Using our documents
West Midlands Fire Service publishes documents in a range of formats, including Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel, Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) and Rich Text Format.
We want as many people as possible to be able to use those documents. For example, when we produce a document we make sure to:
- provide an HTML option where possible
- tag headings and other parts of the document properly, so screen readers can understand the page structure
- make sure we include alt text alongside non-decorative images, so people who cannot see them understand what they’re there for
- avoid using tables, except when we’re presenting data
- write in plain English
How accessible our documents are
New documents we publish and documents you need to download or fill in to access one of the services we provide should be fully accessible. Document pages will show an icon and text prompt to indicate if they are accessible or not.
However, we know that some of our older documents (published before 23 September 2018) are not accessible. For example, some of them:
are not tagged up properly – for example, they do not contain proper headings
do not have a specified natural language
are not written in plain English
This mostly applies to our PDF documents. These types of documents are exempt from the regulations, so we do not currently have any plans to make them accessible.
But if you need to access information in one of these document types, you can contact us and ask for an alternative format.
Document accessibility notices
On the download pages for each of our documents, a notice is displayed advising of the level of accessibility. These are:
- The document is fully accessible
- the document may be accessible, but we’re unable to confirm this (this may be because it’s pending verification)
- the document is not accessible due to being created or provided by a third party, over which we have no control
- the document is exempt from the guidelines because it was created prior to 23 September 2018.
What to do if you cannot use one of our documents
If you need a document we’ve published in a different format:
- Email contact@wmfs.net
- call 03300 589 000
- or submit a contact form on our website at https://www.wmfs.net/contact-west-midlands-fire-service/
We’ll consider the request and get back to you in 14 days.
Reporting accessibility problems with one of our documents
We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of our documents. If you find any problems not listed on this page or you think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact:
Corporate Communications
contact@wmfs.net – include ‘FAO Corporate Communications’ in your email.
Or phone 03300 589 000
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 the accessibility of our documents
West Midlands Fire Service is committed to making our documents accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
The documents West Midlands Fire Service publishes are 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, where it was created prior to September 2018 is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Word documents and PDF documents do not all have text alternatives for non-text content – WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text Content
PDF documents do not contain a specification of the natural language – WCAG 3.1.1 Language of Page
Some documents contain images of text (tables or diagrams) – WCAG 1.4.5 Images of Text
A few of our documents have diagrams. These images do not have a text alternative, so the information in them is not available to people using a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content).
When we publish new documents we’ll make sure our use of diagrams meets accessibility standards.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
Many of our older 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. For example, we do not plan to fix Transparency Reports or Policy documents prior to this date.
We do not verify the accessibility of documents we make available that were created or provided by a third party. While we endeavour to make them as compliant as possible, we cannot guarantee that documents created outside of West Midlands Fire Service will comply. You should contact the relevant company or body to request accessible versions of the relevant document.
Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.
How we tested our documents
We last tested a sample of our documents on 18/10/2023. The tests were carried out by the Corporate Communications team at West Midlands Fire Service.
We tested:
A sample of PDF documents
A sample of Word documents
A sample of Excel documents
This ensured we tested a representative sample of all the document types available on our website.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We conduct regular testing of documents uploaded to our website and are working to enforce accessibility requirements across our service to ensure anything created meets the regulations.
This page was initially prepared on 18/10/2022. It was last updated on the date specified at the top of this web page.