Accessible documents policy

This document explains how accessible the documents are that Dounreay produces.

This website is run by Dounreay. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • 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)

We have also made the website text as simple as possible to understand. AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

Using our documents

Dounreay publishes documents in a range of formats, including PDFs and Word documents. 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 can not see them understand what they are there for
  • avoid using tables, except when we are presenting data
  • write in plain English

How accessible our documents are

New documents we publish and documents you need to download or fill in to access one of the services we provide 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:

  • are not tagged up properly - for example, they do not contain proper headings

This mostly applies to our attachments and publications. But if you need to access information in one of these document types, you can contact us and ask for an alternative format.   If you need a document we have published in a different format:

  • email communications@dounreay.com
  • call 01847 806653

We will consider the request and get back to you in 10 working days.

Reporting accessibility problems with one of our documents

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of our documents. If you find any problems not listed on this page or you think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, contact: communications@dounreay.com.

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 are 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

Dounreay 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 Dounreay publishes are not compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard. The non-accessible sections are listed below.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

A few of our documents have diagrams. These images do not have a text alternative, so the information in them is not available to people using a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content).

Content that is not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

Some of our older PDFs and Word documents do not meet accessibility standards - for example, they may not be structured so they are 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 are not essential to providing our services. For example, we do not plan to fix PDFs.

All new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

How we tested our documents

We last tested a sample of our documents on 20 September. Dounreay carried out testing on the following types of document:

  • PDFs

We decided to test a representative sample of all our documents, with a higher proportion of PDFs as we have more of these types of document on the website.

What we are doing to improve accessibility

We will ensure that all documents we now put on the system are accessible.

This page was prepared on 23 September. It was last updated on 23 September.