Accessibility

Accessibility Statement for the UK Statistics Authority and Office for Statistics Regulation

How accessible the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA), Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) and Code of Practice for Statistics websites are and what we are doing to improve accessibility.

This accessibility statement applies to the UKSA website uksa.statisticsauthority.gov.uk, OSR website osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk and Code of Practice website code.statisticsauthority.gov.uk

Our websites

The UKSA, OSR and Code of Practice websites are run by the UK Statistics Authority and Office for Statistics Regulation. They are designed to be used by as many people as possible. We have made the website text as simple as possible to understand. 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)

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

How accessible our websites are

We know some parts of our websites are not fully accessible:

  • some filename downloads are not easy to read or understand
  • some documents are in PDF format and are not accessible
  • some non-HTML documents are not accessible

How to request content in an accessible format

If you need information from our websites in a different format please contact us and tell us:

  • the web address (URL) of the content
  • your name and email address
  • the format you want

We will reply within five days to let you know when we will be able to provide the information. We will consider each request but may not be able to provide an alternative accessible format on every occasion.

Reporting accessibility problems

If you find any problems that are not listed on this page or you think we are not meeting the accessibility requirements, contact us.

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 contact us with a complaint and you are not happy with our response contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Technical information about the websites’ accessibility

We are committed to making the UKSA, ONS and Code of Practice websites accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status of the website

Our websites are partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

  • Some older filename downloads are incomprehensible and cannot be easily read or understood. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 3.1 (readable) and 3.2 (predictable). All frequently used documents have had their filenames amended and all new files are uploaded and labelled correctly.
  • Many documents are in PDF format and are not accessible. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.1.1 (non-text content), 1.3.1 (info and relationships), 2.1.1 (keyboard), 2.4.1 (bypass blocks), 2.4.2 (page titled), 2.4.4 (link purpose (in context)), 2.4.9 (link purpose (link only)), and 3.1.1 (language of page). We have fixed the most used documents, as determined by Google Analytics, and aim to publish new content as HTML where possible in future, or in a PDF that meets accessibility standards. When a PDF must be published, users will be able to request an alternate version. (Please see disproportionate burden statement.)
  • Some older excel files contain extra information that is not data, which makes the data difficult to rework or manipulate. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.3.1 (info and relationships), 1.3.2 (meaningful sequence), 2.4.6 (headings and labels), 3.1.2 (language of parts), and 3.2.3 (consistent navigation). We are ensuring all excel files going forwards are fully accessible.

Disproportionate burden

Due to the nature of the work of UKSA and OSR, we produce a large number of PDFs to be published for transparency on our websites, which generate very little traffic. Because of this, we believe that making them all accessible would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility guidelines.

UKSA and OSR have newly formed and small Communications team, for whom the burden of updating historical PDFs would be detrimental to the ongoing work of the organisations. We have concentrated our efforts on ensuring future content on the websites is accessible, by providing in-depth training, developing accessible templates and encouraging the use of HTML over PDF wherever possible.

Content that is not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

PDFs and other documents

Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services. We have developed a suite of templates for the variety of publications, reports, board minutes and other documents we produce, to ensure they meet the accessibility regulations.

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they are not essential to providing our services. However, we will aim to update any PDFs that still generate significant traffic by 31 December 2021.

Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

Reporting accessibility problems

If you find any problems that are not listed on this page or you think we are not meeting the accessibility requirements, contact us.

Enforcement procedure

If you contact us with a complaint and you are not happy with our response contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

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”).

What we are doing to improve accessibility

We plan to identify and fix issues for our websites according to the timescales shown for each area above.

We are undertaking in-depth training throughout the organisations, as well as producing guidance for internal content producers. This guidance will be reviewed and updated on an annual basis.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was published on 22 September 2020. It was last reviewed and updated on 21 September 2022.

The UKSA, OSR and Code of Practice website were last tested on 17 September 2020.The test was carried out by www.dxw.com. DXW carried out both automated and manual testing using assistive technology, different web browsers and mobile device