Accessibility

Accessibility statement for Ofwat.gov.uk

Published on 22nd September 2020

This accessibility statement applies to www.ofwat.gov.uk and none of the other associated websites or subdomains.

This website is run and managed by Ofwat and we want everyone to be able to use this website. This means that as a user you should be able to:

  • 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
  • Use the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)
  • understand the content as it is written in simple and plain English

 

Background information

Over the last year, the website has been audited and we have become aware of many issues in regards to accessibility. Ongoing work on the website to ensure that we are improving the website experience for all users is in progress.

Currently, the website does not conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard.

However, we are in the process of making significant improvements to the website and are planning on fixing accessibility issues by the 14th of Oct 2020 with subsequent changes by the end of April 2021.

 

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

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

Compliance status

This website is not compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard. The non-compliances and exemptions are listed below.

 

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

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

  • some pages have poor colour contrast
  • some images do not have relevant alternative text
  • the navigation and page layout is not always clear when using a keyboard
  • some tables do not resize when you change the size of the browser window or use mobile devices
  • mast majority of the PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
  • some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard
  • some of the written content is technical and is not in plain English
  • some of the video content is not captioned and transcripts are not provided

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations (i.e. the exemptions)

Any documents published on the website pages before 23rd September 2018 are exempt from Accessibility Regulation. For example, we do not plan to fix all consultations and publications published prior to this date. Any new PDFs documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

Any pre-recorded time-based media (videos) published across the website on or before 22nd September 2020 are exempt from Accessibility Regulation.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

There is a phased approach to ensure we are making continuous accessibility improvements.

Phase 1 – we plan to make a number of changes to our website by 14 October 2020. These changes are outlined below:

  • Change to a colour palette to ensure that all accent colours used are accessible
  • Changes to global elements such as header, footer and homepage to assure that site can be navigated on different devices
  • Alternative text to be added to all non-text content
  • Provide short summaries of PDF documents published from September 2020 on the publication summary page
  • Provide captions and transcripts for all videos published from September 2020
  • Improve language and layout of key landing pages as well as most visited pages

Phase 2 – we have further changes planned by April 2021. These changes are outlined below:

  • Provide HTML versions of new publications and consultations
  • Provide drop-down options for publication and consultation types to improve keyboard accessibility
  • Redesign of key templates to improve accessibility for those with cognitive disabilities
  • Review and redesign of the content presented in tables
  • Improve language on all pages across the website

In addition, we have a series of internal training programmes running to educate all departments as to how Ofwat can produce more accessible digital content.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 18 September 2020. It was last reviewed on 18 September 2020. This website was last tested in May 2020. The test was carried out by JBi Digital and included:

  • A manual audit covering vision, hearing, mobility, and thinking and understanding.
    • this audit covered key pages: homepage, publications, our strategy, residential and price review sections
  • An automated audit covering perceivable, operable, understandable and robust
    • a variety of tools were used, covering over 17,000 web pages

Feedback and contact information

If you require any of the content from our website in a different format eg. accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please email: [email protected]

We’ll consider your request and get back to you within 14 days working days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking at the ways 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 via email: [email protected]

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).