Accessible documents policy
This accessibility statement applies to documents published by the Government Analysis Function for England and Wales.
Using our documents
The Government Analysis Function publishes documents in a HTML and PDF format.
How accessible our documents are
Some of the PDFs on our pages are not fully accessible. This means they will not work with assistive technology.
What to do if you can’t use one of our documents
If you need a document we have published in a different format, please email analysis.fuction@ons.gov.uk, specifying:
- the document title
- the web address (URL) for the document
- the format you need, for example, audio CD, braille, British Sign Language (BSL) or large print, accessible PDF
We’ll consider the request and get back to you within five working days.
Reporting accessibility problems with one of our documents
We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of our documents. If you find any problems that aren’t listed on this page or you think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please email analysis.function@ons.gov.uk.
Enforcement procedure
In England, Wales and Scotland, 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).
In Northern Ireland, the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland 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 Commission for Northern Ireland.
Technical information about the accessibility of our documents
The Government Analysis Function 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 Government Analysis Function publishes are partially compliant with the of 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:
- Government Analysis Career Framework
- Joined up data in government: the future of data linking methods
Non compliance with the accessibility regulations
Joined up data in government: the future of data linking methods includes diagrams and other visual elements presented without a text alternative. This means that they do not meet the success criteria for perception set out in standard 1.1.1.
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.
Some of our documents include diagrams and other visual elements presented without a text alternative. This means that they do not meet the success criteria for perception set out in standard 1.1.1.
Some of our documents use acronyms that have not been expanded in full. This means that they do not meet the success criterion for abbreviations set out in standard 3.1.4.
Some of our documents use coloured backgrounds with text and do not meet the minimum contrast ratio for success criterion 1.4.3.
Some of our documents use tables presented without a table caption and summary. This means they do not meet the success criterion for info and relationships as set out in standard 1.3.1.
These documents are currently being updated. We will publish accessible versions by the end of 2021.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
Documents produced before 23 September 2018 are not properly tagged, or do not use accessible headings or structures. Some of them include diagrams or images without alternative text description.
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 don’t plan to fix the existing Government Analysis Strategy PDF. We will build this as a HTML version when it is next updated.
Any new documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.
You can request details of any information excluded from the scope of the Regulations by contacting emailing analysis.function@ons.gov.uk.
How we tested our documents
In August 2020 we tested a small number of the documents on our website to find accessibility issues. We tested:
- PDF documents published after September 2019
- Some HTML reports
We tested these documents as they are the most common formats of documents published by the Government Analysis Function.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We’re improving accessibility by carrying out accessibility checks on all our new documents.
We’re reviewing the accessibility of older documents that are covered by the accessibility regulations, starting with the ones which are being used the most and getting the highest number of unique page views.
We are implementing processes and requirements to ensure that all Government Analysis Function publications must meet the accessibility requirements in WCAG 2.1. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA.
This statement was published on 23 September 2020.