Lancashire and Cumbria Institute of Technology is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

This accessibility statement applies to the Lancashire and Cumbria Institute of Technology (https://landciot.ac.uk). 

We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website.

The text should be clear and simple to understand. You should be able to:

• zoom in up to 300% without problems
• navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
• navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
• use most of the website using a screen reader.

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

Compliance Status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

Non-accessible Content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons: 

1. Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations:

Contrast issues: Some elements on the site may not meet the minimum contrast ratio requirements, although they are visually acceptable to most users. We are actively working to address these contrast issues.  (This doesn’t meet WCAG success criterion 1.4.3: Contrast (Minimum)).

Skipped heading levels: Some pages may have skipped heading levels, which may affect users navigating with assistive technologies. These will be corrected as part of our ongoing improvements. (This doesn’t meet WCAG success criterion 2.4.6 Headings and Labels).

Long alternative text: Some images have long alternative texts that are accurate and descriptive. We aim to balance length with clarity, but we continue to monitor for improvements. (This doesn’t meet WCAG success criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content).

Video content: Some of our videos may not have captions, making them inaccessible to some users. Some videos use automated captions that may not always be accurate. When we come across videos that aren’t captioned or whose captions are inaccurate, we will either remove, replace or update them. (This doesn’t meet WCAG success criterion 1.2.1 Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded) and 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded)).

Redundant links: Some pages may contain multiple instances of the same link. In certain cases, this is intentional to provide clear calls to action and improve navigation. While this may result in repetition for users of screen readers, we aim to maintain accessibility while ensuring ease of use for all users. (This doesn’t meet WCAG success criterion 2.4.4 Link Purpose).

2. What we are doing to improve accessibility

We are currently working to resolve the issues above where this is feasible. However, fully addressing all contrast and skipped heading issues across the entire website is a complex process that will be carried out progressively. We expect to complete these improvements in due course.

As part of our ongoing commitment to accessibility, we will continue to perform regular audits and reviews of accessibility for new and existing content. 

Preparation of this Accessibility Statement

This statement was prepared on 1 September 2020. It was last reviewed on 13 March 2025.

An Accessibility audit was last carried out by Adaptive, our external website support agency, on 9 September 2024. We also performed internal testing using tools such as Axe and Wave to assess accessibility.

Feedback and Contact Information

If you encounter any accessibility issues on our website or require information in an alternative format, please contact us via:

Email: info@blackpool.ac.uk

We welcome your feedback and aim to respond to all inquiries within 5 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).