Accessible documents policy

This policy explains how accessible the documents the Race Equality Unit publishes on GOV.UK are.

This policy explains how accessible the documents the Race Equality Unit (REU) publishes on GOV.UK are. It covers PDFs and other types of document.

It does not cover:

Using our documents

We publish documents in a range of formats, including:

  • HTML
  • PDF
  • CSV

We want as many people as possible to be able to use those documents. For example, when we produce a document we:

  • usually publish it in HTML by default
  • avoid using tables, except when we’re presenting data
  • write in plain English
  • tag headings and other parts of the document properly, so screen readers can understand the page structure
  • make sure we include alternative content alongside images, so people who cannot see them have access to equivalent content

How accessible our documents are

New documents we publish should be accessible to a wide range of users, including people using assistive technologies such as screen readers.

However, we know that some of our older documents (published before 23 September 2018) are not accessible. 

For example, the Race Disparity Audit was published as a PDF in October 2017 and may not be not tagged properly for users of screen readers.

This document is exempt from the regulations. We do not currently have any plans to make it accessible.

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

Updated data from the Race Disparity Audit is available on the Ethnicity facts and figures website.

What to do if you cannot use one of our documents

If you need a document we’ve published in a different format, use our contact form or write to:

Correspondence Team
Cabinet Office
70 Whitehall
London
SW1A 2AS
United Kingdom

We will consider the request and get back to you in 15 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, use our contact form.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission 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

The REU 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 REU publishes are partially 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.

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

The Race Disparity Audit PDF may not be structured so it is 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. We do not plan to fix the Race Disparity Audit PDF, because we publish updated and accessible ethnicity data on our website Ethnicity facts and figures.

How we test our documents

While we try to publish all our documents as HTML, we occasionally publish PDFs. When we do, each one will be tested for accessibility before it is published.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We will continue to make our content accessible. We will continue to publish documents as HTML pages wherever possible, and we will check that any PDFs are accessible before we publish them.

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of our content. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact us.

This page was updated on 11 October 2024, to reflect the renaming of the Race Disparity Unit (RDU) to the Race Equality Unit (REU).

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