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data-track-action="topicsLink" data-track-category="headerClicked" data-track-label="/browse/environment-countryside" data-track-dimension="Environment and countryside" data-track-dimension-index="29" data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"header menu bar","index":"1.1.12","index_total":29,"section":"Topics"}" href="/web/20230315210725/https://www.gov.uk/browse/environment-countryside">Environment and countryside</a> </li> <li class="gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__dropdown-list-item"> <a class="govuk-link gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__navigation-second-item-link" data-track-action="topicsLink" data-track-category="headerClicked" data-track-label="/browse/housing-local-services" data-track-dimension="Housing and local services" data-track-dimension-index="29" data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"header menu bar","index":"1.1.13","index_total":29,"section":"Topics"}" href="/web/20230315210725/https://www.gov.uk/browse/housing-local-services">Housing 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bar","index":"1.1.15","index_total":29,"section":"Topics"}" href="/web/20230315210725/https://www.gov.uk/browse/abroad">Passports, travel and living abroad</a> </li> <li class="gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__dropdown-list-item"> <a class="govuk-link gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__navigation-second-item-link" data-track-action="topicsLink" data-track-category="headerClicked" data-track-label="/browse/visas-immigration" data-track-dimension="Visas and immigration" data-track-dimension-index="29" data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"header menu bar","index":"1.1.16","index_total":29,"section":"Topics"}" href="/web/20230315210725/https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration">Visas and immigration</a> </li> <li class="gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__dropdown-list-item"> <a class="govuk-link gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__navigation-second-item-link" data-track-action="topicsLink" data-track-category="headerClicked" data-track-label="/browse/working" data-track-dimension="Working, jobs and pensions" data-track-dimension-index="29" data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"header menu bar","index":"1.1.17","index_total":29,"section":"Topics"}" href="/web/20230315210725/https://www.gov.uk/browse/working">Working, jobs and pensions</a> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="govuk-grid-column-one-third-from-desktop gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__column--government-activity"> <h3 class="govuk-heading-m gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__column-header"> Government activity </h3> <ul class="gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__navigation-second-items gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__navigation-second-items--government-activity"> <li class="gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__dropdown-list-item"> <a class="govuk-link gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__navigation-second-item-link gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__navigation-second-item-link--with-description" data-track-action="governmentactivityLink" data-track-category="headerClicked" data-track-label="/government/organisations" data-track-dimension="Departments" data-track-dimension-index="29" data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"header menu bar","index":"1.2.1","index_total":29,"section":"Government activity"}" href="/web/20230315210725/https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations">Departments</a> <p class="gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__navigation-second-item-description">Departments, agencies and public bodies</p> </li> <li class="gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__dropdown-list-item"> <a class="govuk-link gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__navigation-second-item-link gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__navigation-second-item-link--with-description" data-track-action="governmentactivityLink" data-track-category="headerClicked" data-track-label="/search/news-and-communications" data-track-dimension="News" data-track-dimension-index="29" data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"header menu bar","index":"1.2.2","index_total":29,"section":"Government activity"}" href="/web/20230315210725/https://www.gov.uk/search/news-and-communications">News</a> <p class="gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__navigation-second-item-description">News stories, speeches, letters and notices</p> </li> <li class="gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__dropdown-list-item"> <a class="govuk-link gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__navigation-second-item-link gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__navigation-second-item-link--with-description" data-track-action="governmentactivityLink" data-track-category="headerClicked" data-track-label="/search/guidance-and-regulation" data-track-dimension="Guidance and regulation" data-track-dimension-index="29" data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"header menu bar","index":"1.2.3","index_total":29,"section":"Government activity"}" href="/web/20230315210725/https://www.gov.uk/search/guidance-and-regulation">Guidance and regulation</a> <p class="gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__navigation-second-item-description">Detailed guidance, regulations and rules</p> </li> <li class="gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__dropdown-list-item"> <a class="govuk-link gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__navigation-second-item-link gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__navigation-second-item-link--with-description" data-track-action="governmentactivityLink" data-track-category="headerClicked" data-track-label="/search/research-and-statistics" data-track-dimension="Research and statistics" data-track-dimension-index="29" data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"header menu bar","index":"1.2.4","index_total":29,"section":"Government activity"}" href="/web/20230315210725/https://www.gov.uk/search/research-and-statistics">Research and statistics</a> <p class="gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__navigation-second-item-description">Reports, analysis and official statistics</p> </li> <li 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<h3 class="govuk-visually-hidden"> Search </h3> <div class="govuk-grid-row"> <div class="govuk-grid-column-full"> <form class="gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__search-form" id="search" data-module="ga4-form-tracker" data-ga4-form="{ "event_name": "search", "type": "header menu bar", "section": "Search GOV.UK", "action": "Search", "url": "/search/all" }" data-ga4-form-include-text action="/web/20230315210725/https://www.gov.uk/search" method="get" role="search" aria-label="Site-wide"> <div class="gem-c-search govuk-!-display-none-print gem-c-search--large gem-c-search--on-white gem-c-search--separate-label" data-module="gem-toggle-input-class-on-focus"> <label for="search-main-966d708c" class="govuk-label govuk-label--m">Search GOV.UK</label> <div class="gem-c-search__item-wrapper"> <input enterkeyhint="search" class="gem-c-search__item gem-c-search__input js-class-toggle" id="search-main-966d708c" name="q" title="Search" type="search" value=""> <div class="gem-c-search__item 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data-track-dimension="Coronavirus (COVID-19)" data-track-dimension-index="29" data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"header menu bar","index":"2.2.4","index_total":29,"section":"Popular on GOV.UK"}" href="/web/20230315210725/https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus">Coronavirus (COVID-19)</a> </li> <li class="gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__popular-item"> <a class="govuk-link gem-c-layout-super-navigation-header__popular-link" data-track-action="popularLink" data-track-category="headerClicked" data-track-label="/sign-in-universal-credit" data-track-dimension="Universal Credit account: sign in" data-track-dimension-index="29" data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"header menu bar","index":"2.2.5","index_total":29,"section":"Popular on GOV.UK"}" href="/web/20230315210725/https://www.gov.uk/sign-in-universal-credit">Universal Credit account: sign in</a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </header> <div class="gem-c-layout-for-public__blue-bar govuk-width-container"></div> <div id="wrapper" class="direction-ltr govuk-width-container"> <div class="gem-c-contextual-breadcrumbs"> <div data-module="gem-track-click ga4-link-tracker" class="gem-c-breadcrumbs govuk-breadcrumbs govuk-breadcrumbs--collapse-on-mobile"> <ol class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list"> <li class="govuk-breadcrumbs__list-item"> <a data-track-category="homeLinkClicked" data-track-action="homeBreadcrumb" data-track-label="" data-track-options="{}" data-ga4-link="{"event_name":"navigation","type":"breadcrumbs","index":{"index_link":"1"},"index_total":"1"}" class="govuk-breadcrumbs__link" href="/web/20230315210725/https://www.gov.uk/">Home</a> </li> </ol> </div> </div> <main role="main" id="content" class="help-page" lang="en"> <div class="govuk-grid-row"> <div class="govuk-grid-column-two-thirds"> <div class="gem-c-title govuk-!-margin-top-8 govuk-!-margin-bottom-8"> <h1 class="gem-c-title__text govuk-heading-xl"> Accessibility statement </h1> </div> </div> </div> <div class="govuk-grid-row"> <div class="govuk-grid-column-two-thirds"> <div class="responsive-bottom-margin"> <div class="gem-c-govspeak govuk-govspeak direction-ltr disable-youtube" data-module="govspeak"> <p>This statement applies to content published on the www.gov.uk domain. It does not apply to content on service.gov.uk subdomains (for example, www.registertovote.service.gov.uk).</p> <p>This website is run by the Government Digital Service. It is designed to be used by as many people as possible. The text should be clear and simple to understand. You should be able to:</p> <ul> <li>zoom in up to 300% without problems</li> <li>navigate most of the website using just a keyboard</li> <li>navigate most of the website using speech recognition software</li> <li>use most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)</li> </ul> <h2 id="how-accessible-this-website-is">How accessible this website is</h2> <p>Parts of this website are not fully accessible. For example:</p> <ul> <li>some pages and document attachments are not written in plain English</li> <li>some tables do not have row headings</li> <li>some documents have poor colour contrast</li> <li>some heading elements are not consistent</li> <li>some images do not have image descriptions</li> <li>some buttons are not correctly identified</li> <li>some error messages are not clearly associated with form controls</li> <li>many documents are in <abbr title="Portable Document Format">PDF</abbr> format and are not accessible</li> </ul> <p>Each department and agency which publishes content on GOV.UK is responsible for making sure it meets the accessibility regulations.</p> <h2 id="govuk-services">GOV.UK services</h2> <p>Each service has its own accessibility page, with details of how accessible the service is, how to report problems and how to request information in an alternative format. You can access these pages from the footer inside the service.</p> <h2 id="feedback-and-contact-information">Feedback and contact information</h2> <p><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20230315210725/https://www.gov.uk/contact/govuk">Tell us if you need information in a different format</a>.</p> <p>In your message, include:</p> <ul> <li>the web address (URL) of the content</li> <li>your email address and name</li> <li>the format you need - for example, plain text, braille, <abbr title="British Sign Language">BSL</abbr>, large print or audio CD</li> </ul> <p>You can request a <abbr title="Portable Document Format">PDF</abbr> in an accessible format from its page. Click ‘Request an accessible format’ to contact the organisation that published the document.</p> <p>You can also view the organisation’s <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20230315210725/https://www.gov.uk/search/all?parent=&keywords=%22accessible+document+policy%22&level_one_taxon=a544d48b-1e9e-47fb-b427-7a987c658c14&level_two_taxon=&manual=&public_timestamp%5Bfrom%5D=&public_timestamp%5Bto%5D=&topical_events=&order=relevance">accessible document policy</a> to report any problems or request documents in an alternative format.</p> <h2 id="reporting-accessibility-problems-with-this-website">Reporting accessibility problems with this website</h2> <p>If you find any problems that are not listed on this page or you think we’re not meeting the accessibility requirements, <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20230315210725/https://www.gov.uk/contact/govuk">contact us</a>.</p> <h2 id="enforcement-procedure">Enforcement procedure</h2> <p>If you contact us with a complaint and you’re not happy with our response <a rel="external" href="http://web.archive.org/web/20230315210725/https://www.equalityadvisoryservice.com/">contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (<abbr title="Equality Advisory and Support Service">EASS</abbr>)</a>.</p> <p>The Equality and Human Rights Commission (<abbr title="Equality and Human Rights Commission">EHRC</abbr>) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’).</p> <h2 id="technical-information-about-this-websites-accessibility">Technical information about this website’s accessibility</h2> <p>The Government Digital Service is committed to making its websites accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.</p> <h2 id="compliance-status">Compliance status</h2> <p>This website is partially compliant with the <a rel="external" href="http://web.archive.org/web/20230315210725/https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/">Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1</a> AA standard.</p> <h2 id="non-accessible-content">Non-accessible content</h2> <p>The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.</p> <h3 id="non-compliance-with-the-accessibility-regulations">Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations</h3> <ol> <li>Some tables in content do not have table row headers when needed. This means assistive technologies will not read the tables correctly. This fails <abbr title="Web Content Accessibility Guidelines">WCAG</abbr> 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).</li> <li>Images on some pages do not always have suitable image descriptions. Users of assistive technologies may not have access to information conveyed in images. This fails <abbr title="Web Content Accessibility Guidelines">WCAG</abbr> 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content).</li> <li>Some pages have duplicate titles. This may make it difficult for users to orient themselves and find the right content. This fails <abbr title="Web Content Accessibility Guidelines">WCAG</abbr> 2.4.2 success criterion (Page Titled).</li> <li>The change in the default written language is not correctly identified on some pages. This means screen readers will not read content correctly. This fails <abbr title="Web Content Accessibility Guidelines">WCAG</abbr> 2.1 success criterion 3.1.2 (Language of Parts).</li> <li>Translation Navigation is inconsistently named. This fails <abbr title="Web Content Accessibility Guidelines">WCAG</abbr> 2.1 success criterion 3.2.4 (Consistent Identification).</li> <li>Some pages cannot be found through more than one type of navigation. This fails <abbr title="Web Content Accessibility Guidelines">WCAG</abbr> 2.1 success criterion 2.4.5 (Multiple Ways).</li> <li>Some pages have inconsistently-placed language navigation. This fails <abbr title="Web Content Accessibility Guidelines">WCAG</abbr> 2.1 success criterion 3.2.4 success criterion (Consistent Identification).</li> <li>Some content looks like headings but is not. This makes it difficult for screen reader users to navigate the page. This fails <abbr title="Web Content Accessibility Guidelines">WCAG</abbr> 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).</li> <li>Some pages have poor colour contrast. This fails <abbr title="Web Content Accessibility Guidelines">WCAG</abbr> 2.1 success criterion 1.4.1 (Use of Colour).</li> <li>Many documents are in less accessible formats, for example <abbr title="Portable Document Format">PDF</abbr>. Non-HTML documents published on or after 23 September 2018 must have an accessible format.</li> </ol> <h4 id="pdfs-and-non-html-documents">PDFs and non-HTML documents</h4> <p>Many documents are not accessible in a number of ways including missing text alternatives and missing document structure.</p> <p>View the <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20230315210725/https://www.gov.uk/search/all?parent=&keywords=%22accessible+document+policy%22&level_one_taxon=a544d48b-1e9e-47fb-b427-7a987c658c14&level_two_taxon=&manual=&public_timestamp%5Bfrom%5D=&public_timestamp%5Bto%5D=&topical_events=&order=relevance">accessible document policy</a> of the organisation that published the document to report any problems or request documents in an alternative format. If more than one organisation is listed, view the accessible document policy of the first.</p> <h3 id="disproportionate-burden">Disproportionate burden</h3> <p>We believe that fixing the accessibility problems with some content would be disproportionate because the relevant platform will be retired soon.</p> <h4 id="applying-for-licences">Applying for licences</h4> <p>Some of the content used to apply for some types of licence is non-accessible. For example, <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20230315210725/https://www.gov.uk/temporary-events-notice">applying for a Temporary Events Notice</a>:</p> <ul> <li>adjacent links to the same pages mean it’s not easy to navigate using keyboard alone - this fails <abbr title="Web Content Accessibility Guidelines">WCAG</abbr> 2.1 success criterion 2.1.1 (Keyboard)</li> <li>some forms controls are not detectable by screen reader software - this fails <abbr title="Web Content Accessibility Guidelines">WCAG</abbr> 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value)</li> <li>some pages are missing a heading - this fails <abbr title="Web Content Accessibility Guidelines">WCAG</abbr> 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships)</li> </ul> <p>The non-accessible content used to apply for some types of licence is published through platforms which we are transitioning to new arrangements. We believe that fixing the problems causing content to be non-accessible on the old platforms would be disproportionate.</p> <h3 id="content-thats-not-within-the-scope-of-the-accessibility-regulations">Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations</h3> <p>Non-HTML documents published before September 2018 do not need to be accessible - unless users need them to use a service.</p> <h2 id="how-we-tested-this-website">How we tested this website</h2> <p>We use the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines V2.1 level A and level AA to test how accessible GOV.UK is.</p> <p>We used the Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (<abbr title="Web Content Accessibility Guidelines">WCAG</abbr>-EM) approach to decide on a sample of pages to test.</p> <p>We also tested a sample of pages involved in applying for licences.</p> <p>In April 2022, the Digital Accessibility Centre (<abbr title="Digital Accessibility Centre">DAC</abbr>) conducted an audit of a representative sample of pages on GOV.UK, from which common accessibility issues across the website were identified.</p> <h2 id="what-were-doing-to-improve-accessibility">What we’re doing to improve accessibility</h2> <p>Following the audit conducted by the <abbr title="Digital Accessibility Centre">DAC</abbr> in April 2022, departments and agencies are urgently fixing content which fails to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard.</p> <h2 id="preparation-of-this-accessibility-statement">Preparation of this accessibility statement</h2> <div role="note" aria-label="Information" class="application-notice info-notice"> <p>This statement was prepared on 23 September 2019. 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"name": "Accessibility statement", "datePublished": "2019-09-23T17:16:37.000+00:00", "dateModified": "2023-01-04T11:21:11.000+00:00", "text": "This statement applies to content published on the www.gov.uk domain. It does not apply to content on service.gov.uk subdomains (for example, www.registertovote.service.gov.uk)", "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "GOV.UK", "url": "http://web.archive.org/web/20230315210725/https://www.gov.uk", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "http://web.archive.org/web/20230315210725/https://www.gov.uk/assets/government-frontend/govuk_publishing_components/govuk-logo-73b5a4056ffe9988d02c728b56fe9fe7f90bb822322a5f6183ccbb92a99b019a.png" } }, "image": [ "http://web.archive.org/web/20230315210725/https://www.gov.uk/assets/government-frontend/govuk_publishing_components/govuk-schema-placeholder-1x1-bf9e64d759af6dfd93bede8168f3087a329f405b382aff36747db0db4b7b23e9.png", "http://web.archive.org/web/20230315210725/https://www.gov.uk/assets/government-frontend/govuk_publishing_components/govuk-schema-placeholder-4x3-13093f053c15f613acd827aff27cac83d3fab452947cbcae4c7b706dadf2f7f2.png", "http://web.archive.org/web/20230315210725/https://www.gov.uk/assets/government-frontend/govuk_publishing_components/govuk-schema-placeholder-16x9-4233cd42671827e266e284c4d5ae68fb600bd9f9e35dda663ccabbc2b6ab7ec3.png" ], "author": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Government Digital Service", "url": "http://web.archive.org/web/20230315210725/https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/government-digital-service" }, "headLine": "Accessibility statement", "description": "This statement applies to content published on the www.gov.uk domain. It does not apply to content on service.gov.uk subdomains (for example, www.registertovote.service.gov.uk)", "articleBody": "\u003cp\u003eThis statement applies to content published on the www.gov.uk domain. It does not apply to content on service.gov.uk subdomains (for example, www.registertovote.service.gov.uk).\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis website is run by the Government Digital Service. It is designed to be used by as many people as possible. The text should be clear and simple to understand. You should be able to:\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cul\u003e\n \u003cli\u003ezoom in up to 300% without problems\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003enavigate most of the website using just a keyboard\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003enavigate most of the website using speech recognition software\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003euse most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch2 id=\"how-accessible-this-website-is\"\u003eHow accessible this website is\u003c/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eParts of this website are not fully accessible. For example:\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cul\u003e\n \u003cli\u003esome pages and document attachments are not written in plain English\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003esome tables do not have row headings\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003esome documents have poor colour contrast\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003esome heading elements are not consistent\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003esome images do not have image descriptions\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003esome buttons are not correctly identified\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003esome error messages are not clearly associated with form controls\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003emany documents are in \u003cabbr title=\"Portable Document Format\"\u003ePDF\u003c/abbr\u003e format and are not accessible\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEach department and agency which publishes content on GOV.UK is responsible for making sure it meets the accessibility regulations.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2 id=\"govuk-services\"\u003eGOV.UK services\u003c/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEach service has its own accessibility page, with details of how accessible the service is, how to report problems and how to request information in an alternative format. You can access these pages from the footer inside the service.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2 id=\"feedback-and-contact-information\"\u003eFeedback and contact information\u003c/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.uk/contact/govuk\"\u003eTell us if you need information in a different format\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn your message, include:\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cul\u003e\n \u003cli\u003ethe web address (URL) of the content\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eyour email address and name\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003ethe format you need - for example, plain text, braille, \u003cabbr title=\"British Sign Language\"\u003eBSL\u003c/abbr\u003e, large print or audio CD\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eYou can request a \u003cabbr title=\"Portable Document Format\"\u003ePDF\u003c/abbr\u003e in an accessible format from its page. Click ‘Request an accessible format’ to contact the organisation that published the document.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eYou can also view the organisation’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.uk/search/all?parent=\u0026amp;keywords=%22accessible+document+policy%22\u0026amp;level_one_taxon=a544d48b-1e9e-47fb-b427-7a987c658c14\u0026amp;level_two_taxon=\u0026amp;manual=\u0026amp;public_timestamp%5Bfrom%5D=\u0026amp;public_timestamp%5Bto%5D=\u0026amp;topical_events=\u0026amp;order=relevance\"\u003eaccessible document policy\u003c/a\u003e to report any problems or request documents in an alternative format.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2 id=\"reporting-accessibility-problems-with-this-website\"\u003eReporting accessibility problems with this website\u003c/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIf you find any problems that are not listed on this page or you think we’re not meeting the accessibility requirements, \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.uk/contact/govuk\"\u003econtact us\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2 id=\"enforcement-procedure\"\u003eEnforcement procedure\u003c/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIf you contact us with a complaint and you’re not happy with our response \u003ca rel=\"external\" href=\"https://www.equalityadvisoryservice.com/\"\u003econtact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (\u003cabbr title=\"Equality Advisory and Support Service\"\u003eEASS\u003c/abbr\u003e)\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Equality and Human Rights Commission (\u003cabbr title=\"Equality and Human Rights Commission\"\u003eEHRC\u003c/abbr\u003e) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’).\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2 id=\"technical-information-about-this-websites-accessibility\"\u003eTechnical information about this website’s accessibility\u003c/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Government Digital Service is committed to making its websites accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2 id=\"compliance-status\"\u003eCompliance status\u003c/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis website is partially compliant with the \u003ca rel=\"external\" href=\"https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/\"\u003eWeb Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1\u003c/a\u003e AA standard.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2 id=\"non-accessible-content\"\u003eNon-accessible content\u003c/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3 id=\"non-compliance-with-the-accessibility-regulations\"\u003eNon-compliance with the accessibility regulations\u003c/h3\u003e\n\n\u003col\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eSome tables in content do not have table row headers when needed. This means assistive technologies will not read the tables correctly. This fails \u003cabbr title=\"Web Content Accessibility Guidelines\"\u003eWCAG\u003c/abbr\u003e 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eImages on some pages do not always have suitable image descriptions. Users of assistive technologies may not have access to information conveyed in images. This fails \u003cabbr title=\"Web Content Accessibility Guidelines\"\u003eWCAG\u003c/abbr\u003e 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content).\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eSome pages have duplicate titles. This may make it difficult for users to orient themselves and find the right content. This fails \u003cabbr title=\"Web Content Accessibility Guidelines\"\u003eWCAG\u003c/abbr\u003e 2.4.2 success criterion (Page Titled).\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eThe change in the default written language is not correctly identified on some pages. This means screen readers will not read content correctly. This fails \u003cabbr title=\"Web Content Accessibility Guidelines\"\u003eWCAG\u003c/abbr\u003e 2.1 success criterion 3.1.2 (Language of Parts).\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eTranslation Navigation is inconsistently named. This fails \u003cabbr title=\"Web Content Accessibility Guidelines\"\u003eWCAG\u003c/abbr\u003e 2.1 success criterion 3.2.4 (Consistent Identification).\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eSome pages cannot be found through more than one type of navigation. This fails \u003cabbr title=\"Web Content Accessibility Guidelines\"\u003eWCAG\u003c/abbr\u003e 2.1 success criterion 2.4.5 (Multiple Ways).\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eSome pages have inconsistently-placed language navigation. This fails \u003cabbr title=\"Web Content Accessibility Guidelines\"\u003eWCAG\u003c/abbr\u003e 2.1 success criterion 3.2.4 success criterion (Consistent Identification).\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eSome content looks like headings but is not. This makes it difficult for screen reader users to navigate the page. This fails \u003cabbr title=\"Web Content Accessibility Guidelines\"\u003eWCAG\u003c/abbr\u003e 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eSome pages have poor colour contrast. This fails \u003cabbr title=\"Web Content Accessibility Guidelines\"\u003eWCAG\u003c/abbr\u003e 2.1 success criterion 1.4.1 (Use of Colour).\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eMany documents are in less accessible formats, for example \u003cabbr title=\"Portable Document Format\"\u003ePDF\u003c/abbr\u003e. Non-HTML documents published on or after 23 September 2018 must have an accessible format.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\n\u003ch4 id=\"pdfs-and-non-html-documents\"\u003ePDFs and non-HTML documents\u003c/h4\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMany documents are not accessible in a number of ways including missing text alternatives and missing document structure.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eView the \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.uk/search/all?parent=\u0026amp;keywords=%22accessible+document+policy%22\u0026amp;level_one_taxon=a544d48b-1e9e-47fb-b427-7a987c658c14\u0026amp;level_two_taxon=\u0026amp;manual=\u0026amp;public_timestamp%5Bfrom%5D=\u0026amp;public_timestamp%5Bto%5D=\u0026amp;topical_events=\u0026amp;order=relevance\"\u003eaccessible document policy\u003c/a\u003e of the organisation that published the document to report any problems or request documents in an alternative format. If more than one organisation is listed, view the accessible document policy of the first.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3 id=\"disproportionate-burden\"\u003eDisproportionate burden\u003c/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWe believe that fixing the accessibility problems with some content would be disproportionate because the relevant platform will be retired soon.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch4 id=\"applying-for-licences\"\u003eApplying for licences\u003c/h4\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSome of the content used to apply for some types of licence is non-accessible. For example, \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.uk/temporary-events-notice\"\u003eapplying for a Temporary Events Notice\u003c/a\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cul\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eadjacent links to the same pages mean it’s not easy to navigate using keyboard alone - this fails \u003cabbr title=\"Web Content Accessibility Guidelines\"\u003eWCAG\u003c/abbr\u003e 2.1 success criterion 2.1.1 (Keyboard)\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003esome forms controls are not detectable by screen reader software - this fails \u003cabbr title=\"Web Content Accessibility Guidelines\"\u003eWCAG\u003c/abbr\u003e 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value)\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003esome pages are missing a heading - this fails \u003cabbr title=\"Web Content Accessibility Guidelines\"\u003eWCAG\u003c/abbr\u003e 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe non-accessible content used to apply for some types of licence is published through platforms which we are transitioning to new arrangements. We believe that fixing the problems causing content to be non-accessible on the old platforms would be disproportionate.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3 id=\"content-thats-not-within-the-scope-of-the-accessibility-regulations\"\u003eContent that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations\u003c/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNon-HTML documents published before September 2018 do not need to be accessible - unless users need them to use a service.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2 id=\"how-we-tested-this-website\"\u003eHow we tested this website\u003c/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWe use the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines V2.1 level A and level AA to test how accessible GOV.UK is.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWe used the Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (\u003cabbr title=\"Web Content Accessibility Guidelines\"\u003eWCAG\u003c/abbr\u003e-EM) approach to decide on a sample of pages to test.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWe also tested a sample of pages involved in applying for licences.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn April 2022, the Digital Accessibility Centre (\u003cabbr title=\"Digital Accessibility Centre\"\u003eDAC\u003c/abbr\u003e) conducted an audit of a representative sample of pages on GOV.UK, from which common accessibility issues across the website were identified.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2 id=\"what-were-doing-to-improve-accessibility\"\u003eWhat we’re doing to improve accessibility\u003c/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFollowing the audit conducted by the \u003cabbr title=\"Digital Accessibility Centre\"\u003eDAC\u003c/abbr\u003e in April 2022, departments and agencies are urgently fixing content which fails to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2 id=\"preparation-of-this-accessibility-statement\"\u003ePreparation of this accessibility statement\u003c/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cdiv role=\"note\" aria-label=\"Information\" class=\"application-notice info-notice\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis statement was prepared on 23 September 2019. It was last reviewed on 4 January 2023.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\n" } </script><script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "http://web.archive.org/web/20230315210725/http://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "name": "Home", "@id": "http://web.archive.org/web/20230315210725/https://www.gov.uk/" } } ] } </script> </body> </html>

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