This statement applies to content published on the www.engage.dhsc.gov.uk domain.
This website is run by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) digital team. 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:
- zoom in up to 300% without problems
- navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
- navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
- use most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)
How accessible this website is
Parts of this website are not fully accessible. For example:
- some pages and document attachments are not clearly written
- some pages have poor colour contrast
- some heading elements are not consistent
- some images do not have good alternative text
- some buttons are not correctly identified
- some documents are in PDF format and are not accessible
Request content in an accessible format
If you need information in a different format, contact DHSC and tell us:
- the web address (URL) of the content
- your name and email address
- the format you need, for example, audio CD, braille, BSL or large print, accessible PDF
Report accessibility problems with this website
If you find any problems that are not listed on this page or you think we’re not meeting the accessibility requirements, contact DHSC.
Enforcement procedure
If you contact us with a complaint and you’re 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’).
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
DHSC is committed to making its websites accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
This website is fully compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard.
Disproportionate burden
Not applicable
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
The following content does not need to comply with the accessibility requirement until September 2020, because it was published before September 2018.
Images on pages do not always have suitable alternative text
Some images are missing alternative text, some have incomplete text and some have ‘placeholder’ as alternative text. This fails WCAG 1.1.1A success criterion (Non-text Content). We plan to identify and fix these by September 2020
Headings on some pages are not in a logical nested order
We plan to identify and fix these by September 2020
Some other pages have content in different languages where the language is not identified
This fails WCAG 2.1 A 3.1.1 success criterion (Language of Page). We plan to identify and fix these by September 2020
Buttons on some pages do not have a correct role identified
This affects how they work with assistive technology and it fails WCAG 2.1A success criterion (Name, Role, Value). We plan to identify and fix these by September 2020
Error messages on some forms are unclear or lack clear association with particular form controls
This fails WCAG 2.1A 3.3.1 success criterion (Error Identification)
Guidance will be created to help content authors understand the requirements for captions and audio description for all new videos. This is related to WCAG 2.1A success criteria 1.2.2 (Captions (Prerecorded)) and 1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded).
PDFs and other documents
Many documents are not accessible in a number of ways including missing text alternatives and missing document structure. You can contact us to request a more accessible format.
How we tested this website
This website was and is currently being tested for compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines V2.1 level A and level AA, and these tests have been carried out internally.
We used the Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM) approach to deciding on a sample of pages to test.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We plan to identify and fix issues according to the timescales shown for each area above.
This statement was prepared on 23 September 2019. It was last updated on 10 October 2019.