Accessibility statement for parish councils: what to include and how to publish it

Last reviewed October 2026. General information for councils in England, not legal advice.

Every parish and town council website in England needs an accessibility statement. This guide explains what the statement must contain, how to write one based on the GOV.UK model, and where to put it on your website.

In short

  • The public sector accessibility regulations require you to publish an accessibility statement.
  • The statement must use specific wording from the GOV.UK model and describe your actual website.
  • It should say what works, what does not, how people can ask for help, and when you last tested the site.
  • Review it at least once a year and update it whenever your website changes significantly.
  • Our free statement generator builds a statement from the GOV.UK model. It runs in your browser and sends nothing to us.

Why your council needs a statement

The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 apply to public sector websites, including parish and town councils. They require two things:

  1. Your website must meet the WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standard.
  2. You must publish an accessibility statement explaining how accessible your website is.

GOV.UK guidance says that if you do not publish a statement, "you will not meet the accessibility regulations, even if your website or mobile app meets the technical standard" (GOV.UK: Make your website or app accessible and publish an accessibility statement).

The statement is not just a legal box to tick. It tells residents and visitors what to expect, how to get help if something does not work for them, and who to contact. It also helps your council track what still needs fixing.

The GOV.UK model statement

The Government Digital Service publishes a model accessibility statement with wording that you must use. GOV.UK says:

"If you do not use the model accessibility statement, your statement may not meet the regulations and could be challenged by the Equality and Human Rights Commission."

You can add to the statement, but you should not change the required wording. The model was updated in September 2024 to reflect WCAG 2.2, which is now the standard named in GOV.UK guidance.

GOV.UK also publishes a sample accessibility statement for a fictional public sector website showing how to fill in the model. Our free accessibility statement generator combines these into a form that produces a ready-to-publish statement.

What to include in each section

A complete accessibility statement based on the GOV.UK model includes:

Introduction and scope

Say which website the statement applies to, and any other sites or services it covers. State your council's name so visitors know who is responsible.

What people can do on your website

List the things disabled visitors can do, such as zooming in, using a keyboard, or using a screen reader. The GOV.UK sample statement gives examples. Only include things you have actually tested, so your statement stays accurate.

Compliance status

Say whether your website is fully compliant, partially compliant or not compliant with WCAG 2.2 AA. Most small council websites with older PDFs will be "partially compliant". This is honest, and it is better than claiming full compliance when there are known problems.

Non-accessible content

List any parts of the website that do not meet the standard. Be specific: say what the problem is, which pages it affects, and when you plan to fix it. The GOV.UK sample groups these under:

  • problems that are covered by the regulations
  • content that is not within the scope of the regulations (such as documents published before September 2018)
  • anything you are claiming as a disproportionate burden

Contact details

Give a way for people to request accessible versions of documents or report problems. Include an email address at minimum. Say how long it will take to reply.

Enforcement procedure

Explain how someone can complain if they are not satisfied with your response. The regulations say the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) handles complaints in England. The model statement includes this wording.

Technical information and testing

Say which version of WCAG you have tested against, when you last tested the website, who carried out the test, and how it was done.

Preparation and review dates

Say when the statement was first prepared and when it was last reviewed. GOV.UK says to "review the accessibility statement at least once a year".

Describing problems honestly

The most common problems on small council websites are:

  • Scanned agendas and minutes. A scanned PDF is an image. Screen readers cannot read it. If your council has published scanned documents since September 2018, describe this in the statement and say when you will fix it. Our guide to accessible parish council minutes explains how.
  • PDFs without structure. A PDF exported from Word without accessibility tags has no headings or lists that assistive technology can use.
  • Images without descriptions. Photos of planning sites, venue maps or event posters need alt text.
  • Links that say "click here". Screen reader users often scan a list of links. "Click here" does not tell them where the link goes.

An honest statement that lists real problems and a plan to fix them is better than a vague one that claims everything is fine.

Disproportionate burden

The regulations allow you to claim that fixing something would be a "disproportionate burden" if the cost is too high for the benefit. GOV.UK says you must carry out and record an assessment, and "you cannot take things like lack of time or knowledge into account" (GOV.UK: Understanding accessibility requirements).

Small councils can sometimes make a legitimate case. The 2025 Practitioners' Guide (paragraph 5.123) says an authority "does not have to buy a new website to comply with accessibility law if it places a disproportionate burden on the authority". But you must still explain this in your accessibility statement, say when you will reassess it, and provide alternative ways for people to get the information.

If you claim disproportionate burden, the statement must describe what is covered, the burden assessment you carried out, and when you plan to review it.

Where to publish the statement

GOV.UK says to publish the statement as a normal web page on your website, not as a PDF. Link to it from:

  • the footer of every page, or
  • prominently from your home page

Most council website templates include a footer link labelled "Accessibility" or "Accessibility statement".

Reviewing and updating

GOV.UK says to review the statement at least once a year and update it whenever:

  • you fix a problem you had listed
  • you find a new problem
  • you change your website significantly
  • you carry out a new accessibility test

Update the "last reviewed" date in the statement each time. The AGAR from 2025/26 onwards includes Assertion 10, which asks councils to confirm they meet accessibility requirements. The 2026 Practitioners' Guide says internal auditors should "check that website accessibility has been tested, at least annually, and that the accessibility statement has been updated as required". Read our explainer on AGAR Assertion 10.

Tools to help

Create your statement

Our free accessibility statement generator asks you the questions from the GOV.UK model and produces HTML you can paste into your website. It runs entirely in your browser and sends nothing to us. It is not a shortcut to skip testing your website: the statement must describe what you have actually found.

Fix the underlying problems

A statement describes your website, but it does not fix it. The most common issue for parish councils is scanned or inaccessible agendas and minutes.

ClerkPages turns the Word agendas and minutes you already write into accessible web pages, ready to link from your council's existing website. It handles headings, lists and tables and gives each document a permanent web address. £79 a year per council, with no need to move to a new website.

Create your statement (free) See ClerkPages pricing

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