This accessibility statement applies to www.pdd.norfolk.gov.uk
This website is run by Norfolk County Council.
We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website.
For example, that means you should be able to:
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
We aim to meet the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at AA level.
However, we know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:
When you begin step 1 of setting up your Direct Debit online, you may be asked to solve a challenge to show you are not a robot. The challenge has the following accessibility issues:
Once you have completed step 3, you are emailed a link to complete your Direct Debit mandate. This takes you to a form with the following accessibility issues:
If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or Braille, email directdebits@norfolk.gov.uk
We're always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we're not meeting accessibility requirements, email directdebits@norfolk.gov.uk
We'll consider your request and get back to you in 3 working days.
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).
Norfolk County Council is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
The image buttons in the visual challenge do not have visible focus indicators. This means sighted users who use keyboard navigation will not be able to tell which button has keyboard focus. This fails WCAG 2.4.7 Focus Visible.
The 'Learn more' link is not descriptive enough as it's not clear it relates to Google/the reCAPTCHA. This means users may not understand where the link will take them. This fails WCAG 2.4.4 Link Purpose (in Context).
The dialog for the reCAPTCHA does not have an accessible name. This means screen reader users may struggle to identify the dialog purpose and contents. This fails WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value.
Form field error messages (eg. 'Please select all matching images') are not programmatically determinable without receiving focus. This means that visually impaired screen reader users may not notice when error messages appear. This fails WCAG 4.1.3 Status Messages.
The 'new challenge', 'audio/visual challenge', 'help' and 'download as mp3' buttons rely on slight changes of colour to show when they change between normal and focus states (the icon changes between a lighter grey to a darker grey, and the background changes between white and light grey). Some users may struggle to see this difference, so won't know when the buttons have changed state. This fails WCAG 1.4.1 Use of Color. The 'new challenge', 'audio/visual challenge', 'help' and 'download as mp3' buttons rely on slight changes of colour to show when they change between normal and hover states (the icon changes between a lighter grey to a darker grey). Some users may struggle to see this difference, so won't know when the buttons have changed state. This fails WCAG 1.4.1 Use of Color. The 'Enter what you hear' input border relies on a slight change of colour to show when it changes between normal (grey) and focus or selected states (blue). Some users may struggle to see this difference, so won't know when the input has changed state. This fails WCAG 1.4.1 Use of Color.
Input fields do not have visible focus when they have errored. This fails WCAG 2.4.7 Focus Visible.
'Click here to view' is coded as a h4 and 'Direct Debit Guarantee' is coded as a h5. This is misleading because the text doesn't function as a heading. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships and WCAG 2.4.6 Headings and Labels.
The 'Direct Debit reference' text field doesn't have an accessible name. This fails WCAG 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions. The 'Find' button is visually placed next to the 'Postcode' field to indicate that it relates to the field, but this is not communicated in the code. This means that screen reader users who can't see the page may not understand the function of the 'Find' button. This fails WCAG 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions. The 'Select address' form field that appears once the user has entered a postcode and activated the 'Find' button doesn't have an accessible name. This fails WCAG 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions.
There are several fields in the form that are required (ie. you can't submit the form without completing them). None of them communicate that they are required to assistive technologies. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships and WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value.
Several fields in the form collect the user's personal information but do not have an autocomplete attribute with the appropriate value. This means users won't be able to use some tools to help them populate or identify form fields. This fails WCAG 1.3.5 Identify Input Purpose.
When the user enters text into the 'Title' field then removes it, the field border turns red to indicate an error. This error is only communicated by this change in colour, meaning the users with some vision impairments may not realise the error is present. This fails WCAG 3.3.1 Error Identification. When some form fields error, they either don't have an error message or the error message doesn't sufficiently explain how to fix the error. For example, the 'Title' field doesn't have an error message and the 'Email address' error message only says 'Email address is invalid'. These don't include information to help the user fix the error. This fails WCAG 3.3.3 Error Suggestion. Error messages for the three fields in the 'Bank account information' section are not programmatically determinable without receiving focus. This fails WCAG 4.1.3 Status Messages.
The Norfolk County Council logo doesn't have a text alternative. That means that users with a vision impairment may not realise that the form relates to Norfolk County Council. This fails WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text Content.
When the user enters text into the 'Title' field then removes it, the field border turns red to indicate an error. This error is only communicated by this change in colour, meaning the users with some vision impairments may not realise the error is present. This fails WCAG 1.4.1 Use of Color. Checkboxes and buttons rely on a slight change of colour to indicate they have changed between normal and hover states. This means that users with some vision impairments may not be able to be able to tell when this has happened. This fails WCAG 1.4.1 Use of Color. Text and select fields rely on a slight change of colour to indicate they have changed between normal and focus or selected states (the border changes between grey and light blue, which contrast less than 3:1). This means that users with some vision impairments may not be able to be able to tell when this has happened. This fails WCAG 1.4.1 Use of Color. Text and select fields have a light blue border in focus and selected states. This light blue contrasts less that 3:1 with the white page background. This means that some users may not be able to see the field borders when they're in focus and selected states. This fails WCAG 1.4.11 Non-text Content.
This statement was prepared on 10 July 2026. The statement was last reviewed on 10 July 2026.
This website was last tested in July 2026 Norfolk County Council's Digital Customer Experience Team carried out the test.
We tested the website www.pdd.norfolk.gov.uk using automated and manual tests. We used:
We used a sample-based approach to auditing, based on the Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM).
