Accessible documents policy
This accessibility statement applies to documents published by the Technical Advisory Board.
This policy explains how accessible the documents that the Technical Advisory Board (TAB) publishes on GOV.UK are. It covers PDFs, spreadsheets, presentations and other types of document. It does not cover content published on GOV.UK as HTML: the main GOV.UK accessibility statement will cover that.
Using our documents
The TAB may publish documents in a range of formats, however most will be in PDF.
We want as many people as possible to be able to use those documents. For example, when we produce a document we make sure to:
- provide an HTML option where possible
- tag headings and other parts of the document properly, so screen readers can understand the page structure
- make sure we include alt text alongside non-decorative images, so people who cannot see them understand what they’re there for
- avoid using tables, except when we’re presenting data
- write in plain English
How accessible our documents are
New documents we publish should be fully accessible.
However, we know that some of our older documents (published before 23 September 2018) are not accessible. For example, some of them may not be tagged up properly. This mostly applies to our annual reports. These types of documents are exempt from the regulations, so we do not currently have any plans to make them accessible.
But if you need to access information in one of these document types, you can contact us and ask for an alternative format.
What to do if you cannot use one of our documents
If you need a document we’ve published in a different format, please email the TAB Secretary at [email protected].
Reporting accessibility problems with one of our documents
We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of our documents. If you find any problems not listed on this page or you think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please email the TAB Secretary at [email protected].
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, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).
Technical information about the accessibility of our documents
The TAB is committed to making our documents accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
The documents the TAB publishes are partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.
Non accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Non compliance with the accessibility regulations
Some of our documents are not properly tagged, or do not use accessible headings or structures. This means that they do not meet the success criteria for navigation set out in standard 1.3.1 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA.
We plan to tag and use accessible headings and structures in all documents published after 23 September 2018.
When we publish new documents, we’ll make sure our use of tagging, headings and content structures meets accessibility standards.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
Many of our older PDF documents do not 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. For example, we do not plan to fix versions of our annual reports published before the above date.
Any new PDF or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.
How we tested our documents
We last tested a sample of our documents in November 2019. The test was carried out by the Home Office GOV.UK Content Team.
We tested:
- 10% of PDF documents published after September 2019
- any forms which have had more than 100 unique page views in the past year
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We’re improving accessibility by carrying out accessibility checks on all our new documents.
We are implementing processes and requirements to ensure that new TAB publications meet the accessibility requirements in WCAG 2.1. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA.
This page was prepared on 4 February 2020. It was last updated on 4 February 2020.