Accessibility statement for GOV.WALES

This accessibility statement applies to the Welsh Government’s information on GOV.WALES.

Each service has its own accessibility page. It outlines how accessible the service is, how to report problems and how to request information in an alternative format. You can access these pages from the footer inside the individual service’s web pages.

Using this website

This website is run by the Welsh Government. 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
  • use 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:

  • some pages and document attachments are not clearly written
  • some tables do not have row headers
  • some heading elements are not consistent
  • some page titles are not unique
  • some form labels are not unique
  • some images do not have good alternative text
  • some link text does not describe the purpose of the link
  • many documents are in PDF format and are not accessible

GOV.WALES services

Each service has its own accessibility page, with details of how accessible the service is, how to report problems and how to request information in an alternative format. You can access these pages from the footer inside the individual service’s web pages.

Request information in a different format

If you need information on this website in a different format like plain text, braille, BSL, large print, easy read or audio recording:

We'll need you to tell us:

  • the web address (URL) of the information you need
  • the format you would like to receive
  • which assistive technologies you use

We’ll review your request and get back to you in 15 working days.

Reporting accessibility issues with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that are not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting the requirements of the accessibility regulations, contact: customerhelp@gov.wales

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, please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The Welsh Government 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 partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

Non-accessible content

The following issues have been resolved where possible, however, a limited number of pages may still be affected.

Success criteria failed: WCAG 2.4.2 (Level A) Page Titled.
Issue: Some page titles are not unique. They are not accurately describing the topic or purpose of the page.

Success criteria failed: WCAG 2.1 2.4.4 (Level A) Link Purpose (In Context).
Issue: Some instances of link text combined with programmatically determined link context do not identify the purpose of the links.

PDFs and other documents

New documents we publish on GOV.WALES 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 marked up in a way that allows screen reader users to understand them
  • are not tagged up properly, for example they do not contain proper headings
  • are not written in plain English

Some of these are historic documents and are not essential to providing our services. These types of documents are exempt from the regulations. We do not currently have any plans to make them accessible.

If you are struggling to access information in one of these document types, you can contact us to request an alternative format.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 14 July 2020. It was last updated on 5 March 2024.

This website was last tested on 20 February 2024. The test was carried out internally.

We used SortSite Desktop to scan over 22,000 of our pages. The scan included a combination of core templates, commonly used templates and complex templates.

We tested:

In October 2022, the UK Government Digital Service conducted an audit of a representative sample of our pages, from which a number of common accessibility issues were identified and fixed.