- Scope
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Accessibility legislation (on legislation.gov.uk website) states that public sector websites must publish content in an accessible format, unless doing so would impose a disproportionate burden on the organisation. If that is the case, an assessment of the extent to which compliance with the accessibility requirement imposes a disproportionate burden must be carried out.
This is a Disproportionate Burden Assessment for the Clinical waste application form which is in Word format.
- Benefits of making accessible
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The benefits of creating an HTML version of this PDF would be:
- a fully accessible version for all users to access
- an easily searchable and indexable version
- Burden of making accessible
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The form allows for Council and ODS records to show that a resident has an approved medical need for a clinical waste collection. The form requires a 'wet' signature from a medical practitioner to confirm the clinical waste that is to be collected.
The HTML process would need to have functionality for a person to be able to leave their ‘mark’ to confirm medical approval that a resident has medical reasons for a clinical waste collection service. Without this option, it could open the service to fraudulent and potentially hazardous behaviour, as the Council will not be able to confirm a resident has legitimate clinical waste to dispose of.
The form would need significant development to enable the stated ‘marks’ to be made on an electronic device, for submission to the Council. The annual average number of 100 applications the Council receives each year, would be disproportionate to the investment in technology required to provide an online only form.
- Other factors
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Also relevant to this decision are that:
- Requests for additionally accessible versions are rare - no resident has requested an accessible version of a previous version of the document
- We will always assist with accessible versions on request
- Assessment
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We assess that the cost involved in creating a fully accessible process to replace the current Word document would place an undue burden on the Council, given the small number of requests received per year.
Oxford City Council supports residents with accessible needs as much as possible and we will respond to all requests from users that relate to this form.
The current Word version of the Clinical waste application form meets the needs of the relevant residents. It can be printed locally to allow the 'wet' signature to be included. Where printing is not an option, the Council can provide a paper version to be sent to the home for completion.
- Date of assessment
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13 February 2025
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