Local authority websites are struggling to meet tough accessibility targets, a new study has revealed.
The Better connected 2008 supplementary report from the Society of Information Technology Management (SOCITM) found almost half of council websites which achieved targets for accessibility last year had failed to meet them this year.
Only 37 local authorities out of 468 surveyed for web accessibility for the disabled managed to gain or maintain the top level A rating. Among those were Kensington & Chelsea LBC and Thurrock Council.The report, due to be published on 21 April, is part of a review into usefulness, usability and amount of use of council websites.
It focused on how disabled users could access and use the website. A SOCITM spokeswoman said: ‘Council websites are improving all the time but on this particular issue, they are having difficulty. But that's not to say they are failing or doing badly because, as a sector, they are doing better than the private sector.'
Brighton and Hove City Council is celebrating being ranked among the top 20 local authority websites by SOCITM the most number of times over the last 10 years.
