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.
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:
- most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
- live video streams do not have captions
- some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard
- you cannot skip to the main content when using a screen reader
Feedback and contact information
If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact our web team by email digitalteam@maidstone.gov.uk.
Please also email us if you need information on this website in a different format, like an accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille. We’ll consider your request and get back to you in five working 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).
Technical information about this website's accessibility
Maidstone Borough 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
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.
We were also audited by the Government Digital Service on 13 May 2026. On that date, maidstone.gov.uk was only partially compliant with WCAG 2.2 AA. This is the report they provided. The issues found during the audit have either been fixed or added to this accessibility statement as areas where we are not compliant.
Non-accessible content
The content listed below is not accessible for the following reasons.
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
Our customer portal my.maidstone.gov.uk
Illogical heading structure
WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) and 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (Level AA)
Headings in some online forms do not follow a logical order.
We will ensure all headings follow a clear and consistent hierarchy across our online forms.
Ensure links explain their purpose
WCAG 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) (Level A)
Link text should clearly describe where the link goes.
We will update unclear link text to be more descriptive.
Specify alternative text for images inside links
WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A)
Images used as links must describe their purpose.
We will add meaningful alternative text to linked images.
Specify alternative text for appropriate images
WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A)
Important images must have text alternatives.
We will review images and add appropriate alternative text.
Ensure form controls have labels
WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A)
Form fields must have clear labels.
We will ensure all fields are correctly labelled and associated.
Ensure links can be used by screen readers
WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A)
Links must be correctly interpreted by assistive technologies.
We will fix link markup and ensure accessible names are present.
We aim to fix these issues by the end of 2026.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
PDFs and other documents
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. For example, we do not plan to fix 'Guidance notes for small societies lottery registration PDF'.
Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.
Live video
We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.
3rd party content
Our site includes 3rd party content and documents. We cannot guarantee that all 3rd party content is accessible. We are not responsible for any 3rd party content.
We often link to 3rd party websites or documents when there is useful information that relates to our services.
For example, we link to 3rd party websites such as official information sources like gov.uk or electoralcommission.org.uk
We often create content on 3rd party platforms. For example, we create video content on YouTube. We're responsible for making sure the content is accessible, but we're not responsible for YouTube's platform.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 30 June 2026. It was last reviewed on 30 June 2026.
This website was last tested on 8 June 2026 against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard. The website is tested every 5 days using automated software provided by Silktide. This automated testing tests every page.
Further testing was carried out manually by our web team. The most-viewed pages from the past year were tested using the following automated testing tools:
The pages were tested using a Google Chrome browser on 1920x1080 and a mobile device with a screen size of 414x896 pixels, which are the most popular screen sizes for the past year:
You can read our latest accessibility test report on the Silktide UK Council index website.