Accessible documents policy

This accessibility statement applies to content published by the Government Property Agency on www.gov.uk

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

  • 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)

We’ve 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.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

  • the text will not reflow in a single column when you change the size of the browser window
  • you cannot modify the line height or spacing of text
  • most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
  • you cannot skip to the main content when using a screen reader

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Images and photos used

Some of our previously published images do not have a text alternative, so people using a screen reader cannot access the information. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content). When we publish new content we’ll make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards.

There’s no way to skip the repeated content in the page header (for example, a ‘skip to main content’ option).

It’s not always possible to change the device orientation from horizontal to vertical without making it more difficult to view the content.

It’s not possible for users to change text size without some of the content overlapping.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

Some of our PDFs and Microsoft Word documents are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs with information on how users can access our services, and forms published as Microsoft Word documents.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The Government Property Agency is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Reporting accessibility problems and contacting us

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements please contact the Government Property Agency by emailing comms@gpa.gov.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).

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 23 September 2020. It was last reviewed on 23 September 2020.

A sample of pages and their content published by the Government Property Agency on GOV.UK were last tested on 21 September 2020. The test was carried out by the Government Property Agency.

There is a separate accessibility statement for the main GOV.UK website.

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