Digital inclusion – our work to make sure public sector websites are accessible

Lots of us rely on being able to access information about everyday services easily online. Forgotten when you need to put the recycling out? You check online. Need a repeat prescription? You request online. Want a new passport? You apply online.

But it’s not easy for everyone.

Technology can bring many benefits, but it can also pose risks to equality and human rights.

We know that an increasing focus on digital services can risk discriminating against and excluding people who cannot access them. Disabled people and older people particularly often face obstacles when trying to access online services.?

What’s the problem?

Problems can include:

• Poor website colour contrasts
• Requirements to enter personal security information
• Missing text descriptions on graphics
• Confusing navigation and other issues such as no text to speech translation

Any one of these problems can make a website challenging, if not impossible, to use. In addition, that means whole groups of people can be excluded from accessing information or services they need.

What’s the solution?

‘The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018’ is a good start.

As the name suggests, they apply to public sector websites and apps, and say they must be ‘perceivable, operable, understandable and robust’.

More specifically, to meet the legal requirements, public sector websites or mobile apps must:

• Meet the current?international WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standard? - although there may be?valid legal reasons for not meeting accessibility standards
• Publish an accessibility statement that explains how accessible the website or mobile app is

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What’s our role?

At the Equality and Human Rights Commission, we’re responsible for enforcing the regulations.

We work closely with the Government Digital Service (GDS) to do this. GDS carry out sample accessibility checks on public sector websites, ranging from universities to local authorities. They give each organisation a website monitoring report which lists any issues and gives a deadline for fixing them. I’m pleased to say that the vast majority of organisations do take action when approached by GDS.

However, if an organisation doesn’t engage with GDS and fix the issues, they’re referred to us. We then write to them giving another deadline for them to explain what they’ve done to resolve the issues on their website.

Between February 2021 and March 2022, we wrote to eighteen organisations. Eleven made the improvements needed, including a local authority, a public financial institution and several other regulators. In fact, one organisation completely re-designed their website after talking to us.

We’re currently taking early enforcement steps against a further eighteen organisations. We’re confident that we can work with these public sector bodies to make the necessary changes to their websites, and make their services accessible to everyone. However, we will use further enforcement powers where necessary.??

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Why does it matter?

Public sector organisations across England, Scotland and Wales have a duty – called the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) - to anticipate what they need to do to make their services accessible to their disabled customers. A website that is not accessible may also be in breach of the Equality Act 2010 for failing to make a ‘reasonable adjustment’.

It’s the law, but digital inclusion also makes good business sense.

In the government’s digital and data strategy , it anticipates that plans to update old tech and streamline processes, will generate more than ￡1 billion savings by 2025 by eliminating unnecessary costs of paper based services. The strategy aims to ensure that key online government services become easier for people to use thanks to upgrades and investment over the next three years.

Helping public sector bodies comply with the regulation

We know that the technical standards (WCAG2.1 ) are just that - technical. They can seem difficult for service providers to decipher and implement. However, they are an essential set of internationally recognised standards to improve website accessibility. Additionally, there is help to understand what they mean available.

GDS has published guidance to help public bodies make sure their sites are compliant . We recommend organisations act on this guidance and routinely check their sites to ensure they adhere to WCAG2.1 as well as getting ready for the nine new standards featured in the upcoming WCAG2.2.

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Our top tips for those running public sector websites:

• Consider accessibility at every stage of your website’s development in the early planning and design stage, and in regular reviews.
• Don’t wait for a service user to raise a complaint – identify any issues yourself!
• Make sure that the contact details – including any mailboxes specified on your website accessibility statement - are always monitored.
• If you are contacted by GDS, engage and work with them to correct any issues.

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Our top tips for anyone having problems using a public sector website:

• Contact the organisation directly if you’re having issues or need information in an alternative format. Public sector bodies are required to publish an accessibility statement on their website which should include a way to contact them.
• If the organisation doesn’t fix the issue, get in touch with the Equality Advisory Support Service .

At the Commission, we have a number of regulatory tools we can use to make sure organisations comply with the regulation and the Equality Act 2010.

Making sure public sector websites are accessible to everyone is essential and a vital step to making online services accessible to all.

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Want to know more about our work in this area?

In our strategic plan , we talk more about how we will address the equality and human rights impact of digital services.