Accessibility statement
A document about who gets a say is worth nothing if the site excludes people. This states honestly what conforms, what does not yet, and how to tell us when we have got it wrong.
Our aim
We aim to meet WCAG 2.2 level AA across the whole site. Most of it does. The exceptions are listed below rather than glossed over.
What the site does
- Listen instead of read. Every page carries the same reading tools, bottom right: read the whole page aloud, or press Listen beside any section heading to hear just that part. Escape stops it.
- Change the text size. The same panel has a slider from 90% to 200%. Your choice is remembered on that device and applies across the whole site.
- A print edition. A properly typeset A4 version with a cover, contents, running headers and page numbers — print it or save it as a PDF.
- A plain-text edition of the entire document at manchester-principles-v1.0.txt — no layout, no scripts, straight into any reader or braille display.
- Keyboard throughout. Skip links, visible focus outlines, logical order, and no keyboard traps. The data-rights dialog holds focus while open and closes on Escape.
- Structure that screen readers can use. Real landmarks, one h1 per page, headings in order, labelled form fields, and a declared page language.
- Text that scales to 200%. Body text 16–17px with generous line height, no text in images, and layouts that reflow on small screens and at high zoom.
- Reduced motion respected. The animated wordmark on the home page stops if your system asks for reduced motion.
- Plain language. The Principles are legal in effect but written to be read once. If a clause is unclear, that is a defect — say so in the discussion.
Where we currently fall short
- Speech synthesis depends on your browser. The read-aloud button uses the voice built into your device. Quality varies, and it will not work in a few older browsers. The plain-text edition is the reliable route.
- Complex layouts on very small screens. The wiki and the discussion put a lot on screen at once. They reflow to a single column on a phone, but a long thread is still a long scroll.
- Third-party anti-spam. The human-check box on the registration form is Cloudflare Turnstile. It is designed to be accessible and usually needs no interaction, but we do not control it. If it blocks you, email us and we will register you by hand.
- No formal audit yet. This statement is based on our own testing with keyboard, zoom and screen readers, not an independent audit.
If something blocks you
Email the address in the privacy notice and tell us what happened, what you were trying to do, and what you use — browser, screen reader, magnification, anything relevant.
We will reply within five working days. If the barrier stops you taking part in the consultation, we will find another way for you to take part — including registering you by hand or taking your amendment by email — while we fix it.
Formats
Need the document as large print, braille, audio or an easy-read summary? Ask. We would rather produce it than have you excluded from it.