Have Your Say guide for external users

H&F Have Your Say is the council's official digital engagement tool.

H&F Have Your Say (lbhf.gov.uk)

The platform is run as a supported self-service tool.

You need to register to create an account.

Once you have done this, please contact HaveYourSay@lbhf.gov.uk to discuss your consultation need.

Training

Contact HaveYourSay@lbhf.gov.uk if you need information about training on how to use the platform.

Accessibility

Making consultation and engagement accessible for all residents

We are committed to making online content easier to read, focus on, and understand.

Complying with the Web Content Accessibility Guideline (WCAG) is key to building an accessible website and providing inclusive online consultations in formats which are accessible to everyone, encourages interaction and community participation.

This includes using plain English throughout and providing online Easy Read versions of the surveys and the accompanying information.

The HYS platform has a Google Translate link at the top of the screen on every page, in addition user-end browser tools can be run on the site for on-page text to speech options. These options make the content accessible for people who don't speak or read English as a first language.

Accessible documents

HTML is the preferred way to publish information online.

If using a document can be avoided, the information you want to publish should be presented as HTML content on a web page.

Creating content as web pages means that users do not have to work as hard. It reduces their cognitive load.

This is because:

all content is in one place, users do not need to download a separate application to read something
web pages meet accessibility standards
web pages are easier to navigate
web pages are quicker and easier to update than a static PDF document
web pages linking to related guidance on another web page gives users a better user journey
web pages are easier to use on mobile devices

If documents need to be published to accompany a consultation they must be properly accessible OR an alternative webpage or text only version of the content must be available as well.

AbilityNet "To be truly accessible, it is not enough for a document just to look well-presented. For it to be read and understood by as wide an audience as possible – including, for example, people with visual impairments, dyslexia or learning difficulties – your document also has to work well with screen reading software.

It is good practice to write as though for electronic publishing – based on the following main principles:

use a proper 'headings' structure
write in short, simple sentences
write in plain language and avoid jargon and abbreviations
use a common, plain font and a text size of at least 12 point
use proper list formatting for numbered or bullet lists
provide a meaningful description of important images
check the accessibility of your document using Word's built-in checker.

See AbilityNet - creating accessible documents

Maps and graphs and any other visually presented information will need transcripts to present the information they contain in a text format.

Creating accessible InDesign documents

There is a good guide on University of Sussex about creating accessible InDesign documents

Creating accessible InDesign documents : University of Sussex

Easy Read

Providing an Easy Read alternatives of your consultation is mandatory.

You will need to build this requirement into the costs and timeline of your consultation.

H&F use PeopleFirstLtd to rewrite and provide content in an Easy Read format. If you don't have an alternative Easy Read supplier, please speak to your H&F contact to request a quote and estimate of the timeline. They will need to see the material which needs translating to be able to do this.

See North Yorks guide to producing written information in easy read format (pdf)

Examples of consultations which have recently provided Easy Read alternatives include:

These examples of Easy Read alternative surveys still require the user to download and print out the survey to fill it in. We are currently looking at ways of providing the consultation surveys in an online Easy Read format to remove this barrier to digital inclusion.

See Accessible communication formats - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Producing accessible videos for Hammersmith & Fulham Council

Overview

Video content created for Hammersmith & Fulham Council must comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 to conformance Level AA.

This is a legal requirement under The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

This means our videos must have a written transcript and where necessary:

subtitles and or captions
an audio description.

Considering these alternatives during the planning, scripting, and creation process will help you create more accessible media from the start.

As part of this, you'll need to think about the elements and production techniques that make up the video such as on-screen text, graphics, dialogue, pacing and transitions so that they are accessible or facilitate accessibility.

This is because common accessibility barriers with videos include:

missing audio descriptions of visual information (such as on-screen text) for people who cannot see the video
requiring sight to understand the content of the video if there is no audio at all
making text in the video hard for some people to see because there is not enough contrast between the text and the background colours
the video being too fast paced for people who cannot focus and understand auditory or visual information.

Visit the W3C website for guidance on making audio and video media accessible.

Planning checklist

If you're planning to use	You need to
On-screen text	Consider the font family, size, and contrast between the text and background. WCAG recommends: making sure any text on screen at least 14 points and has good contrast the contrast ratio between text and backgrounds is at least 4.5:1 Text should also be: left on the screen long enough for people to read included in the voiceover or audio description positioned high enough to avoid being overlapped by closed captions
Dialogue	Ensure speech is clear and delivered slowly as appropriate. Speech must be included in the transcript and captions – identify who is speaking, each time the speaker changes.
Background music	When the main audio is a person speaking and you have background music, set the levels so people with hearing or cognitive disabilities can easily distinguish the speaking from the background. Specifically, make the background sounds at least 20 decibels lower than the foreground speech content (with the exception of occasional sounds that last for only one or two seconds). Avoid sounds that can be distracting or irritating, such as some high pitches and repeating patterns.
Flashing content	Avoid using blinking or flashing content as this can induce seizures for individuals with photosensitive epilepsy and trigger migraines in sensitive viewers. If a flashing object needs to be used, make sure that it must not flash more than three times in any one second period.
No or minimal dialogue	A second video with an audio description of the video must be produced. The audio description must explain what is happening on screen and include all relevant visual information.
Charts, graphs and graphics	Ensure information is not conveyed with colours alone and when colours are used, they are sufficiently distinguishable.

Alternative media checklist

Requirement

When it is needed

Transcript

A written description of the video including dialogue, relevant sound, and relevant visuals.

Required for all our videos embedded on a publicly funded website.

Subtitles

A written overlay of any spoken dialogue or narration.

Required for any video with spoken sound or dialogue.

Subtitles should be synchronised, accurate and provided as closed captions – these are captions that can be turned on and off and are supported by YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

If a video is going to be used on Instagram, a second version should be created with open captions (also known as burnt-in captions).

Captions

A written description of contextually relevant sound or music.

Required for any video where context is created through non-verbal sound.

For example: thematic music, licenced music, or sound-effects.

Captions must be synchronised, accurate and provided as closed captions.

Audio description

An alternative audio track where relevant visual elements are narrated to the viewer.

These descriptions are inserted in natural pauses in the narration or dialog near the time the referenced action happens.

Any video where information is delivered non-verbally. For example: graphics, gestures, titles.

This can be created as an alternate version of the video offered to the user by a link.

Audio description can be avoided if key context can be included in main audio track.