Accessible documents policy

This policy explains how accessible the documents Nuclear Decommissioning Authority publishes on GOV.UK are.

This policy explains how accessible documents the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority publishes on GOV.UK are. It covers PDFs, spreadsheets, presentations and other types of document. It does not cover content published on GOV.UK as HTML: the main GOV.UK accessibility statement covers this.

Using our documents

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority publishes documents in a range of formats, including PDF, Open Standards Format, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word.

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
  • avoid using tables, except when we’re presenting data
  • write in plain English

How accessible our documents are

New documents that we publish and documents you need to download 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 (they do not contain proper headings or alt text)
  • contain tables that include text rather than data
  • contain technical content that may not be written in plain English

This mostly applies to our corporate reports and attached files.

But if you need to access information in one of these document types, you can contact us and ask for an alternative format.

What to do if you cannot use one of our documents

If you need a document we’ve published in a different format:

We’ll consider the request and get back to you in 7 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 not listed on this page or you think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact: enquiries@nda.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).

Technical information about the accessibility of our documents

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is committed to making our documents accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Some of the documents we publish are not compliant with 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.

Non compliance with the accessibility regulations

A few of our documents have diagrams that 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).

When we publish new documents we’ll make sure our use of diagrams meets accessibility standards.

A few of our documents are not created with headings. These documents are not structured logically, so the information in them cannot be navigated by people using a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships).

When we publish new documents we’ll make sure our use of headings meets accessibility standards.

Disproportionate burden

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

Many of our older PDFs and Word documents do not meet accessibility standards - for example, they may not be structured so they’re 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’re not essential to providing our services. For example, we do not plan to fix our earlier Annual Reports and Accounts.

How we tested our documents

We last tested a sample of our documents on 20 September 2019. The test was carried out by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

We tested:

  • a PDF
  • MS Word document
  • Spreadsheet

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We ensure that all authors of our externally published documents are aware of the requirements to create accessible documents, and we are training employees responsible for creating and publishing documents so that they can check that all future publications meet accessibility standards.

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