Torbay Council

Cookie Policy

Standards

Our aim is to have an accessible, dynamic website that meets the needs of our citizens, and adheres to Government guidelines and standards.  We will try to provide accurate, up-to-date information that can be accessed by the public whether self-serving, via our contact centres or face to face at an office.

Accessibility

We will try to ensure that this website remains accessible to all, at all times, and have included an Accessibility page to help you use our site.  You can also find out more about the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the accessibility audits that we carry out.  Wherever possible Plain English opens in a new window has been used, rather than 'Council speak', so that you can understand the content from a single reading.
By working with our public, community and voluntary sector partners we will aim to ensure that the appropriate information can be accessed through our web site or via external links to other web sites.
For those who do not have access to a computer at home or school, etc., you can use one of our Library computers.  You can also find out about Wi-Fi access across the Bay.

Better Connected

Socitm opens in a new window (The Society of IT Management) carries out an annual survey (called Better Connected opens in a new window) on every UK local authority website .  This report identifies good practice in the development of local authority websites based on extensive evidence based research.
Socitm's reviewers carry out a structured survey (using specific scenarios based on key local authority services) and their research is also supplemented by data supplied by partner organisations (i.e. RNIB - accessibility; Sitemorse - resilience)
Over the years, Socitm's rating system has changed and they currently use a star rating system, with four stars being the highest. Details of Torbay Council's rating since 2004 are show below:

Sitemorse

As a Sitemorse opens in a new window subscriber, we regularly receive detailed, automated checks of our website performance to ensure:
Sitemorse also run quarterly reports opens in a new window assessing all UK Local Authority websites (it used to be monthly), and ranks them accordingly.

Emails and Feedback

All emails will be responded to within 10 working days.  Sometimes we will need longer to obtain an answer to your query.  If this is the case we will acknowledge your correspondence within 5 working days, tell you who is dealing with your enquiry and advise you of when you will receive a full reply.  We will use plain language and avoid using any unnecessary jargon.
If you have any suggestions with regard to the navigation and structure of this site you can either complete the page rating form (at the bottom of every page) or email webmaster@torbay.gov.uk and we will take your suggestions and comments on board.  Where we have been able to make changes to our website in response to your suggestions we will publish the details on our 'You Said We Did' page.

Monitoring and Reviewing

Our website has been designed with our citizens in mind, and not Torbay Council's structure, in the hope that you can find the relevant information quickly and easily without having to know which department deals with that particular service.  Our website is monitored on a regular basis by the Web Team and individual departments.  We collate statistics on a monthly basis and use them to ensure the information we are providing on our website is appropriate to our citizens' needs.



Contact