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Accessibility statement

Updated 22/09/2023

© Crown copyright 2021

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk.

Where we have identified any third-party copyright information, you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at https://www.pensionsdashboardsprogramme.org.uk/accessibility-statement/

Contents

  1. Accessibility statement for the Pension Dashboard Programme website
  2. Feedback and contact information
  3. Technical information about this website’s accessibility
  4. Non-accessible content
  5. What we’re doing to improve accessibility
  6. Preparation of this accessibility statement

Accessibility statement for the UK Pensions Dashboards Programme website

This accessibility statement applies to the domain https://www.pensionsdashboardsprogramme.org.uk/

This website is run by the Money and Pensions Service. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to do the following:

  • 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)
  • access the site on smaller devices

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

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 not fully accessible:

  • Some parts of the site cannot be navigated via keyboard, and some parts fail to make the keyboard focus visible. Some elements cannot be closed with the keyboard.
  • The use of headings throughout the site is inconsistent — some heading levels are skipped on some pages, and some heading elements contain no text.
  • Tab order and focus order do not always work as expected.
  • The prerecorded videos provide only auto-generated captions, which contain missing or incorrect content and sometimes obscure important video content. Furthermore, the auto-generated captions are not always in synchronisation with the videos.
  • Some buttons do not work as expected: some behave like links, and others trigger an unexpected change of context.
  • Some data tables do not adequately define the scope of row and column headings.
  • Mobile device interaction does not always work as expected: sometimes the order in which content is presented does not match the visual layout of the page, some elements do not close in response to a gesture, and the search and menu interaction do not work as expected.
  • Some images have missing or inadequate alternative text, and some parts of the site display text as images.
  • Some parts of the site present new or updated content when appropriate, but they do not alert assistive technology that the content has changed.
  • Some linked images contain no link text, and some are image links with missing or inadequate alt text. Furthermore, some social media icons are missing the links.
  • Some links have link text (e.g. “Read more”) that does not make sense out of context.
  • Some parts of the website have inadequate colour contrast in text or images.
  • Some forms give unhelpful error messages, some do not place the focus on the first error when the form is validated, and some contain elements with missing labels.
  • Some iFrames lack titles.
  • Some PDFs are not fully accessible to screen reader software and/or keyboard navigation.

More information on the accessibility issues appears in the section on non-accessible content, below.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format, such as accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or Braille, feel free to contact us:

  • Email: accessibility@maps.org.uk
  • Write: Pensions Dashboards Programme, 120 Holborn, London EC1N 2TD
  • Visit: 120 Holborn, London EC1N 2TD

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that we haven’t listed on this page, or if you think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, we’d love to hear from you. Please send us an email in which you describe the problem and tell us which page you were using when it happened. Send this email to accessibility@maps.org.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, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

Our offices are currently closed because of Covid-19 restrictions. Once we reopen, you will be welcome to contact us in advance, so that we can arrange reasonable accommodation for your visit. For example, you will be able to request a space with low lighting or low noise levels, or you can ask us to arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.

Find out how to contact us.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The Money and Pensions 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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

This section lists the key ways in which this website fails to meet the WCAG 2.1 success criteria. It includes all violations of A and AA success criteria and all issues that the independent audit found to be serious or critical. It includes minor issues only if they relate to a Level A or AA criterion. The issues appear in sequential order of the applicable success criteria.

Some images have missing or inadequate alternative text. This fails the following WCAG 2.1 success criterion: 1.1.1 (Non-text Content, Level A). We plan to ensure that all infographics and other images have appropriate alternative text by 29/12/2023.

The mobile menu provides no context to assistive technology users. This fails the following WCAG 2.1 success criteria: 1.1.1 (Non-text Content, Level A); 2.4.4 (Link Purpose (in context), Level A). We plan to ensure that the mobile menu provides context by 29/12/2023.

Some buttons do not function as expected, and some provide no context to assistive technology users. This fails the following WCAG 2.1 success criteria: 1.1.1 (Non-text Content, Level A); 2.4.4 (Link Purpose (in context), Level A). We plan to ensure that all buttons function properly and provide context to assistive technology users by 29/12/2023.

Some linked images fail to indicate their purpose, usually because either they contain no link text or they are image links with missing or inadequate alt text. This fails the following WCAG 2.1 success criteria: 1.1.1 (Non-text Content, Level A); 2.4.4 (Link Purpose (in Context), Level A). We plan to update all links so that they indicate their purpose by 29/12/2023.

Some pre-recorded videos either have auto-generated captions or have no captions at all. This fails the following WCAG 2.1 success criterion: 1.2.2 (Captions (Pre-recorded), Level A). We plan to provide non-auto-generated video captions for all pre-recorded videos by 29/12/2023.

On some videos, the auto-generated captions contain errors and are incomplete and out of synchronisation with the audio content, and sometimes they obscure some of the text in the video presentations. This fails the following WCAG 2.1 success criterion: 1.2.2 (Captions (Pre-recorded), Level A). We plan to provide, by 29/12/2023, non-auto-generated captions that are correct, complete, and in synchronisation with the audio content.

Some landmark regions do not contain the expected content. This fails the following WCAG 2.1 success criterion: 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships, Level A). We plan to assign the expected content to all landmark regions by 29/12/2023.

Some data tables fail to indicate the scope of all row and column headings. This fails the following WCAG 2.1 success criterion: 1.3.1 (Info and relationship, Level A). We plan to ensure that all data tables indicate the scope of all row and column headings by 29/12/2023.

The use of headings throughout the site is inconsistent, as some pages skip heading levels and some have empty headings. This fails the following WCAG 2.1 success criteria: 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships, Level A); 2.4.1 (Bypass Blocks, Level A); 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels, Level AA); 3.2.3, Consistent Navigation, Level AA). We plan to correct the heading structure with correct heading hierarchy and content by 29/12/2023.

Some parts of the site present new or updated content as the user progresses through the process, but they do not alert assistive technology that the content has changed. This fails the following WCAG 2.1 success criteria: 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships, Level A); 3.3.2 (Label or Instructions, Level A); 4.1.3 (Status Messages, Level AA). We plan to ensure that, by 29/12/2023, any time the site presents new or updated content it alerts assistive technology that the content has changed.

On mobile, the sequence in which content is presented to assistive technologies in response to gestures does not always match the visual layout of the page. This fails the following WCAG 2.1 success criterion: 1.3.2 (Meaningful Sequence, Level A). We plan to ensure that, by 29/12/2023, the sequence of presentation of content on all pages matches the visual layout on mobile devices.

Some parts of the site display text as images. This fails the following WCAG 2.1 success criterion: 1.4.5 (Images of Text, Level AA). We plan to ensure that all text is presented in textual form by 29/12/2023.

Tab order and focus order do not always work as expected, particularly when popups are opened and closed. This fails the following WCAG 2.1 success criterion: 2.4.3 (Focus Order, Level A). We plan to ensure that the tab order and focus order work correctly by 29/12/2023.

Some social media icons have missing links. This fails the following WCAG 2.1 success criterion: 2.4.4 (Link Purpose (In content), Level A). We plan to ensure that all social media icons have links by 29/12/2023.

Some links (such as “Read more”) do not make sense out of context. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.4 (Link Purpose In Context, Level A). We plan to update the text of all such links by 29/12/2023, so that they make sense out of context.

Some parts of the website fail to make the keyboard focus visible. This fails the following WCAG 2.1 success criterion: 2.4.7 (Focus Visible, Level AA). We plan to ensure that, by 29/12/2023, the keyboard focus will always be visible throughout the website.

Some elements of the website do not close with mobile gestures. This fails the following WCAG 2.1 success criterion: 2.5.1 (Pointer Gestures, Level A). We plan to ensure that all gestures work properly on mobile devices by 29/12/2023.

Some forms do not automatically return the focus to the first error on the page after validation. This fails the following WCAG 2.1 success criterion: 3.3.1 (Error Identification, Level A). We plan to ensure that, by 29/12/2023, the site always directs users back to the first error on the page after a form is validated.

Some error messages are unhelpful, giving little or no information about exactly what is wrong or what the user needs to do to make it right. This fails the following WCAG 2.1 success criterion: 3.3.3 (Error Suggestion, Level AA). We plan to update the content and presentation of all error messages by 29/12/2023 so that they clearly indicate what is wrong and what the user needs to do to correct the problem.

Some links do not look or behave as expected for links. This fails the following WCAG 2.1 success criterion: 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value, Level A). We plan to ensure that, by 29/12/2023, all links look and behave as expected for links.

Some iFrames lack titles. This fails the following WCAG 2.1 success criterion: 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value, Level A). We plan to give titles to all iFrames by 29/12/2023.

Some PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software and/or keyboard navigation. This fails some of WCAG 2.1 success criteria PDF1 through PDF23. We will address this issue going forward by 29/12/2023. Whenever we publish new PDF content, we will make sure that the information in it can be accessed using screen readers and that we also provide HTML versions of that content.

Accessibility problems found through inclusive usability testing

Inclusive usability testing (IUT) conducted on this website found a small number of accessibility problems that are not specifically covered by the WCAG criteria. Although these are not necessarily WCAG compliance issues, we list them here because we found them to be accessibility problems for the participants in our testing. The most common accessibility problem found in the IUT was inadequate colour contrast, which we have mentioned above.

Font size and small inter-letter spacing, especially against light backgrounds, may make text harder to read for some users. This can make it difficult for some people to read and understand the content. Although this doesn’t fall under any WCAG 2.1 success criteria, the British Dyslexia Association advise using a “larger inter-letter spacing and a font size of 12-14 point” (www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/advice/employers/creating-a-dyslexia-friendly-workplace/dyslexia-friendly-style-guide). We plan to investigate this issue further and consider changing font size and inter-letter spacing.

Disproportionate burden

Having assessed the costs of compliance in relation to current operations to rebuild our services in a new Content Management System, we understand that at this time, compliance in accordance with regulation would impose a disproportionate burden. We plan to achieve compliance with the development of the rebuild of this website in 2022. This website will remain at the same domain name with no disruption to the user.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

This website underwent a full third-party accessibility audit in April 2021, a second, partial audit in June 2021, third-party inclusive usability testing (IUT) in May 2021, and another audit in July 2021. This accessibility statement has been prepared to reflect the results of those assessments, also taking into account the issues that we resolved before the most recent audit.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 10/08/2021. It was last reviewed on 22/09/2023.

This website was last tested via audit on 05/07/2021 and via inclusive usability testing (IUT) between 02/08/2021 and 05/08/2021. The audit and testing were carried out by Nexer Digital Ltd.

Accessibility audit

The pages to audit were chosen on the basis of the following user journeys:

  1. As a general user, navigate and find information about the Pensions Dashboards Programme
  2. As a data provider, navigate and find information about the ecosystem
  3. An extra random sample of one page (the FAQs page), as guided by the Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM) (www.w3.org/WAI/test-evaluate/conformance/wcag-em)

The audit assessed the following pages and functions:

  • Homepage
  • Programme update report
  • Research
  • Blog
  • Videos
  • Events (past)
  • Contact us
  • Programme timeline
  • Landing
  • Data providers timeline
  • Call for input staging
  • Ecosystem
  • Ecosystem sub page
  • FAQs

The audits used the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines V2.1, levels A and AA, to determine how accessible the selected pages are.

Inclusive usability testing

The May 2021 testing also involved inclusive usability testing, an empirical process that involves people with disabilities, varied digital skills, and specific technology access needs. This testing employed the following tasks:

  1. Find out about PDP’s vision
  2. Find out about the different stages of PDP
  3. Sign up for the Newsletter

The testing uncovered some accessibility issues that do not map directly to the WCAG 2.1 criteria but affect the ability of people with disabilities and/or special access needs to use the site, and we have listed them in this statement.