Accessibility statement for UK Data Service website

This accessibility statement applies to www.ukdataservice.ac.uk, census.ukdataservice.ac.uk and beta.ukdataservice.ac.uk.

This website is run by the UK Data Service. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website and we are actively working to increase the accessibility and usability of our resources.

For example, that means you should be able to:

• change colours, contrast levels and fonts
• zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
• navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
• navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
• listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are currently not fully accessible:

• some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard
• you cannot skip to the main content when using a screen reader
• some of our PDF and word documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
• some of the colours on our data catalogue button and some sub-menus of our My Account area have low contrast
• some links contain no text

The main UK Data Service website is currently undergoing a major update with the aim of rectifying some identified accessibility issues whilst making it more user friendly for everyone to use. The new website is scheduled to launch in 2021 (the original September launch date was delayed due to the impact of COVID-19).

We will continue to review older documents that currently have accessibility issues with the intention of moving these to a more accessible format in the future. Staff who provide content for the website are being made aware of accessibility requirements and are being trained to enable them to address these when adding new content and documents to the website.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format such as accessible PDFs, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please:

• email comms@ukdataservice.ac.uk
• call (0)1206 872001

We’ll consider your request and endeavour to get back to you within seven working days.

If you cannot get through on the above phone number, please leave a voicemail – we are checking our voicemail regularly.
If you can’t view the map on our ‘contact us’ page, call or email us for directions.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that aren’t listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact: Fiona Lemon or Annette Pasotti, Marketing and Communications Managers, on 01206 872001 or by email: comms@ukdataservice.ac.uk.

Enforcement procedure

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, please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

If you contact us before your visit we can arrange liaison with local agencies to provide sign language interpreters or lip speakers through Essex University's Disability Service, subject to cost and availability. We hope to provide audio induction loops in the future, once we have the required technology to host this service.

Find out how to contact us.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The UK Data Service is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

Non accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

• There is no mechanism to bypass blocks of content that are repeated on multiple pages. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.1 (bypass blocks).
• Navigation does not always behave consistently. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.2.3 (consistent navigation).
• Some form fields in our data catalogue, My Account area and help forms are not marked up appropriately and do not behave as expected. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.3.2 (labels or instructions).
• Some documents do not have bookmarks, headings may not be properly tagged and some may not have alternative text for some images. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.1.1 (non-text content), 1.3.1 (info and relationships, 2.4.1 (bypass blocks) and 2.4.5 (multiple ways).
• Some pages are not fully operable through a keyboard and focus cannot always be moved away from a component. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criteria 2.1.1 (keyboard) and 2.1.2 (no keyboard trap).
• Colour contrast on the data catalogue button, which features on many pages, does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.3 (Contrast). A few page titles within the sub-menu of the My Account area do not meet this criterion, also.
• The language is not set on some web pages. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.1.1 (language of page)
• Some links contain no text. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.4. (Link purpose (in context)).

Many of the non-compliances identified above will be rectified when we launch our new UK Data Service website in 2021. A number of our associated websites will also be updated and moved to this new, more accessible platform, on that date. However, some of our services, including the My Account area, will be moved over to the new platform in 2021, during the next phase of our web development plan.

Disproportionate burden

We will soon be launching a new website which will address many of the non-compliances identified on our main website and some of our associated websites. However, some of our older associated websites will not be moved to the new platform and we believe the cost of doing so would present a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

PDFs and other documents

Many of our older PDFs and Word documents don’t meet accessibility standards - for example, they may not be structured so they’re accessible to a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (name, role value).

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services. However, we plan to fix some PDFs or other documents as part of the new website launch (or replace them with accessible HTML pages). We have also run accessibility training for staff to enable them to make future digital content and documents more accessible going forward. Any new or updated PDFs or Word documents that we publish will meet accessibility standards.

Live video

We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We will launch a new website in 2021, which has been redesigned to address many of the accessibility issues identified. This was originally scheduled for launch in September, but was delayed due to COVID-19.

We will also run regular accessibility checks, ensure that new content added to the website meets accessibility requirements and review some of the older documents that currently have accessibility issues with the intention of moving these to a more accessible format.

Staff who provide content for the website are aware of accessibility requirements and will consider these when adding new content to the site. We will be publishing a roadmap shortly, which will provide detail on how we plan to improve accessibility for this website.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 19 November 2020.

This website was last tested on 21 September 2020. The test was carried out by the UK Data Service Communications team who undertook a basic accessibility check, as outlined on the gov.uk website. We selected a sample of pages, based on the recommendations outlined in the gov.uk basic accessibility check guidelines. Samples included our homepage, sample web pages with mainly text or video, navigation pages including our data catalogue, pages that require logging in and forms. Samples were chosen with a preference for pages that are more popular with our users.

A new UK Data Service website is due to be launched in 2021, which will rectify many of the accessibility issues that have been identified on the old site. A more thorough accessibility check will be carried out on the new website by the design consultants who have built it and any accessibility fails will be identified in an updated version of this accessibility statement. We assessed the cost of paying for a third-party auditor for the current website, but this would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the law in light of the imminent launch of the new website.

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