It is the policy of Central Bedfordshire Council to ensure that all web based information and services are widely accessible, regardless of disability, language, level of literacy or technology.

Wherever possible, Central Bedfordshire Council will make reasonable adjustments to ensure that information and services provided by our website can be accessed by, and are equally effective to, all users irrespective of personal circumstance.

We will comply with our general responsibilities under UK law, including the Equality Act 2010 and aspire to conform to level AA of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)W3C Content Accessibility Guidelines. These guidelines set out four over-riding principles:

Principle 1:Perceivable - Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive. This means that users must be able to perceive the information being presented (it can't be invisible to all of their senses)

Principle 2: Operable - User interface components and navigation must be operable. This means that users must be able to operate the interface (the interface cannot require interaction that a user cannot perform)

Principle 3: Understandable - Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable. This means that users must be able to understand the information as well as the operation of the user interface (the content or operation cannot be beyond their understanding) 

Principle 4: Robust - Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies. This means that users must be able to access the content as technologies advance (as technologies and user agents evolve, the content should remain accessible)

To support this policy, service Web Content Managers are subject to our "Writing for the Web" training which covers accessibility standards and guidelines, with respect to creating pages and publishing content. Each service is individually responsible for ensuring their pages comply with these standards, but are also monitored centrally to ensure consistency.

The Council is committed to ensuring the best possible user experience and values all feedback we receive from visitors to the website; helping us to continually develop and improve upon the information and services we provide. The council will take a pro-active approach to seeking regular feedback from users of our website.

You listen to our website using the free Dixerit Plus service or Browsealoud service. These services are easy to use, free, and help people who find it hard to read, such as those with dyslexia or learning difficulties, those for whom English is not their first language, and those with mild visual impairments. They are not designed to replace screen reader software such as JAWS.

The information on this website is provided in English but can be made available in different languages or formats (such as braille) on request. We can also help you if your first language is not English and you have difficulties communicating with a Council officer. Please tell the Council officer to arrange help through our Language Line Service. Please call 0300 300 8301.

Should you wish to translate any of our web pages, we have provided links to free translation service from the following websites. Please be aware that these websites are operated by independent companies and we have no control over the content of the sites or accuracy of translation:

Inevitably we won’t get everything right, but we are committed to addressing access issues. If you experience any difficulties in accessing our website, or have trouble using any aspect of the site, please contact us by emailing customers@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk.

We are monitoring the speed and quality of our response to all communications, and we aim to respond to email enquiries within five working days.

This privacy notice tells you what to expect when Central Bedfordshire Council collects personal information through the Council’s website. If you prefer, you can always contact the Council by telephone or in person to provide us with your personal information.

Central Bedfordshire Council endeavours to comply fully with the Data Protection Act 1998 in its handling of personal data.

Central Bedfordshire Council ensures any personal data collected will be retained securely for as long as necessary, and only used for legitimate Council activities to facilitate the delivery of Council services, or for the purpose of preventing and / or detecting fraud and / or crime, in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

We do not sell or give your data to other organisations for marketing purposes. A copy of Central Bedfordshire Council’s entry on the Data Protection Register can be found on the Information Commissioner’s Office website.

Central Bedfordshire Council’s Data Protection Policy is available from this website.

Central Bedfordshire Council uses eVisit to provide us with standard internet log information to help us improve our website for ease of use.

Cookies may be used on some parts of the Council’s website. They are widely used in order to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the site. Cookies used on Central Bedfordshire Council’s website cannot run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Our cookies can't read other data off your hard disk or read cookie files created by other sites. We do not use cookies for collecting personal user information.

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer by websites that you visit. They are stored on your computer and help us to recognise you if you return to our site at a later stage. This can save you time on future visits by storing information you may have previously entered onto our site. For example, they are used to verify who you are, for session management (session management is the process of keeping track of a user's activity across sessions of interaction with a website) and maintaining user site preferences.

You may block and / or delete cookies from this site, but this will have an impact on the site, as described in the table below.

Below is a list of the cookies Central Bedfordshire Council uses.

Cookie: eVisit Analyst
Name: evap12239, evas12239, evav12239
Purpose: Monitoring website traffic. Personally identifiable user information is not recorded.
More information: N/A
What happens if I delete this cookie?: The site will still work but the council will not have any data about your visit to the website to help us improve the site.

Cookie: GIS
Name: ASP.net session cookie
Purpose: The geographical information systems used on the site use cookies to aid session management for different users.
More information: More info on the GIS cookie. 
What happens if you block or delete this cookie?: The "where you are" function and other interactive maps on the site will not work.

Cookie: DynamicDrive. Animated Collasible DIV v2.4
Name: acgroupwithpersist. acopendivids.
Purpose: This is used for the rotating pictures in the "Your Council" tab of the site. Personally identifiable user information is not recorded.
More information: N/A
What happens if you block or delete this cookie?: The site will still work but the rotating pictures in the "Your Council" tab of the site will not work properly.

Most web browsers allow some control of most cookies through the browser settings. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit All about Cookies.

Where our website provides facilities for electronic payments the data collected through these pages are securely encrypted for your protection. You can check this in the address bar by ensuring that the address starts with https you can also use your browser to check the security certificate on any payment page.

You need to take care when entering details such as credit card data to ensure that your details cannot be seen by others standing near to you. You should be particularly careful if using a computer in a public place such as a library or internet café. When you have finished the transaction ensure that you have closed your browser so that another user cannot return to your details.

Do not save the website address for any payment page as the address may change and this also have an impact on your security.

You can read more advice and guidance about making payments online safely at the Get Safe Online website. The Bank Safe Online and Financial Fraud Action UK websites offer advice on safe online banking and using credit cards online.

Content contained in or linked to the Central Bedfordshire Council website is the property of the respective data owners, and includes information which may be subject to Crown Copyright.

Information that does not bear a copyright notice may be copied. For example, application forms.

Read Central Bedfordshire Council’s policy on the reuse of public sector information.

This privacy notice does not cover the links within this site to other websites. Nor does it necessarily apply to other websites that may be associated with Central Bedfordshire Council. We encourage you to read the privacy statements on the other websites you visit.

We keep our privacy notice under regular review. This privacy notice was last updated in October 2011.