Consultation outcome

Accessibility of public sector websites and apps: new duties and regulations

From:
Government Digital Service
Published
30 April 2018
Last updated
11 September 2018 — See all updates
This consultation has concluded

Detail of outcome

Respondents generally welcomed the accessibility Directive and wanted it to apply to more organisations, for example schools and the BBC.

As a result of the consultation, the government will:

  • provide guidance for organisations that need to follow the rules
  • allow independent organisations to contribute to how the Government Digital Service (GDS) monitors websites for accessibility issues
  • review the regulations 2 years after they come into force

Read the consultation response in full.

Original consultation

Summary

New regulations to make public sector websites and apps accessible to everyone, especially users with disabilities. The regulations implement a new EU Directive.

This consultation ran from
to

Consultation description

The deadline for responses has changed to 11:45pm on Tuesday 29 May. If you send a response after the deadline it might not be considered.

The EU Directive on the accessibility of public sector websites and mobile applications will be brought into UK law this year.

The directive means public sector websites and apps must be made more accessible, except in cases where this would be disproportionate. You’ll meet the new rules if your website or app meets the latest Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) accessibility standards at level AA. This is currently WCAG 2.0.

The government intends to implement the new rules in UK law by passing regulations. These will put new duties on public sector bodies to make their websites and apps accessible.

Accessibility refers to the principles and techniques used when you design, build, maintain and update websites and apps to make sure people can use them, especially people with disabilities.

This consultation seeks views on:

  • what you’ll need to do to comply with the new rules if you’re affected by them
  • how the rules should be monitored and enforced
  • the draft regulations that will bring the Directive into UK law

Please indicate in your response whether you are happy for it to be published, and whether or not you want it to be attributed to you or your organisation.

Consultation overview: British Sign Language (BSL) translation

Accessibility of public sector apps and websites: new duties and regulations

Consultation information and questions: BSL translation

Accessibility of public sector apps and websites: new duties and regulations

Consultation outcome: government response - BSL translation

Accessibility of public sector apps and websites: government response

Documents

Consultation information and questions

HTML

Easy read: consultation overview

PDF, 1.18 MB, 5 pages

Easy read: consultation information

PDF, 6.66 MB, 29 pages

Easy read: consultation questions

PDF, 2.07 MB, 10 pages

Annex 1: Public Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018

PDF, 150 KB, 7 pages

Government response

HTML

Government response: easy read

PDF, 5.87 MB, 17 pages

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

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Updates to this page

Published 30 April 2018
Last updated 11 September 2018 + show all updates

  1. Government response: easy read and BSL versions added

  2. Added government response.

  3. Deadline extended to 11:45pm on Tuesday 29 May 2018.

  4. Added Easy Read versions of the consultation overview, information, and questions.

  5. Added British Sign Language (BSL) versions of the description and information and questions.

  6. First published.

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