The CardiffGov app launched in 2018 and provides customers with the functionality to send reports, check waste collections and manage council tax.
This accessibility statement applies to CardiffGov mobile application developed by Cardiff Council. We also have an
accessibility statement for our website.
This mobile application is run by Cardiff Council. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this mobile application.
For example, that means you should be able to:
- change colours, contrast levels and fonts,
- navigate most of the mobile application using keyboard only,
- navigate most of the mobile application using speech recognition software, and
- listen to most of the mobile application using a screen reader.
We have also made the mobile application text as simple as possible to understand.
AbilityNet
External link opens in a new window has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
How accessible this mobile application is
We know some parts of this mobile application are not fully accessible. These include:
- Council Tax section
- E-payments
- Online map
Feedback and contact information
Non-accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Text that looks like a heading, programmatically associated labels and placeholder labels
How this affects the user:
When using screen readers on iOS and Android you will not be informed of the field labels once you start completing the field. Text that appears visually as a heading does not read as a heading. This affects most of the app.
Action taken:
We have tried to use Xamarin Forms AutomationProperty.LabeledBy property but this doesn't work on iOS (mentioned in
documentation on Xamarin Forms Automation Property LabeledByExternal link opens in a new window). No sign of Xamarin forms fixing this. As an alternative we looked at Xamarin Community Toolkit's Semantic Effects.
Outcome:
Cardiff Developers unable to fix due to third party bug.
Future plan:
Updated November 2023 - Xamarin to fix bug or upgrade their platform to MAUI. MAUI is now available. Our Developers are carrying out further investigation. Review in May 2024.
Text that looks like a list
How this affects the user:
When using screen readers on iOS and Android some bulleted lists will not be read out as lists.
Action taken:
We changed the privacy statement to appear in a web view. This has fixed the issue on iOS but not on Android.
Outcome:
Not fixed currently.
Future plan:
Updated November 2023 - All attempts to fix this issue have been unsuccessful. This remains an issue for users. Review in May 2024.
How this affects the user:
If you are using iOS or Android you will not be able to zoom text size to 200% on the ‘Enter and address’ field. This affects most of the app.
Action taken:
Most areas of the app where this caused an issue have been fixed however when the text is set to maximum size it causes a problem on the enter an address field.
Outcome:
Not fixed currently.
Future plan:
Updated November 2023 - All attempts to fix this issue have been unsuccessful. This remains an issue for users. Review in May 2024.
Pop-ups
How this affects the user:
If you are using a keyboard on an Android device you will not be able to navigate to the pop ups. This affects most of the app.
Action taken:
Raised bug on GitHub about keyboard focus. Not able to set keyboard focus on pop up. Focus remains on screen behind pop up by default. No way to set focus on pop up content.
Outcome:
Cardiff Developers unable to fix due to third party bug.
Future plan:
Updated November 2023 - RG.plugin nuget bug is being addressed as part of MAUI upgrade. Our Developers to investigate. Review in May 2024.
Select options
How this affects the user:
If you are using a keyboard on an Android device you will not be able to select an address or select cancel. This affects all address searching on the app.
Action taken:
Fragments.BottomSheetDialogFragment has no functionality for keyboard accessibility. This is an Android native feature. Developers would have to implement custom fix. Investigation carried out into several potential changes to third party solutions plus tried the newer approach of native android popup, but that too has the same issue. Developer findings are that none of these would fix the bug.
Outcome:
Project team have decided to leave this in anticipation of android fix rather than custom code around it.
Future plan:
Updated November 2023 - MAUI upgrade should provide potential fix. Our Developers will not need to rely on Android or iOS updates. Review in May 2024.
Links
How this affects the user:
If you are using a keyboard on an iOS device you will not be able to access the links in the Council Tax privacy statement, recycling centre terms and conditions or bulky collection terms and conditions pages.
Action taken:
Developers continuing to work on fix.
Outcome:
Not fixed currently.
Future plan:
Updated November 2023 - Continuing to investigate with a view to fixing in a future release. Review in May 2024.
Search
How this affects the user:
If you are using a keyboard on an Android device you will not be able to tab successfully through the search section of the ‘Report it’ page in the order expected.
Action taken:
Thorough investigation by Developers. No bugs raised.
Outcome:
Unable to fix.
Future plan:
Updated November 2023 - MAUI upgrade should provide potential fix. Our Developers will not need to rely on Android update. Review in May 2024.
Adding an image
How this affects the user:
If you are using a keyboard on an iOS device you will not be able to remove an image once you have added it to your report. This affects all report types.
Action taken:
Native iOS issue. Developers would have to implement custom fix. We use we use iOS's UIAlertController - UIAlertController | Apple Developer Documentation
Outcome:
Project team have decided to leave this in anticipation of iOS fix rather than custom code around it.
Future plan:
Updated November 2023 - Actively monitoring iOS fix. Review in May 2024.
Deleting a reminder
How this affects the user:
If you are using a keyboard on an iOS device you will not be able to use the ‘Delete a reminder’ pop up on the Collection reminders page.
Action taken:
Native iOS control issue. Developers would have to implement custom fix.
Outcome:
Project team have decided to leave this in anticipation of iOS fix rather than custom code around it.
Future plan:
Updated November 2023 - Actively monitoring iOS fix. Review May 2024.
Selecting options
How this affects the user:
If you are using a keyboard on an iOS device you will need to tab through the whole screen to select an option from dropdowns. This affects most of the app.
Action taken:
Native iOS control issue. Developers would have to implement custom fix.
Outcome:
Project team have decided to leave this in anticipation of iOS fix rather than custom code around it.
Future plan:
Updated November 2023 - Actively monitoring iOS fix. Review May 2024.
Not available to report on app
Action taken:
Native iOS control issue. Developers would have to implement custom fix.
Outcome:
Project team have decided to leave this in anticipation of iOS fix rather than custom code around it.
Future plan:
Updated November 2023 - Actively monitoring iOS fix. Review May 2024.
Maps
How this affects the user:
If you are using a keyboard on an Android device you will not be able to use the map pop up on the ‘Pick up bags or caddy liners’ page.
Action taken:
Raised bug on GitHub re keyboard focus. Not able to set keyboard focus on pop up. Focus remains on screen behind pop up by default. No way to set focus on pop up content.
Outcome:
Cardiff Developers unable to fix due to third party bug.
Future plan:
Updated November 2023 - RG.plugin nuget bug is being addressed as part of MAUI upgrade. Our Developers to investigate and review in May 2024. How this affects the user:
If you are using the ‘TalkBack’ screen reader on an Android device the hamburger menu will be read as ‘Ok’ throughout the app.
Action taken:
Github ticket raised for bug in Xamarin.
Outcome:
Cardiff Developers unable to fix due to third party bug.
Future plan:
Updated November 2023 - Xamarin to fix bug or upgrade their platform to MAUI. MAUI is now available. Our Developers are carrying out further investigation. Review in May 2024.
How this affects the user:
If you are using a keyboard on an iOS or Android device you will not be able to use some of the pop ups throughout the app.
Action taken:
Raised bug on GitHub re keyboard focus. Not able to set keyboard focus on pop up. Focus remains on screen behind pop up by default. No way to set focus on pop up content.
Outcome:
Cardiff Developers unable to fix due to third party bug.
Future plan:
Updated November 2023 - RG.plugin nuget bug is being addressed as part of MAUI upgrade. Our Developers to investigate and review in May 2024.
How this affects the user:
If you are using a keyboard on an Android device you will not be able to use all of the drop downs in the app.
Action taken:
Investigation and attempted fixes.
Outcome:
Cardiff Developers unable to fix due to third party bug.
Future plan:
Updated November 2023 - Xamarin to fix bug or upgrade their platform to MAUI. MAUI is now available. Our Developers are carrying out further investigation. Review in May 2024.
Placeholder text
How this affects the user:
When using screen readers on iOS and Android you will not be informed of the field labels once you start completing the field. This affects most of the app.
Action taken:
We have tried to use Xamarin Forms AutomationProperty.LabeledBy property but this doesn't work on ios (mentioned in
documentation on Xamarin Forms Automation Property Labeled ByExternal link opens in a new window ). No sign of Xamarin forms fixing this. As an alternative we looked at Xamarin Community Toolkit's Semantic Effects. GitHub bug raised.
Outcome:
Cardiff Developers unable to fix due to third party bug.
Future plan:
Updated November 2023 - Xamarin to fix bug or upgrade their platform to MAUI. MAUI is now available. Our Developers are carrying out further investigation. Review in May 2024.
Back arrow
How this affects the user:
If you are using an Android device the back arrow in the header will be read by TalkBack as ‘unlabelled’. This affects most of the app.
Action taken:
Investigation revealed this as an Android native feature. Developers would have to implement custom fix.
Outcome:
Project team have decided to leave this in anticipation of android fix rather than custom code around it.
Future plan:
Updated November 2023 - Actively monitoring Android fix. Review May 2024.
Disproportionate burden
Orientation - Disproportionate burden assessment
Our app has been developed to be used in portrait mode. Enabling orientation to landscape will cause loss of functionality across all app services and UI.
Scope
This assessment relates to the orientation of the Cardiff Gov App. The app is currently fixed in portrait mode.
Benefits
The benefits of making the app capable of rendering in landscape mode would be:
- Greater flexibility for users to view and navigate app on phones
- Greater flexibility for users to view and navigate app on tablets
Burden
Our assessment of the burden to redevelop the app so that it can render effectively on both portrait and landscape mode is that all areas of the app will need development. Investigation and development would have to take place around the following (this list is not exhaustive):
- the iShare map (third party)
- Android – restarting app every time device is rotated
- Android - camera reloads app
- Android - keyboard conceals screen iOS – unable to see typing on screen council tax integration with Northgate (third party)
- every screen in the app would need UI changes.
Other factors
Also relevant to this decision are that:
- Desire to use the app in landscape is low - we have not received any feedback, suggestion or complaint from customers in relation to this functionality.
- The app currently meets accessibility requirements for a large number of users.
Assessment
We consider that the costs of redeveloping the app to enable orientation from portrait to landscape where there is no evidence of demand would be a poor use of limited resources and would represent a disproportionate burden on the organisation in terms of cost.
Assessment date: 2 April 2022
Last edited: 8 April 2022
What we are doing to improve accessibility
We aim to fix the issues identified in the timescales shown. We will continue to talk to third party providers to see what improvements can be made to their applications.
Preparation of this accessibility statement