Accessible documents policy
This accessibility statement applies to documents published by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC).
The UK NSC is committed to making our documents accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
This policy explains our approach to accessibility. 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 that.
In HTML documents the content is displayed directly on the webpage and no separate files need to be downloaded. This means that content can be easily used with assistive technologies such as screen readers.
Our documents
The UK NSC publishes documents in a range of formats. We want as many people as possible to be able to use those documents. When we produce a document we try to:
- provide an HTML option where possible
- tag headings and other parts of the document properly, so assistive technologies can understand the page structure
- make sure we include alternative text alongside non-decorative images, so people who cannot see them understand what they’re there for
- avoid using tables, except when we’re presenting data
- write in plain English or include a plain English summary
Accessibility
While we make our new documents as accessible as possible, we know that some of our older and externally-authored documents are not accessible. Older content means it was published before 23 September 2018 when the accessibility regulations came into force.
For example, some documents:
- are just photocopies and are not created in a way that allows assistive technologies to understand them
- are not tagged properly, so for example do not contain proper headings
- are not written in plain English
This mostly applies to our PDFs and other documents published before 23 September 2018 and may include:
- externally-authored documents
- image files
- copies of statutory documents and letters
Some of these types of documents are exempt from the accessibility regulations.
Contacting us
Please contact us if you need a document we’ve published in a different format. We’ll consider the request and get back to you within 15 working days.
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, please contact us.
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
The documents published by the UK NSC are partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.1 AA standard.
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
Some of our PDFs and Excel documents are not accessible as they are not tagged properly or fail on other WCAG criteria.
For documents that do not represent a disproportionate burden, we will look at updating them as soon as we can.
For Excel documents, we will ensure we are providing CSV and open document alternatives where possible.
A few of our older documents have diagrams and other imported graphic content. These images do not always have a text alternative, so the information in them is not available to people using assistive technologies. When we publish new documents we’ll make sure our use of diagrams meets accessibility standards.
Some of our documents make extensive use of tables, which may not be fully tagged for use with assistive technologies. We are looking at how to improve the accessibility of these documents as soon as we can.
Disproportionate burden
There are lots of historic PDF documents on our website. The vast majority of these are of historic interest only and we do not intend to make them accessible. If you want a particular document in an accessible format please contact us and we will see if we can help.
Testing our documents
Our evidence review templates have been tested and approved by a third party accessibility organisation to ensure that any PDF documents we commission from external authors are as accessible as possible.
We also plan to test new documents on a regular basis.